API management is a process that is used for managing different Application Programming Interface functions like API creation, editing, publishing, and monitoring. There should be proper documentation and high-level security to ensure the best utilization of any Application Programming Interface. In addition, it needs regular monitoring, testing, and reliability. For performing these tasks, you need a good tool. Therefore, one must use good API software to help them properly utilize the API mechanism. That is why we have come with a list of 20 of the best API Management Software.
What is API?
API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface. It is software that works as an intermediary between two applications and lets them talk to each other. For example, every time you are using Twitter to send a message or post a tweet, you are using an API. When you use your phone to share a tweet, it sends the information to the server. The server receives the data, interprets the data, performs the action, and sends back the presentation. That is the job of an API.
What does an API management tool do?
API management software is a tool used to access, distribute, control, maintain, and analyze the APIs used by software developers. It works in an enterprise setting and on a large scale. It helps the developers centralize the command over the apps and help them keep all the online apps on the web functional. In addition, it ensures high performance and standard security of the software’s API integration.
API Management Software’s Services
API management provides three kinds of services. They are,
- Proxy: These API tools serve as the safeguard of the back end of services from getting it down when there are several queries. It has caching capabilities too. Example: KOng, Mashery.
- Agents: They integrate with the central data server. Example: IBM API management.
- Hybrid: these types of API management tools cover both proxy and agent. Example: Apigee, Akana.
Best 20 API Management Software
Here are 20 of the best software to manage your APIs. Please note that these are not based on ranking. The API lists are made as per availability on Google.
1. Apigee
Apigee API management tool is suitable for Consumer Apps, Partner Apps, records, IoT, and Cloud Apps systems. It provides complete security, analytics, monitoring, mediation, and a developer portal. In addition, it can deliver proxy, agent, and hybrid solutions according to your need. With Apigee, the developers can build and test apps. They can also deliver the app for public use.
Apigee API key management software is best as a Monetization tool. It is a complete solution for your API management.
Price: Apigee has three pricing models. The Evaluation Plan is free for you to try. Second, the Team plan costs $500 per month. Finally, the Business plan’s pricing is at $2500 per month. There is additionally an Enterprise plan that is customizable according to your desire.
2. 3scale
3scale is another top-class tool that is on the API software market. Red Hat Software develops the software to help developers manage their APIs. It is easy to manage internal and external functions with 3scale. It comes with proxy, agent, and hybrid solutions. 3scale is a great tool that will help you share, edit, secure, distribute, and monetize all of your APIs under a single platform. Its developer portal is the best on the market.
3scale comes with multiple options for traffic control. You can control open source gateways, plugins, hosted cloud services, and CDN with 3scale.
Price: 3scale offers two pricing plans. The Pro plan is $750 per month, and the Enterprise plan will cost according to your customized plan. You can have a free trial of 3scale before choosing any paid plan.
3. IBM API Management
From the very beginning, IBM has provided excellent tools to control and monitor software and computers. So it is no wonder that they will have a solution for APIs. IBM API Management is a cloud-based solution for API creation and management.
IBM API Connect provides built-in security and governing functions for all of your APIs. IBM’s solution is excellent for simple coding, real-time analytics, and self-service for developing. It comes with automated tools for API creation and protects your data from threats. In addition, it allows the developers to test and monitor an API without coding.
Price: IBM API Connect comes with the most versatile pricing plans. The first one is the Lite Plan. It is free and comes with 50,000 API calls per month. Next is IBM API Connect Enterprise. It will cost $100 per 100K API calls monthly. You can have a free trial of the Enterprise plan.
4. Akana
Akana is an API tool that provides end-to-end software solutions. It helps a developer design, customize, encrypt, secure, implement, monitor, and publish your app. It comes with both cloud and on-premise support. In addition, Akana provides proxy, agent, and hybrid solutions just like 3scale.
Akana is good at helping you manage your traffic. It auto-detects vulnerabilities and informs you of them. It is best as a Life cycle management tool, and no other API management tool is as good as Akana.
Price: Akana gives its users a free trial of the product. The Akana Business plan is priced at USD 4000 per month. In addition, you can choose the Enterprise plan for customizing your plan.
5. Kong Enterprise
Kong Enterprise is the best open-source API management software. It ensures an end-to-end solution for API management and is perfect for those who need to manage critical applications. It is a great help in securing, managing, and microservices. You can also use it to extend your APIs.
