Mule ESB vs TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus comparison

Salesforce and TIBCO are both solutions in the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) category. Salesforce is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.0, while TIBCO is ranked #12 with an average rating of 6.0. Salesforce holds a 17.6% mindshare in E, compared to TIBCO’s 3.9% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Salesforce users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of TIBCO users who would recommend it.

Mule ESB

Read 52 Mule ESB reviews

3,848 Views
2,886 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

Read 12 TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus reviews

663 Views
663 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Mule ESB

TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 3, 2025

TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus and Mule ESB compete in the middleware software domain. TIBCO stands out in support and pricing satisfaction, while Mule ESB is favored for its rich features and adaptability.

Features: TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus features robust integration capabilities, high scalability, and strong reliability management. Mule ESB is known for its lightweight architecture, flexibility, and extensive community support. TIBCO is tailored for enterprises needing comprehensive integration, while Mule excels in versatility across varied environments.

Room for Improvement: TIBCO can improve by enhancing its user interface, streamlining complex configurations, and broadening community support. Mule ESB could enhance its pricing structure, improve initial setup processes, and offer more direct customer service options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus offers straightforward deployment and strong support, ideal for enterprises valuing structured assistance. Mule ESB's flexible deployment models make it appealing for fast implementation. TIBCO provides traditional customer service, while Mule offers both community-driven and commercial support.

Pricing and ROI: TIBCO generally offers more favorable pricing and ROI, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. Mule ESB, despite higher initial costs, justifies its price with robust features and adaptability, making it appealing for those prioritizing long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed Mule ESB vs. TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Mule ESB vs. TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

September 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

Mule ESB

Ranking in Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

Ranking in Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) category, the mindshare of Mule ESB is 17.6%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus is 3.9%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Mule ESB	17.6%
TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus	3.9%
Other	78.5%

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

Featured Reviews

Maharsh-Kapadia

Enterprise Integration Architect at Tata Consultancy

Transforms enterprise integration with comprehensive platform and excellent support

The best features of this solution are that everything we get into a single platform, whether it's integration, API, or data modeling; everything is available in one platform. It's a hybrid, including cloud and on-premise solutions with good connectivity and good connectors. From the benefits of using Mule ESB, we could reduce the manual tasks to 50% in one to two years. The cost is still something we are trying to make lower because we see some advantages when we move from point-to-point integration to API-led connectivity. We have seen a lot of reusable assets, so the cost is reduced. Ultimately, we want to see how it's transformed into business revenue; that's what we are still looking into.

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Mustofa Yonus

Cheif Specialist- Licensing Systems at Roads & Transport Authority

A robust product that needs to improve the functionality it offers related to API lifecycle management

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six to seven out of ten. My company consists of around 7000 employees, and we use the solution as an integrated service in around 300 to 400 systems, both internally and externally, making it a huge number. Our company uses the solution every minute and every second, and we can't function without it.

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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 Salesforce integration."

"We can use Java expressions anywhere in the flow."

"The cloud and integration abilities are most useful allowing us to use applications such as Salesforce and DataWeave."

"It was pretty fast to develop APIs on this platform, which is something I liked about it. So, the time to value was pretty good."

"For complex cases, we employ the SSLi engine, whereas for simpler ones like healthcare or response data, such as EDI 270 or 271. We prefer to use an external XRT engine instead of handling it within the ESB for ease of management."

"The solution improved my company by modernizing the way we offer services and improving the user experience."

"The setup is straightforward."

"Scalability and load balancing."

More Mule ESB pros

"The solution is very stable."

"It is easy to develop. It has a very wide range of features. The older versions are very stable, and there are no issues with the product."

"The product’s most valuable feature is stability."

"The most valuable features are the monitoring, ease of use, and easy to understand development GUI."

"It's very stable and reliable."

"The most valuable feature is that it is a service-oriented architecture, SOA-based."

"The GUI and IDE features of this solution are easy to work with and to develop. We find application management easy using this solution. It is a stable product"

"TIBCO has the platform in terms of speed and ease of use."

More TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus pros

Cons

"The Anypoint platform consumes a lot of memory, and it would be great for developers if it were more lightweight."

"It would be great to see implementing security modules as a feature."

"The initial setup is not easy."

"There are some issues with both stability and scalability."

"From my perspective, Mule ESB is lightweight, but it can be improved when it comes to the agility of the system."

"It would be beneficial if users could navigate the UI easily without extensive training or learning curves."

"Mule ESB is more into the latest REST APIs, not much into the SOAP web services. Developing is all about web services and not easy with Mule."

"The price of Mule ESB could improve."

More Mule ESB cons

"I don't like the product's API management platform, as it doesn't offer users enough functionality to help with API lifecycle management, making it a product that is way behind its competitors."

"If TIBCO could be able to sort the size of their base image in the Container edition, it would be really marvelous. Right now it's around 299 MB. We'd really want it to reduce to a few MBs."

