14 Top API Management Tools for 2024

Table of Contents

Going into 2024, API management has become a critical aspect of modern-day business operations. A good API management tool can help you streamline the process of designing, deploying, securing, and monitoring all your APIs.

Here are five things to know about API management tools:

An application programming interface (API) enables software applications to communicate.
API management tools simplify the process of managing complex APIs.
API management tools improve security and team collaboration as well as provide enhanced API performance.
API management is critical for many reasons. For example, it ensures APIs are secure and that integration is seamless between apps.
API management tools should include features such as simplified API generation, access management, lifecycle management, and more.

In this article, we'll explore 15 top API management tools for 2023, providing you with actionable insights into each tool's features, benefits, and drawbacks.

Effectively Manage Your APIs

API Management FAQs

What Are API Management Tools?

API management tools are platforms designed to simplify the process of creating, publishing, securing, and managing APIs. These tools allow you to create and manage APIs that expose digital assets and services to internal and external developers, partners, and customers in a secure and scalable manner.

The Benefits of Using API Management Tools

API management tools provide a range of benefits, such as improved security, enhanced collaboration, and better API performance. These tools are crucial for supporting the growth of your business because they ensure your APIs are secure and reliable.

With an API management platform, you can drastically speed up the development process, reduce errors, and improve communication between development teams. This enables you to deliver high-quality APIs faster and easier.

Types of API Management Tools

When it comes to API management, there are several types of tools available. You may choose one or a combination of these tools depending on your business needs:

API gateways: This type of tool can be used to manage authentication, authorization, and traffic routing to the appropriate backend services.
API design and documentation tools: These tools help developers design, document, and test APIs before deploying them.
API lifecycle management tools: These are complete tools that help manage the entire API lifecycle from design to retirement.
API testing tools: Testing tools help developers test APIs for functionality, performance, and security. They can simulate user behavior, generate load, and detect bugs.

15 Top API Management Tools to Consider

Let’s explore some of the top API management tools available and how they can help you manage your APIs more efficiently.

1. Integrate.io

Rating: 4.3/5 (G2)

Key Features:

API generation
API customization
Custom scripting
Data mesh capabilities
Robust customer support

Integrate.io is a data pipeline platform with API generation and management capabilities that allow businesses to generate, manage, secure, and monitor their APIs to power their data products.

Its key features include automated API generation, complete customization, flexible authentication, simple custom scripting, and advanced data mesh capabilities.

Integrate.io also provides a comprehensive support system with resources like live chat and developer documentation. It is compatible with the most popular databases, including SQL Server, MySQL, Snowflake, or BigQuery.

The platform ensures data quality by providing total control over API design requirements while users can add modules/features as their projects grow. More than that, it provides scalability for small projects up to large-scale enterprise rollouts.

Integrate.io offers a flexible usage-based pricing model that allows you to scale as your data volumes grow. The pricing model is based on the runtime of data pipelines as well as specific feature and functionality requirements. Customers can have unlimited users, packages, and connectors to build out their desired data architecture.

All Integrate.io plans come with a dedicated Solutions Engineer who works alongside you during evaluation and implementation, ensuring that you get your data pipelines into production as soon as possible. Post-implementation phase, you then have a dedicated Customer Success Engineer as well as industry-leading 24/7 Customer Support. Experience this for yourself when you sign up for a 14-day free trial or schedule a personalized demo with an Integrate.io Solutions Engineer.

2. MuleSoft

Rating: 4.4/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Pre-built/custom security
Integrated access management
Service mesh for microservices

MuleSoft provides comprehensive API management capabilities that help organizations operate and scale their API programs efficiently. The platform offers an API gateway for unlocking and managing services securely, as well as a consistent management experience.

All of these features enable organizations to create an effective strategy for developing APIs with minimal effort while providing secure and high-performance management at scale.

MuleSoft pricing is complex. Pricing plans differ depending on your specific needs. For example, the Anypoint Flex Gateway cost will depend on the volume of API requests.

3. IBM API Connect

Rating: 4.6/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Robust security features
Self-service features
Full API lifecycle management

IBM API Connect is a secure and reliable API management solution that helps organizations manage all their APIs from a single platform. It helps businesses package their APIs for specific consumer markets and provides governance and version control.

The platform supports community management with self-service portals and subscription tools while helping protect endpoints with an enterprise-grade gateway.