Kong can be deployed on the cloud, premises, or as a hybrid. You can extend its functions by adding plug-ins. It is easy to maintain large-scale operations with ease making it the best open-source API management platform.
Price: Kong Enterprise is an open-source platform. You can use it for free, but to add plug-ins you will have to pay for them.
6. Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure enables you to control and manage all of your APIs under a single platform. It provides token, IP filtering function to ensure the security of your APIs. In addition, it will present data analysis and insights into your applications through Analytics.
You can use Microsoft Azure to publish APIs internally and externally for your customers. It is capable of creating API gateway and developer portals. It is best for self-service Application Programming Interface key management.
Price: Microsoft Azure has the most pricing plans for its customers. The plans are Consumption, Developer, Basic, Standard, and Premium. The Consumption plan gives you one million calls for free. The developer’s plan starts at $48.04 per unit/ month. The Basic Plan is $147.17 per unit/ month, the Standard Plan is priced at $686.72 per unit/ month, and the Premium plan starts at $2795 per unit/ month.
7. Dell Boomi
Dell Boomi gives its users a solution to connect the applications and data to cloud-based servers. It is compatible with any hybrid environment. It is a handy API project management software with a vast library of connectors at your disposal. Dell Boomi helps you to integrate any application to the public cloud or private cloud. It also supports different integration patterns. It is best for integrated cloud apps.
Price: Dell Boomi offers its customers a free plan for using it. If you want to subscribe to the monthly plan, it will cost you $549 per month. You can also customize pricing plans if you want. They offer that option too.
8. OpenLegacy
OpenLegacy is a digital-driven API management system that is compatible with almost every platform. It helps users to release digital services faster and easier, ensuring quality. Even connected to the most complicated core of system OpenLegacy processes and automatically generates digital-ready components to use. It can integrate with innovations and make the APIs easy to manage. Many leading companies use OpenLegacy to create, monitor, manage, and publish their consumer-ready apps.
Price: they offer a free demo of their product. OpenLegacy has solutions for every industry. From agriculture to retailers, they have products suitable for everyone’s needs.
9. Wso2 API Cloud
Wso2 API Cloud provides the top-class open-source API management solution for businesses. It features complete API lifecycle management, customizability, policy enforcement, and monetization under a single platform. As a result, we can use both microservices and monolithic architectures with this application.
The analytics function of Wso2 gives the users an insight into their product. It can be used as a central host for multilingual applications. They are reliable and used by many renowned companies around the world. It is perfect for exposing APIs to external and internal consumers.
Price: Wso2 is open-source software, so it is free to use. You need to subscribe with a valid e-mail to get the downloadable file.
10. SwaggerHub
SwaggerHub is suitable for API designing and development. An API management system is for teams to ensure drive and disciple along with the development workflow. It helps a team to accelerate the designing process of an app and conveniently publish it.
SwaggerHub works as a powerful editor and error feedback generator. It also features syntax auto-completion and style validators for optimum design consistency across different APIs. In addition, it can help you to integrate other API software like Azure, Apigee.
Price: SwaggerHub has two sets of plans. One is open-source, which is free to use but has certain limitations. And the Pro versions come in different tiers. The Team plan is priced at $75 per month, and the Enterprise plan is customizable by the user. But, again, you need to contact SwaggerHub for details.
11. Mashery
Mashery is API inventory management software that provides a SaaS solution for a complete life cycle API management. It supports B2B APIs, public API programs, and internal APIs. It will provide support for creating, testing, monitoring, and publishing your application. In addition, you can use API analytics to monitor your traffic. Mashery also has an on-premise gateway to ensure API security. It is well known for being capable of converting to RESTful and SOAP protocols. It uses cloud servers to process your data.
Price: Mashery offers a 30 days free trial of the product. Mashery Professional plan is priced at USD 500 per month. In addition, it has an Enterprise plan that allows one to custom design their products.
12. Automate by CA Technologies
Automate by CA Technologies brings us a complete SaaS solution for API management. It provides Agile Development, PPM Management, and DevOps solutions. It is a low code development platform for creating APIs. Automate is good at managing microservices. You can use it to make IoT-ready mobile phone apps with ease. Automate provides the best API gateway ensuring the best experience for the user.
Price: Automate offers a 30 days free trial of it. Their plans start at $1700 per month, and you can also customize a plan suitable for your organization.