"The intermediate version that we are using has stability issues. These stability issues should be resolved, but it seems like TIBCO is not focusing on resolving these issues. The resolution timelines are quite high even for high-priority incidents. Its price should be lower. Its licensing cost is considerably high as compared to other ESBs."

"In the next release, there should be improvements made to the API manager."

"The initial setup process could be easier."

"We'd like to see improvements in product support."

"Issues with the support, the fees, and the termination of the professional services are reasons we are looking for other solutions."

"The stability of their latest version is not on par with their classic version 5.X."

More TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Mule ESB is an expensive solution."

"This is expensive. In my next project, we had to go to other vendor."

"Regarding licensing and pricing, I find it somewhat flexible. They are more flexible with larger customers compared to small and medium ones, as their licensing model depends on ports and other factors. Large customers benefit from more flexibility in implementation and renewal compared to smaller ones."

"Mule ESB is a costly solution. We pay approximately $80,000 annually for the system. The cost of the number of instances, annual subscription, and cloud hosting services are expensive."

"The pricing must be improved."

"The licensing is yearly, and there are additional fees for services."

"I think the price is very high. If you use TIBCO BW, the license is for the CPU usage, then the IPS, and support. I also think the license for the product is a one-time expense."

"You will not get any support from Mule ESB's team for the tool's community edition...You can get support with the licensed version of Mule ESB."

More Mule ESB pricing and cost advice

"Its licensing cost is considerably high as compared to other ESBs."

"The price is on the higher side. For the same price, if I go to the previous version, I would have got a lot more capacity with similar kinds of features."

"The biggest issue disadvantage of TIBCO is that it is expensive."

"The licensing cost is a challenge for quite a few customers."

"When it comes to cost, TIBCO is much more competitive than a product like Pega."

"Price-wise, I would say that the product is expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

22%

Computer Software Company

14%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	36

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	10

Questions from the Community

Migration from IBM Integration Bus to Mulesoft ESB for a large enterprise tech services company

I was previously part of the Oracle SOA/OSB development team. In my current capacity I architected solutions using MuleSoft Anypoint Platform on cloud / on-premises and hybrid modes and on PCE/RTF ...

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IBM Integration Bus vs Mule ESB - which to choose?

Our team ran a comparison of IBM’s Integration Bus vs. Mule ESB in order to determine what sort of ESB software was the best fit for our organization. Ultimately we decided to choose IBM Integratio...

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What do you like most about Mule ESB?

The solution's drag-and-drop interface and data viewer helped us quite a lot.

See all answers

What do you like most about TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that the performance is robust.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus?

Price-wise, I would say that the product is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus?

I don't like the product's API management platform, as it doesn't offer users enough functionality to help with API lifecycle management, making it a product that is way behind its competitors. The...

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM Integration Bus vs Mule ESB

Compared 20% of the time

Oracle Service Bus vs Mule ESB

Compared 13% of the time

webMethods.io vs Mule ESB

Compared 9% of the time

IBM B2B Integrator vs Mule ESB

Compared 9% of the time

WSO2 Enterprise Integrator vs Mule ESB

Compared 3% of the time

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IBM Integration Bus vs TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

Compared 49% of the time

Oracle Service Bus vs TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

Compared 25% of the time

More TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Mule ESB

September 2025

Download Mule ESB product report

Buyer's Guide

TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

September 2025

Download TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus product report

Also Known As

No data available

ActiveMatrix Service Bus

Overview

For companies looking to modernize and unlock the value of existing on-premises systems and applications, an enterprise service bus (ESB) architecture serves as a critical foundation layer for SOA. When deployed as an ESB, the Mule runtime engine of Anypoint Platform combines the power of data and application integration across legacy systems and SaaS applications, with a seamless path to the other capabilities of Anypoint Platform and the full power of API-led connectivity.

Salesforce

TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus is a platform for developing, deploying, and managing applications that conform to a service-oriented architecture. TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus is a lightweight enterprise service bus that helps organizations bridge the mediation gap in their SOA infrastructure. It reduces complexity and increases flexibility and reuse by replacing hard-coded service dependencies with configuration, and can be used to onboard services from a third-party environment or a TIBCO-based infrastructure. TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus provides service mediation capabilities to the TIBCO ActiveMatrix SOA platform. Service mediation allows you to adapt to changing requirements for developing mediation flows.

TIBCO

Sample Customers

Ube, PacificComp, University of Witwatersrand, Justice Systems, Camelot

Colonial Life, CTBC Bank, New World Mobility, QUALCOMM, Swisscom Mobile, T-Mobile USA, Tata Teleservices, Telecom Italia

Buyer's Guide

Mule ESB vs. TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

September 2025

Free Report: Mule ESB vs. TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus

Find out what your peers are saying about Mule ESB vs. TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Bus and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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