Why Apigee May Not Be Right for You

Apigee is an API platform that offers all-in-one management of security, verification and approval of customers and rate-limiting on API calls. The tool has many other capabilities that make it a suitable option for a variety of scenarios. However, there are several reasons why Apigee may not be right for you. Here, we’ll discuss several of the reasons why the tool may not be right for you and give you an alternative to consider. 

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DreamFactory and Apigee Overview

Both DreamFactory and Apigee are API management platforms that offer a robust set of features to manage your API ecosystem. The platform is a Google product offered with Google Cloud or a standalone product.  

Both tools enable developers to consume services, modify backend services without impacting the public API and utilize a variety of additional API management features. Specifically, each provides:

• Developer Portal
• Analytics
• API Health
• Gateway

However, there are several reasons why Apigee may not be right for you.

Why Apigee Might Not Be Right for You: Features

When it comes to features, both are capable options. Each tool offer:

• Analytics
• API design
• API Lifecycle Management
• Developer Portal
• Threat Protection
• Traffic Control

There are some differences, however, that may illustrate why the platform may not be the best choice for you. For one, if you are looking to extend the platform, you won’t be able to do so with this platform. However, DreamFactory is an open-source tool that allows you to customize the tool in any way you need. Get started with our open-source platform to get started customizing the tool to meet your needs.

Secondly, if your team has a docker environment, the platform does not officially support docker images. There are images available through the community. However, DreamFactory offers this option natively in the app.

API development is a bit more complex in this tool. You’ll need to spend a bit of time generating your APIs. If your team doesn’t have time for this, DreamFactory’s instant API generation feature is more suitable for your needs.

Do you need to use Python for your server-side scripting? Both tools can support it, however, it is a bit more involved in this tool. You’ll need to use a PythonScript policy to add customized Python. DreamFactory is built in PHP, thus using Python is relatively simple.

Usability

Given the amount of time you’ll spend in the tool, usability is important. Apigee appears to be a great tool. However, it seems to be a bit of a challenge to learn. Although the setup is a bit challenging, the administration features are quite robust.  

Support

The platform provides standard documentation. There is also an option to purchase a paid customer support package. Support via telephone seems to be limited. If your organization would like more hands-on support, this tool may not be the best choice for you. DreamFactory on the other hand, provides both phone and email support. The complete documentation can be found on a Wiki, and there is a large developer community. 

Pricing

Here is where things start to get interesting when evaluating this platform. The company does not make its pricing public. There are service tiers, which we can assume are different prices depending on the services offered with each one. You’ll need to contact the company directly to get information on pricing which could lengthen your product evaluation time.

Generate a full-featured, documented, and secure REST API in minutes.

Generate a full-featured, documented, and secure REST API in minutes.

Generate your No Code REST API now

The Best Apigee Alternative: DreamFactory

Apigee is a strong API management platform with the biggest benefit being it is a Google Cloud Platform. This might make it ideal for your use case. However, consider DreamFactory's verasatile open source API management system.

As a solution that can run both in the cloud and on-premises, DreamFactory gives you plenty of deployment options. Our solution provides a robust and cost-effective solution for API management. Ready to get started with API management with DreamFactory? Sign up for a 14-day free trial and start managing your APIs today.