Tyk vs Apigee – Evaluating API Management alternatives
Tyk isn’t the only cloud-native full lifecycle API management solution on the market. But we do like to think we add a whole heap of value that other providers don’t.
If you’re weighing up the pros and cons of API Management alternatives, it’s time to talk features.
Let’s start with the fundamentals.
| Feature | Benefit | Tyk | Apigee |
| Multi-cloud, multi-region SaaS service | Seamlessly roll out across multiple clouds, regions and tech stacks – no lock-in to GCP. Truly cloud-native. |  |
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| Fully open source Gateway | Total transparency, auditability and flexibility. | |
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| Self-managed, cloud or hybrid options | Work with your preferred approach. | |
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| Full lifecycle API management | The ability to manage every element of your APIs strategically. | |
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| Fully featured hybrid model | Total flexibility around where control planes, data and gateways reside and scale. No vendor lock-in. | |
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| Native REST, SOAP, TCP, gRPC and GraphQL support | Create, shape and transform your APIs however you need to. | |
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| Cloud native | Scalable, dynamic, flexible and independent. | |
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| Clear pricing, with no hidden charges | Easy to budget for, with fixed price self-managed or pay-by-consumption cloud options. | |
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| Easy to create plug-ins | Flexible, extensible API management that allows you to change and scale with ease. | |
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| World’s first GraphQL developer portal | Delivers developer-driven solutions through modern, lightweight, cloud-native thinking. | |
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| Extensibility in any language, not just Lua or JS | Delivers ultimate flexibility – implement without changing your architecture or ways of working. | |
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Relevant links: Tyk versus Kong – Tyk versus Apollo – Replacing Mashery with Tyk open source API management – Pricing – Performance benchmarks
01. Cloud deployment
| Tyk Platform agnostic |
Apigee Only available on GCP |
Tyk is platform agnostic and cloud native. This means we can be deployed as a self-managed service, purchased as a cloud service or as a hybrid solution, and importantly the same deployment can span AWS, GCP, Azure, your own DCs… whatever you need.
Whichever deployment you choose, you can manage it all from a single control plane, even for multi-region, multi-cloud approaches.
02. Flexible deployment options
| Tyk Multi-data centre, multi-region, multi-cloud and hybrid deployments available |
Apigee Complex architecture makes multi-cloud and hybrid deployments impossible |
Global businesses can have complex setups. Thankfully, with Tyk, your API management doesn’t need to be complicated.
You can use Tyk to componentise your architecture, resulting in easy deployment and management, whether across multi-data centre, multi-region, multi-cloud or hybrid environments.
03. Underlying technology
| Tyk Built in GoLang |
Apigee Built in Java |
Tyk is built in GoLang. We don’t rely on any third-party software and we’re not limited by any dependencies. We’re lightweight, lean and highly performant, unlike memory-intensive Java-based solutions.
We own our own stack from top to bottom and offer a host of open source tools in addition to our core platform. These enhance the Tyk experience and deliver impressive results for your business.
As part of our open source philosophy, we invite all of our users to interact with our OS repos and development team. If you need a feature, want to suggest an enhancement or have an idea for a custom plug-in, just let us know!
04. Product feature APIs
| Tyk REST APIs available in all product features |
Apigee No product feature API |
Tyk has REST APIs available for all product features. If you can do it through the GUI, you can do it through an API call. This supports DevOps and automation, delivering an enhanced API management experience. No other API Management platform offers this level of control, automation and integration.
05. Plug-in support
| Tyk Supports native plug-ins in Javascript, Python, Lua and Go |
Apigee Can only build plug-ins in Node.js |
We don’t tell you how to run your business – we fit around the way you like to do things. That’s why we support the development of plug-ins using a range of different languages. And because we support gRPC, Whether you use Javascript, .NET, Python, C++ or another language, Tyk will work with your plugin. Tyk fits into the way you operate today, putting your existing team in control.
06. Platform
| Tyk Self-managed, cloud or hybrid – whatever you need |
Apigee Primarily a cloud platform |
Businesses need to flex and change over time. They also operate in a huge range of ways. That’s why Tyk offers a range of solutions. Our self-managed solution doesn’t ‘call home,’ giving users 100% control over Tyk. And our cloud-native and hybrid solutions delivery ultimate flexibility, as you can move seamlessly from self-managed, to hybrid, to full cloud – or mix and match them across your teams, it’s all the same Tyk stack!
07. Flexible and Scalable architecture
| Tyk Sharded Gateways for multiple services and versions |
Apigee Micro-gateways that only support a single service |
Tyk’s API Gateways can be sharded to handle multiple services and versions. This makes it easy for you to scale up rapidly and manage your APIs as they proliferate.
Micro-gateways can only support a single service. This is restrictive and less cost-effective for complex microservices use cases.
08. Pricing
| Tyk Cost effective |
Apigee More costly than Tyk |
Tyk has one open source API Gateway. Whether you’re a micro-business or a globe-spanning behemoth, the Tyk Gateway is the same. It’s powerful and it’s free, forever. Our customers confirm that Tyk has a significantly lower total cost of ownership.
09. Platform agnosticism
| Tyk No vendor lock-in |
Apigee Google ecosystem focus |
Tyk is platform agnostic. We don’t lock you in to particular vendors or try to force you to do things a certain way. Instead, we work easily as a single solution to all of your API management needs. We work across all cloud platforms and architectures. It’s one of the reasons so many global companies rely on Tyk.
Thank you for reading this article. We welcome any comments or feedback. If you’d like to reach out to us, please contact [email protected]
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