IBM App Connect vs IBM Cloud Pak for Integration comparison

IBM App Connect and IBM Cloud Pak for Integration are both solutions in the Cloud Data Integration category. IBM App Connect is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.2, while IBM Cloud Pak for Integration is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.5. IBM App Connect holds a 4.9% mindshare in CDI, compared to IBM Cloud Pak for Integration’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM App Connect users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration users who would recommend it.

IBM App Connect

Read 25 IBM App Connect reviews

2,359 Views
1,345 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Read 5 IBM Cloud Pak for Integration reviews

1,293 Views
595 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM App Connect

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

IBM App Connect and IBM Cloud Pak for Integration serve distinct integration needs, competing in the integration tools category. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration appears to have the upper hand due to its robust features and comprehensive support, making it suitable for enterprises with complex requirements, despite its higher cost.

Features: IBM App Connect offers pre-built connectors, quick integration with cloud services, and straightforward API management. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration includes AI-driven automation, multi-style integration, and strong security capabilities, making it appealing for enterprises requiring extensive integration.

Room for Improvement: IBM App Connect can enhance its scalability and complexity management for larger setups. It could also improve its connectors' capabilities for more diverse applications. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration might benefit from a simpler user interface and reduced deployment complexity, along with more competitive pricing options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM App Connect provides a simpler deployment process and commendable customer service, enabling rapid integration. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration involves a more complex deployment but offers extensive support and documentation for comprehensive integration setups.

Pricing and ROI: IBM App Connect is cost-effective with a low setup cost, delivering quick ROI for simpler integration needs. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration, while having a higher initial cost, offers advanced capabilities and scalability, showing higher ROI for businesses willing to invest in extensive solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM App Connect vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM App Connect vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

July 2025

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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

IBM App Connect

Ranking in Cloud Data Integration

13th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Ranking in Cloud Data Integration

16th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

API Management (27th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Cloud Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM App Connect is 4.9%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration is 2.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Emirhan Guven

Team Leader, Software Development at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees

Transforms data efficiently and navigates licensing challenges with ease

The transition between version 12 and version 13 presents some challenges. While version 12 had approximately 10 features, version 13 includes around 200 features with cloud platform compatibility. The learning curve for developers moving from version 12 to 13 could be smoother. When using new components, better context explanations would be beneficial. In version 13, accessing new features requires connecting through a web browser, which can be challenging to understand. The explanation of new features could be more user-friendly.

Read full review

Neelima Golla

Senior Software Engineer at NessPRO Italy

A hybrid integration platform that applies the functionality of closed-loop AI automation

I recommend using it because, in today's context, the cloud plays a significant role. Within the same user interface, you can develop applications and manage multiple applications, making it a more user-friendly option. Moreover, you can explore various other technologies while deploying on the cloud, broadening your knowledge of cloud technologies. In my case, the transition led to my learning of Kubernetes, enabling multi-scaling and expanding my technical skills. It was a valuable experience, and I had the opportunity to learn many new things during the migration process. I can easily rate it an eight or nine out of ten.

Read full review

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 feature is the user-friendliness of the application."

"It's a powerful application for collaboration. It has many features for customization and integration."

"There is a friendly interface for configuration, and integration is made easy."

"The solution is very fast-paced when it comes to making things right. We can quickly download what we need if we need any app migrations for our software business. We can download it plenty of times when we need to use it. It gives us very high speed for delivering any development."

"When using IBM stacks, IBM App Connect is suitable and integrates well with other IBM products like WebSphere."

"The solution is fast and supports Open UI 3.0 certification."

"I recommend IBM App Connect Enterprise to everyone."

"One of the most beneficial features is the ability to handle multiple communication technologies, like integrating Kafka flows, which is helpful as other teams heavily use it. Regarding error handling, I initially wrote most of the handling myself. While built-in features for error handling are built-in, it largely depends on the developer. We use a custom solution that catches all exceptions, logs them in a database, and replays them as needed. It has been effective for us for over twenty years."

