API gateway comparison
Apigee vs. Mulesoft
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
Mulesoft
API7 Enterprise
Architecture
Cloud-native (Google Cloud), uses distributed architecture for auto-scaling
API-led connectivity with integration-centric features (ESB, SOA), reusable assets via Anypoint Exchange
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
Full API lifecycle management and integration workflows
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
SaaS, on-prem, or hybrid (Flex Gateway), scalable but may incur overhead from integration layers
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
On-premise via Anypoint Runtime Fabric, multi-cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Easy installation with flexible deployment, supports multi-cloud, hybrid-cloud, and edge environments
Native REST, SOAP, TCP, gRPC, and GraphQL Support
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Multi-Cloud, Multi-Region SaaS Service
Cost Structure
Subscription-based, costs scale with traffic, can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses or startups
High licensing fees, high total cost of ownership due to integration complexity and Salesforce ecosystem, suitable for large enterprises
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
Anypoint Platform with low-code tools, but complex for beginners due to steep learning curve
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
Anypoint Portal with API catalog, interactive docs, and monetization
Declarative YAML/JSON configuration, ideal for Kubernetes users, less GUI (Graphical user interface)-driven
Vendor Lock-in
Tightly integrated with Google Cloud infrastructure while hybrid deployments still rely on Google Cloud control plane
Supports multi-cloud but is tied to the Salesforce ecosystem, thus connectors/Salesforce tools create dependencies
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
300+ pre-built connectors (SaaS, databases, legacy systems), templates, and APIs
Open-source plugin ecosystem, including custom plugins, security, observability, and authentication, and allows plugin development in multiple languages
Security
Advanced threat protection, OAuth, JWT, and Google Cloud security integration
Robust policies (RBAC, encryption), compliance certifications (SOC, GDPR)
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
Anypoint CLI, Maven plugin, Azure DevOps, automate API deployments and pipeline workflows
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
Partially open-source (Mule runtime engine), but the core platform is proprietary
Active open-source Apache APISIX community, vendor-backed enterprise support with contributions to the Apache project
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