13. Funnel
Funnel is a simplified solution for all types of Marketing API management. It has support for over 500 platforms integration and customizes additional sources for you. They provide clean and harmonized data for you to feed to any platform you need. It is a perfect automated data collection and BI tool feeder that you can use on the internet. With Funnel, you can control your marketing data and use them accordingly to grow your business.
Price: the Standard plan is priced at $499 per month. The business plan will cost $799 every month, and the Professional plan is capped at $999 monthly. You can also customize your needs and change the payment model with the Enterprise plan.
14. Postman
Postman is a great API software management system that can be integrated with all online apps. It has made the task of designing and managing mock APIs, APIs, real easy. It also lets teams collaborate and share their collections, managing and setting permission.
Price: Postman has a free plan for everyone. If you want more options, then you can choose from the paid plans. For example, postman Pro costs 4 USD per month, whereas Postman Enterprise is priced at 18 USD per month.
15. MuleSoft
If you want a solution for building an application network efficiently, MuleSoft is here for you. You can build, maintain, and manage APIs on any platform. Furthermore, it can help you to analyze the traffic and change your actions according to it. In addition, it comes with a high-level data security patch to keep your users safe.
MuleSoft is the best Application Programming Interface management software for API gateway and developer portals. It is commonly used for connecting multiple applications. MuleSoft is the perfect solution for any service provider. Companies like Coca-Cola, Netflix, Airbnb, Unilever use MuleSoft for their apps.
Price: MuleSoft has a 30 days free trial with a money-back guarantee. They offer different tier plans for all types of users.
16. SyncTree
SyncTree provides a SaaS No code API solution for small businesses. The API management works with a simple drag and drop interface, which is very easy to operate. They bring the best API solution for those who are not good at coding. It is effortless and efficient to use SyncTree to create, monitor, publish, and manage your integrated API apps.
Price: SyncTree has provided three subscription plans. They offer a Free plan with 600 calls per day. The Professional Plan is USD 8/ month per seat. You can also sign a yearly contract with SyncTree. You can get a free demo by registering on the SyncTree website.
17. Axway Amplify API Management Platform
Axway Amplify API Management Platform is another great tool that will help enterprises manage and monitor their APIs. It has content collaboration, API analytics, B2B Integration, and File transfer featured. You can use what you have and make it productive with the help of Amplify.
Price: they have not provided us with a pricing plan. You have to contact the supplier to get a quote. You can register for a free demo.
18. DreamFactory
DreamFactory is another top-of-the-class API management tool for your business. It is a platform that automatically creates complete documented REST APIs for you. DreamFactory is perfect for Frontend devs to work with multiple databases efficiently. It will also help Backend devs to save time for hand-coding the API. The users can strategically plan their data distribution and not worry about data security. It ensures that you have no backend plumbing and you can focus only on your customers.
Price: DreamFactory three different pricing plans; Community Edition, Professional Edition, and Enterprise edition. All of their plans come with a 14 days free trial.
19. Oracle SOA
Oracle SOA is excellent for managing APIs. It supports both REST and SOAP API. Therefore, we can ensure complete API lifecycle management with Oracle SOA. It is a proper hybrid API development tool that supports cloud as well as on-premises support. It also comes with a modern security system to protect your data.
Price: it has many different pricing models. Oracle API Platform Cloud Service costs $1.0753 unit per hour. Oracle Apiary Cloud Service – Standard is priced at $5.28 Unit/ month, and the Professional plan starts at $16unit/ month. They also have a non-metered plan which supports 25,000,000 API Calls / Month at $1,500.
20. ImportOmatic
ImportOmatic brings a complete solution for API management. It supports all external and internal services. We can use all types of record types and formats with ImportOmatic. It is suitable for data integration, IOM data imports into RE/ RE NXT from external sources. It is easy to operate and handy in operation.
Price: you have to contact ImportOmatic for a detailed pricing list. They offer a free trial if you are interested.
Final Thoughts
In this list, we have covered the best commercial as well as open-source API software comparison. All these products are good at different tasks. For example, Apigee offers the best monetization support, whereas Akana is the best lifecycle management tool. It is up to you which one of the services you require.
Most of the software provides a free trial or version. Therefore, it is wise to take up the opportunity and try first to find out the perfect API management software. Then, share the article if you found it helpful.
.){kind=link}