API Management Platforms Evaluation Summary
- Gary Sharpe
NOTE: this is the original evaluation completed in March of 2015. This evaluation will be updated with current information and vendors to reflect the changes in the API Gateway and Management space.
List of API Management Platform Vendors Evaluated
3Scale (http://www.3scale.net/)
MuleSoft (http://www.mulesoft.com/platform/api)
Mashape - Kong, Gelato and Galileo. (https://www.mashape.com)
Apigee* (http://apigee.com/about/)
Axway* (http://www.axway.com/)
* Axway and Apigee were not evaluated beyond initial pricing. The quotes received were well beyond the project’s expected budget.
Feature Comparison
High Level List of Features | 3Scale | WSO2 | MuleSoft | Mashape (in progress) |
Key Management | X | X | X | |
Client and Developer Account Management | X | X | X | |
Developer Self-Service (Discovery, Request Access, etc.) | X | X | X | |
Grouping of Developers and their clients | X | X | ||
OAuth Support | X | X | X | |
API Level Security & Permissions | X | X | X | |
End Point Specific and HTTP Method Based Security & Permissions | X | |||
Supports Delegating API Config and Access Management to Developers/Groups | X | X | X | |
Documentation Portal | X | X | X | |
Markup Language Driven Documentation (i.e. Swagger/RAML) and API Preview Support | X | X | X | |
Cloud or Locally Hosted Gateway/Proxy | X | X | X |
Recommendation at the time of the initial review (March 2015) : 3Scale
Distinct Advantages
Lowest Total Cost of Ownership
Uses nginx proxy/gateway
Industry Standard. Lots of available plugins.
No additional licensing cost for deploying extra proxies other than the cost of running the VMs/Containers
Supports granular permissions beyond just API level (i.e. end point and http method specific permissions)
Traffic does not have to be routed directly through gateway/proxy. Clients available to deploy with APIs to make an auth call for requests.
Deployed in Production at UC Berkeley for 2+ years (see http://developer.berkeley.edu)
Berkeley’s dedicated Integrations Team has been extremely helpful in this process
3Scale: Pro vs Enterprise Plans
The key difference between the Pro and Enterprise plans is summarized by the graphic below
Plan | Pro | Enterprise |
Traffic Volume(per day) | 1,000,000 API Calls | 3,000,000 API Calls |
Scaling(up to per day) | 3,000,000 Calls | Unlimited Calls |
Scaling Packages | Add packages of 1 Million Calls / Day for $300 / Month per package (Max 3,000,000 Calls) | Contact Sales |
Number of APIs | Up to 3 | Unlimited |
Accounts - Developer or Group of Devs. registered for your APIs | 5,000 | Unlimited |
# of End Users of Apps developed using your API | 100,000 | Unlimited |
API Access to Accounts Data | Yes | Yes |
Additionally, the Enterprise Plan provides the following customer support:
CUSTOMER SUPPORT | ||||
Online Forum | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Email Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Account Representative | Yes | Yes | ||
24/7 Emergency Phone SupportL1 Incident | Yes | |||
Business Hours Phone SupportL2-L3 Incidents | Yes | |||
Escalation Procedure | Yes | |||
Summary and Cost Breakdown (March 2015):
Probably the most limiting aspect of the Pro plan is the number of APIs permitted. 3 is simply not enough. 3 Scale will allow us to serve up to 10 APIs for an additional 300 per month, or up to 20 APIs for an additional 600 per month. We can upgrade as necessary, so starting with up to 10 would probably suffice for the first 6 - 12 months.
The Enterprise plan allows for unlimited APIs. The Enterprise plan also includes the on-boarding package at no additional cost ($10,000), whereas the Pro plan does not. The on-boarding package typically runs for 2 - 4 weeks. 3Scale will provide professional support in developing and executing a plan to launch, provide us with full configuration of the product and developer portal setup, as well as some training. To secure the best pricing for the Enterprise plan, we would have to commit to 3 years up front (though we would still only pay monthly).
Enterprise Plan
Base Price | $3,000.00 |
Standard Monthly Cost | $ 3,000.00 |
Discount (Education Services) | 20% |
Discount (3-yr contract) | 25% |
Monthly Cost after Discount | $ 1,650.00 |
On-Boarding Package (One-time fee) | $0 |
Total 3-yr Cost | $ 59,400.00 |
Pro Plan
Base Price | $ 750.00 |
Additional Services (1-10) | $ 300.00 |
Additional Services (11-20) | $ 300.00 |
Standard Monthly Cost | $ 1,350.00 |
Discount (Edu. Services)** | 20% |
Discount (3-yr contract)* | 0% |
Monthly Cost after Discount | $ 1,080.00 |
On-Boarding Package (One-time fee)*** | $ 10,000.00 |
Total 1-yr Cost* | $ 22,960.00 |
*Only one-year contract is available for PRO plans
** 20% discount for educational services
*** One-time fee for On-boarding\Extended support will be included
Additional Costs:
2 VMs running nginx proxy in UC Davis Datacenter $10,604.80
Recommendation (March 2015):
Pro plan with up to 10 APIs, with or without the On-Boarding Package
$840 per month, $10,000 one time fee for On-Boarding Package