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Apache APISIX vs WSO2 API Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache APISIX
Ranking in API Management
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WSO2 API Manager
Ranking in API Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apache APISIX is 2.5%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WSO2 API Manager is 3.9%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WSO2 API Manager3.9%
Apache APISIX2.5%
Other93.6%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

AB
Associate Consultant at Ernst & Young
User-friendly platform simplifies traffic management and boosts API management through integrated plugins
The most valuable features of Apache APISIX include routing for upstream and frontend services, masking using proxy rewrite, and the integration of different plugins like Prometheus and Grafana. These plugins are self-integrated, allowing features like JWT authentication, rate limiting, and diverse authentication methods without extra integration. The tool is beneficial for its plugin orchestration which enhances API management with redirection, response rewrite, key authentication, and observability with Grafana and Prometheus.
MM
Manager, Integration Technical Delivery at United Delta
Middleware integration has become smoother and manages API lifecycles and scopes effectively
Regarding WSO2 API Manager, I have no drawbacks or areas for improvement. However, regarding the Micro Integrator, I had some issues while developing complex services because it was mainly designed to be used for simple services, not complex ones. While using complex services, I encountered some issues. I communicated this with WSO2, and they released other products that solved everything related to my concern. These products were released before my concern was raised. When I explored them, they were pretty good, and I did not see the same issues I had experienced. WSO2 is enhancing themselves, and their products are fine. The previous concern was about the previous product, so it is resolved now since there are new products available. I would like WSO2 to improve quality or response time in support, or both.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable features of Apache APISIX include routing for upstream and frontend services, masking using proxy rewrite, and the integration of different plugins like Prometheus and Grafana."
"I recommend Apache APISIX to others because of its many useful features."
"We could easily deploy APIs on WSO2 API Manager, and CORS configuration was easy to manage."
"The product is easy to use."
"WSO2 API Manager is open-source, which offers a range of features not found in other open-source API tools."
"I think the best part about WSO2 API Manager is that it's highly customizable because it's open-source."
"The most interesting feature is its Mac-based function."
"WSO2 API Manager is easy to use."
"Helped us to quickly publish our Microservice APIs and enforcing different policies against them, it comes up with features like Security, Throttling policy and it provides complete access to customize API's which actually saves development effort and time."
"WSO2 API Manager provides strong internal API security, including token-based authentication and HTTPS support for various formats like REST. However, the newer API security features that are emerging are not available yet. They might be in development, but for now, internal API security is well-covered."
 

Cons

"The routing algorithms in Apache APISIX, such as node-based and round-robin, could be improved. Introducing more plugins and supporting AI features can enhance the solution."
"The user interface is limited and does not support all features of Apache APISIX."
"Providing easy configuration for email and SMS notifications, layout and customization of admin and developer landing pages."
"I'd like to see some new features and updated functionalities."
"I can say that user management is not really flexible. So, if I want to create 1,000 store users, I can't do it as a publisher."
"Dashboards for application monitoring of the APIs would be beneficial, allowing us to check for faulty APIs."
"From a product perspective, the first thing is that although the documentation provided by WSO2 is good, it could be much better. We're in the middle of a complex migration, moving away from VMs to Kubernetes with the latest version of WSO2 and good documentation is essential to us right now."
"WSO2 API Manager can be improved a lot relating to usability"
"Support GPRS protocol."
"We had some problems with the reverse proxy not being able to invoke fully qualified domain names, so we have to build some custom scripts to solve this issue."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It's not expensive, but it could be cheaper."
"There is a subscription-based pricing structure and also the open-sourced version available."
"It is costly, around ten thousand per year, per instance"
"I think the other competitors that are providing the same solution are quite expensive. WSO2 API Manager is quite cheap."
"WSO2 API Manager is an open-source solution."
"The solution costs less than 20,000 euros a year. I'm not sure of the exact number."
"We use the open-source version — the free version."
"We have not opted for the paid version of WSO2 but we have implemented the free and open source WSO2 software to a great extent and it is working as per our expectation."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise21
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Apache APISIX?
The routing algorithms in Apache APISIX, such as node-based and round-robin, could be improved. Introducing more plugins and supporting AI features can enhance the solution.
What is your primary use case for Apache APISIX?
The primary use case for Apache APISIX is to mask the API endpoints for my microservices and use self-given APIs in Apache APISIX and mask those with the actual real ones. This helps to prevent use...
What advice do you have for others considering Apache APISIX?
I rate Apache APISIX an eight out of ten overall. For new users, I advise going through the official documentation deeply to implement the solution efficiently.
What needs improvement with WSO2 API Manager?
Regarding WSO2 API Manager, I have no drawbacks or areas for improvement. However, regarding the Micro Integrator, I had some issues while developing complex services because it was mainly designed...
What is your primary use case for WSO2 API Manager?
My major use cases for WSO2 API Manager are mainly for system integration between multiple layers because we are working on the middleware layer between the systems.
What advice do you have for others considering WSO2 API Manager?
The thing that I hoped WSO2 had in their integration products, not WSO2 API Manager, was AI agents, and now they have this. I believe at this stage, they have the things that the market is going th...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
1. eBay 2. StubHub 3. Cisco 4. Verizon 5. T-Mobile 6. Vodafone 7. Orange 8. BT Group 9. Telstra 10. Deutsche Telekom 11. Swisscom 12. AT&T 13. Sprint 14. Telefonica 15. O2 16. British Airways 17. Lufthansa 18. Emirates 19. Qatar Airways 20. Etihad Airways 21. Air France 22. KLM 23. American Express 24. Visa 25. Mastercard 26. PayPal 27. Western Union 28. Citibank 29. HSBC 30. Barclays 31. Santander 32. Goldman Sachs
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache APISIX vs. WSO2 API Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.