Pricing is available both on a software-as-a-service basis on Amazon Web Services (AWS), starting at $83/month, or as a single-tenant service hosted on IBM Cloud, starting at $6,504/month.

4. Jitterbit

Rating: 4.6/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Point-and-click functionality
Intuitive interface
Simplified API generation

Jitterbit’s API Management capabilities provide a powerful, complete solution for the entire API lifecycle.

The platform allows users to quickly create and manage APIs with an intuitive graphical interface, expose them via enterprise-scale API gateways, and empower developers to discover and consume them securely.

With Jitterbit’s API Manager, users can rapidly generate APIs based on existing data. It enables agile development through point-and-click processes while allowing organizations to quickly roll out new products, channels, and strategies with fewer resources in less time.

Jitterbit offers three pricing plans, including Standard, Professional, and Enterprise. All pricing plans require a quote from the sales team.

5. Microsoft Azure API Management

Rating: 4.2/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Authentication and other security features
Real-time data analytics
Simplified developer portal

Microsoft Azure API Management is a fully managed service that enables customers to publish, secure, transform, maintain, and monitor APIs. It helps in managing the full lifecycle of APIs from creation to consumption.

Some of Microsoft Azure API Management’s key features are related to:

Security: The platform includes security features such as authentication, authorization for every request, and rate-limiting capabilities.
Transformation: Azure API Management allows developers to transform web legacy services into powerful REST-based APIs.
Monitoring and analytics: The platform gives access to real-time analytics about usage patterns, traffic trends, error tracking, and more.
Developer portal: The portal allows developers to register applications and get keys easily through an easy-to-use developer portal interface.

Pricing plans include Developer, Basic, Standard, Premium, and Isolated. Cost is broken down into price per hour.

6. Workato

Rating: 4.7/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Full lifecycle API management
API dashboard
API customizations

Workato's API management platform is designed to help organizations manage the full lifecycle of APIs for both internal teams and external partners. Its comprehensive suite of tools allows developers to create secure, well-structured APIs that are ready to be consumed by end users.

The platform also offers an intuitive user interface experience, making it easier for developers to quickly get up and running with their projects. Workato pricing isn't currently disclosed on the website. Users should schedule a demo to learn more.

7. SAP Integration Suite

Rating: 4.3/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Real-time processing and monitoring
Robust security features
OData and OpenAPI specification compliance

SAP Integration Suite is an iPaaS that enables businesses to connect their on-premise and cloud-based applications, systems, and processes. Its API management capabilities streamline the process of creating, managing, and securing APIs.

The platform offers real-time processing and monitoring, enabling businesses to respond faster to customers, employees, and partners. Additionally, it provides robust security features for API authentication, authorization, and threat detection, ensuring compliance with industry standards.

SAP's Standard plan will cost you $4,150 per tenant/month. For Premium, you must contact the sales team for a custom quote.

8. Postman

Rating: 4.6/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Various API tools, from generation to testing
API documentation features
API governance tools

Postman is an API platform packed with all the necessary tools required to build, test, and manage APIs. It has built-in support for various authentication protocols and can organize requests into collections for reuse.

The platform allows you to organize your requests into collections for reuse, saving time and effort in building everything from scratch. You can tie requests together with JavaScript, automate common workflows, and use scripting to visualize API responses as charts and graphs.

Postman offers a free plan, as well as three other pricing plans, including Basic, Professional, and Enterprise. The Basic plan starts at $12 per user/month.

9. Apigee

Rating: 4.4/5 (G2)

Key Features:

API generation capabilities
Monitoring and analysis
Robust security

Apigee is a leading API management platform that allows organizations to build, manage, and secure APIs. Since it's a native Google Cloud API management tool, it comes with enhanced scale, security, and automation API management capabilities.

The platform helps businesses unlock and standardize data from any app, system, or service and secure every API transaction with robust policies and advanced controls.

Apigee also offers monitoring and analysis tools that provide reliable performance and actionable insights, allowing your business to respond faster to customers and partners. Apigee features pay-as-you-go pricing as well as subscription-based pricing based on your needs.

10. SwaggerHub

Rating: 4.5/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Smart API editor
OpenAPI specification compliance
Easy-to-use integrations

SwaggerHub is a powerful API management platform that helps teams design, develop, and maintain high-quality APIs. It features an intuitive editor that complies with OpenAPI specifications (OAS).

