API gateway comparison
Apigee vs. 3scale
Are you finding it challenging to choose a vendor for your API gateway, and are you struggling to make a decision? Our team of experts has conducted a comprehensive analysis and we are here to assist you in finding the best API gateway that suits your needs.
Comparison
Apigee
3scale
API7 Enterprise
Architecture
Cloud-native (Google Cloud), uses distributed architecture for auto-scaling
Hybrid-cloud architecture, best for SMEs, hybrid/OpenShift users
Built on NGINX/LuaJIT, lightweight and high-performance with etcd as a storage center
API Management Capabilities
Full API lifecycle management, but relies on the Google Cloud ecosystem and less focus on deep system integration
Simplified API management with basic monetization and analytics, but with limited features
High-performance API gateway, extensible via plugins, cloud-native friendly, flexible enough to be integrated with third-party tools for extendibility
Performance & Scalability
Cloud-based auto-scaling, is dependent on Google Cloud infrastructure
Efficient for small-to-medium workloads, integrates smoothly with OpenShift for scaling, but lacks advanced traffic management like rate-limiting
Built on Apache APISIX, ultra-high performance, excels in high-traffic scenarios, and is horizontally scalable and Kubernetes-native
Deployment Flexibility
Cloud-native (Google Cloud) with hybrid support via Apigee Hybrid but the initial setup can be complex
Provides deployment flexibility to integrate with existing infrastructure, efficiently deployable on OpenShift
Easy installation with flexible deployment, supports multi-cloud, hybrid-cloud, and edge environments
Protocol Support
REST, SOAP, GraphQL, OData, gRPC, OAS 3.0
REST-focused, limited SOAP/GraphQL support
Broad support (REST, gRPC, MQTT, WebSocket, Kafka)
Customization
Supports the development of custom plugins and extensions
Rigid customization (liquid templates), lacks GraphQL/gRPC support, and basic analytics
Rapid customization and adaptability allow the creation of custom plugins using various programming languages
Cost Structure
Subscription-based, costs scale with traffic, but can be expensive for enterprises with high traffic with analytics and security as add-on fees
Offers a tiered subscription model, but it tends to be more cost-effective for small to medium-sized businesses
Low total cost of ownership due to its open-source core, pay-for-support model, cost-effective at scale
Developer Experience
User-friendly for API design and testing with strong Google-backed documentation
Limited portal customization (uses Liquid templates)
Provides extensive documentation and tutorials to assist developers, minimizing the learning curve for new users
Developer Portal
Apigee Integrated Portal, a simple self-service portal development with user-friendly UI
Offers a customizable portal where developers can access API documentation, test APIs, and manage access credentials
API7 Portal provides robust management and monitoring tools and powerful monetization strategies
Vendor Lock-in
Tightly integrated with Google Cloud infrastructure while hybrid deployments still rely on Google Cloud control plane
Tightly integrated with Red Hat
Based on Apache APISIX, which is fully open source and licensed under the Apache 2.0 License, Kubernetes-native and multi-cloud friendly
Plugins
Custom JavaScript/Java policies and limited pre-built plugins while offering a range of built-in policies that function similarly to plugins
Provides a variety of plugins and code libraries that facilitate integration with different programming environments
Open-source plugin ecosystem, including custom plugins, security, observability, and authentication, and allows plugin development in multiple languages
Analytics
Advanced analytics with granular reporting and SLA monitoring
Basic usage metrics and dashboards
Real-time observability with Prometheus, Grafana, and SkyWalking
Security
Advanced threat protection, OAuth, JWT, and Google Cloud security integration
Basic authentication, OAuth, and limited threat protection
Supports JWT, OIDC, OAuth2, IP whitelisting, mTLS, and FIPS 140-2 compliance
CI/CD Integrations
Offers API-first CI/CD, REST APIs for deployment automation, Terraform support
3scale toolbox, a command-line interface designed to manage API tasks programmatically
Declarative YAML/JSON configurations, Helm charts for Kubernetes, offers native integration with ArgoCD, Jenkins, and GitHub CI/CD
Community Support
Official Google Cloud support, forums, and paid SLAs, limited open-source contributions
Active community through GitHub contributions, learning communities, and discussion groups
Active open-source Apache APISIX community, vendor-backed enterprise support with contributions to the Apache project
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