More IBM App Connect pros

"Redirection is a key feature. It helps in managing multiple microservices by centralizing control and access."

"It is a stable solution."

"The most valuable aspect of the Cloud Pak, in general, is the flexibility that you have to use the product."

"Cloud Pak for Integration is definitely scalable. That is the most important criteria."

"The most preferable aspect would be the elimination of the command, which was a significant improvement. In the past, it was a challenge, but now we can proceed smoothly with the implementation of our policies and everything is managed through JCP. It's still among the positive aspects, and it's a valuable feature."

Cons

"Updates are constantly delayed."

"The setup time for App Connect could be improved."

"In the next release, I would like to get some quality connectors."

"The addition of string functionality would be a benefit, particularly in the ESQL space that IBM already uses internally."

"One more important point is that if IBM improves its CI/CD capabilities, it will make a big difference. Right now, I have to create my own CI/CD setup from scratch for every client, which is inefficient."

"The interface could be better."

"It is not easy to deploy. It requires someone with a high level of knowledge in the solution to deploy it, not just anyone can do it."

"The installation of containers could be simplified, as it currently requires a senior-level installer."

More IBM App Connect cons

"Its queuing and messaging features need improvement."

"Enterprise bots are needed to balance products like Kafka and Confluent."

"Setting up Cloud Pak for Integration is relatively complex. It's not as easy because it has not yet been fully integrated. You still have some products that are still not containerized, so you still have to run them on a dedicated VM."

"The pricing can be improved."

"The initial setup is not easy."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM App Connect's pricing is high compared to other products."

"The licensing cost for IBM App Connect is very high."

"The price could be better."

"The cost depends upon the consumer."

"The solution's pricing isn't cheap, but you can get good discounts based on your competitive deal."

"App Connect is not cheap."

"Initially, App Connect was quite expensive because the cost was based on the number of processors we used. However, it's now based on containers, which means we can be more specific about our consumption and get a better price."

"It is very expensive if we want to scale."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The solution's pricing model is very flexible."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

20%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM App Connect?

I like the adapters. The adapters help us achieve scalability. If you want to connect to SAP, there's an adapter. Salesforce? There's an adapter. You want to connect to another system? There's like...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM App Connect?

Configuration time varies by implementation. For insurance companies with simple JDBC connections, the process is straightforward. However, companies requiring multiple configurations for ODBC, JDB...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM App Connect?

I am a developer specializing in IBM App Connect. We have a customer interested in comparing ESB tools, such as webMethods, which was previously owned by Software AG company before IBM acquired the...

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

The most preferable aspect would be the elimination of the command, which was a significant improvement. In the past, it was a challenge, but now we can proceed smoothly with the implementation of ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

Enterprise bots are needed to balance products like Kafka and Confluent.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

It manages APIs and integrates microservices at the enterprise level. It offers a range of capabilities for handling APIs, microservices, and various integration needs. The platform supports thousa...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM App Connect

August 2025

Download IBM App Connect product report

Buyer's Guide

API Management

July 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Integration product report

Also Known As

IBM Cast Iron

No data available

Overview

Rapidly connect public clouds, private clouds and on-premises application

App Connect Professional is IBM’s cloud integration offering which delivers an integration solution
• With ease-of-use, flexibility and increased responsiveness to the evolving business needs, while removing the daunting complexities of integration.
• Provides the powerful combination of a ‘simple integration experience’ for business users looking to automate how their applications talk to each other; coupled with a ‘configuration based integration’ approach for IT.
• App Connect Professional is for the teams and integration developers who need to solve more complex problems and need powerful tooling for integration scenarios

IBM

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration gives you complete, flexible integration using capabilities you need to move at today's speed of business, including the tools to help you achieve your application modernization goals as part of your journey to the cloud.

IBM

Sample Customers

United Way of Allegheny County, Saint-Gobain CPS, Ricoh, SunTrust Banks Inc.

CVS Health Corporation

Buyer's Guide

IBM App Connect vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

July 2025

Free Report: IBM App Connect vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM App Connect vs. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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