The platform facilitates the entire API lifecycle from a central internal repository hosted on the cloud, with automated notifications, API versioning, and secure integrations for easy deployment.

You can use SwaggerHub to simplify the API design and management process, as its comprehensive set of features and capabilities allow for faster and safer collaborative API development.

SwaggerHub offers a free plan as well as two other pricing plans: Team and Enterprise. The Team plan starts at $79 per month.

11. Dell Boomi

Rating: 4.3/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Full API lifecycle management
Easy-to-use interface
API monitoring

Using an intelligent, user-friendly interface, Boomi allows organizations to configure and expose real-time integrations via APIs and third-party services. You can use it to corral data access and effortlessly publish and govern APIs, whether they're on-premise or in the cloud.

The platform can help developers create composite applications across mobile, social, and IoT networks, while Boomi's API Developer Portal streamlines data access from existing apps. Dell Boomi pricing is subscription-based. You'll pay based on your needs and specific features.

12. Kong Konnect

Rating: 4.7/5 (Gartner)

Key Features:

Multi-cloud API management
Powerful built-in plugins for security and traffic control
Robust customer support

Kong Konnect is an end-to-end SaaS API lifecycle management platform designed to simplify multi-cloud API management. It helps organizations securely connect services at scale across multiple environments.

The platform allows you to implement consistent configuration and policies at scale by organizing your runtimes, services, teams, and environments into logical groups.

Kong Konnect also streamlines API security, compliance, and user management by allowing you to apply API security best practices and meet compliance mandates with customizable controls and plugins.

You can get started with Kong Konnect for free. Other plans include Plus and Enterprise. The Plus plan starts at $250 per service/month.

13. WSO2

Rating: 4.5/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Open-source platform
OAuth, OpenID, Connect, and JWT standards available out of the box
Full API lifecycle management

WSO2 API Manager is an open-source platform that helps organizations design, publish, and manage APIs. You can use it to expose APIs to internal and external consumers, implement industry-standard authorization flows, and even integrate with existing identity access or key management tools.

The platform also provides design and runtime governance for the entire lifecycle of APIs, allowing you to build APIs from existing services, manage APIs from internally built applications and third-party providers, and monitor their usage and performance from inception to retirement.

Non-commercial users can use WSO2 for free. However, companies can subscribe to WSO2 to unlock additional features. Interested users must contact the sales team for pricing information.

14. TIBCO

Rating: 4.1/5 (G2)

Key Features:

Centralized API management
Best-in-class API security features
Public cloud, private cloud, or on-premise deployment

TIBCO Cloud API Management is an end-to-end solution with full lifecycle API management capabilities. You can deploy it on any public or private cloud, or containerized on-premise. And since it's compatible with any PaaS, you can use it to manage APIs from virtually anywhere.

The platform offers a codeless environment for Visual API Modeling, which generates OpenAPI and AsyncAPI documents for easy service exploration and testing. This allows you to create APIs without writing a single line of code, a feature that’s hard to find in other API management tools.

TIBCO offers flexible pricing plans, including a 30-day free trial. The Basic plan starts at $500 a month and costs increase from there.

Effectively Manage Your APIs With Integrate.io

Managing your APIs doesn't have to be complicated. Generate, manage, secure, and monitor your APIs with Integrate.io. Try the platform for yourself by signing up for a free demo today!

API Management FAQs

Why Is API Management Important?

API management is crucial for businesses to ensure their APIs' security, scalability, and governance while providing a seamless developer experience and enabling integration between systems.

What Is an Example of API Management?

One example of API management is using an API gateway, which acts as a mediator between API consumers and backend services, enabling businesses to manage and secure their APIs at a single point of entry. An API gateway manages incoming and outgoing API requests and enforces security policies.

For example, let's say you have an e-commerce website that needs to connect to payment providers to process payments. Instead of connecting directly to each payment provider, the e-commerce website can connect to an API gateway, which checks each payment request to ensure it's valid and secure.

The API gateway can also provide additional features, such as caching and request throttling, to improve the overall payment processing performance.

How Do You Choose an API Management Platform?

The best course of action when choosing an API management platform is to create a short list of the tools we have covered so far, request demos to see how they fit your needs, start a trial, and then decide which one is best for you.

Big Data

14 Top API Management Tools for 2024

What Are API Management Tools?

The Benefits of Using API Management Tools

Types of API Management Tools