Published on February 24th, 2023
APIs are now ubiquitous throughout the field of application development and mobile application development. From private solutions to public-facing apps and partner integrations, it’s everywhere.
They assist developers to create applications that address an array of consumer demands. They are revolutionizing the patterns of architecture using an advanced approach to mobile app development.
Due to this acclaim, Everyone is eager to find the top API guides for development and utilize the knowledge to deliver an advanced and seamless experience for the people they want to reach.
But, is it that easy?
If you thought that creating an API is hard, then managing one is even more difficult. What makes it simpler is the use of API management platforms that are open-source.
Let’s look at the top 10 API management platforms and tools.
20 Open Source API Management Platforms to Take into Account
1. API Umbrella
API Umbrella is a leading open-source API management platform that manages Microservices, APIs, and APIs. It lets multiple companies work under one umbrella, by granting different administrator permissions for various domains.
The platform also comes with features such as rate limitation API keys and caching real-time analytics, and an administrator web interface.
2. Gravitee.io
Gravitee.io is an open-source platform for managing APIs that is lightweight and flexible. It comes with features that are standard like Rate limitation, IP filtering Plug-and-play options, an open-source API developer portal that includes OAuth2 as well as JSON policy for web tokens. It also offers load-balancing and many more.
But, the main feature that the API administration tool is the capability to produce reports with a fine-grained structure to understand the usage information that your APIs receive.
3. APIman.io
Created through Red Hat, APIman.io is one of the most popular API management platforms you should consider when deciding on the most suitable tech stack to build your application.
The platform, accessible through the GitHub repository, offers a wealth of opportunities to developers working in the development of backends. This includes:
- Quick Time to Run,
- Governance based on policies, with a detachable policy engine
- Asynchronous capability
- Options for enhanced billing and analytics,
- Access to a REST API to manage,
- Limiting rates, and much more.
4. WSO2 API Manager
WSO2 API Manager can be described as a full-lifecycle API management system that can be run from anywhere and at any time. It allows developers to take advantage of the possibilities to take advantage of API dissemination and implementation to both private and on-premise clouds.
Beyond that, it also offers a variety of different opportunities. One of these is among them:
- Greater customization
- Facilitation of policies that govern,
- Possibility of developing and prototyping APIs for SOAP and RESTful APIs.
- More effective access control, facilities for monetization, etc.
5. Kong Enterprise
Kong is a widely used microservice API open-source tool that lets developers manage everything quickly, efficiently, and safely. Kong’s Enterprise Edition comes loaded with functions and features, like:
- Open-source plugins are available,
- Easy One-Click operation,
- Common Language Infrastructure Capability,
- Fantastic Visualization to Monitor,
- Regularly scheduled software health checks,
- Introspection of OAuth2.0 and
- Greater Community-Based Support.
6. Tyk.io
Written using The programing language Go, Tyk.io is also an acknowledged open-source API gateway that you should keep an eye on.
It is accompanied by an API developer portal, detailed documentation, and a Dashboard for analytics on APIs, rates limits to APIs, authentication, and a variety of other specifications that allow organizations to focus on microservices and containerization.
However, the commercial-based versions are available at the cost of a paid version only.
7. Fusio
Fusio is among the most popular open-source API management tools that let developers develop and maintain REST APIs based on various data types. It has several lifecycle management capabilities like a dashboard for the backend that allows administration control, detailed documents, JSON validation for incoming requests, and scope handling to ensure that user permissions are met.
Furthermore, the APIM platform generates automatically OAI and RAML specifications and creates a custom client SDK based on the schema that is defined.
8. Apigility
The framework was developed and is maintained by the Zend framework Apigility could be the new open-source framework that you should think about to manage APIs.
The platform allows well-established mobile app development firms to design and present JSON representations of their code. It also offers various options for versioning as well as ease of authentication through OAuth2 and documentation to accept an API blueprint. API Blueprint.
9. SwaggerHub
The choice of more than 40 companies to manage APIs SwaggerHub can be considered one of the top open-source API management tools to trust.
The platform provides a wide variety of options for designers and developers working in the backend development field. It gives them a robust and user-friendly editor that provides more efficiency and speed while maintaining the consistency of design.
It also gives you the possibility of intelligent error alerts, autocompletion of syntax, and the availability of multiple style validation tools.
10. API Axle
With the support of Exicon, API Axle is another open-source, lightweight, and simple proxy service that offers development agencies a wealth of advantages, including:
- Real-time analytics
- Robust Authentication
- Recording of API traffic to track statistics and reportage,
- Easy to create and manage API keys, as well as
- Design support for the REST API as well as utilization in conjunction with Go, PHP, and Node.js libraries.
11. IBM Bluemix API
This API management tool allows developers to utilize more than 200 middleware and software patterns to create applications that are portable and compatible to work in the hybrid cloud. It also comes with a range of pre-built services as well as a powerful system for controlling API access, managing the use of multiple API versions, ensuring the rate limits, and keeping monitoring performance metrics and data of each API associated.
12. Repose
Repose is an open-source restful middleware system that plays an important part in the ever-changing structure of the API marketplace. It offers organizations numerous API processing capabilities such as authentication API validation, rate limiting, and HTTP Logging of requests.
This API management system works intending to provide downstream services that can be trusted to accept requests that are well-formed and verified. Furthermore, it is adaptable and scalable which means that developers can quickly implement it to meet the increasing demands and demands.
13. SnapLogic Enterprise Integration Cloud
SnapLogic is an outstanding integration Platform as a Service (PaaS) tool that assists businesses in acquiring, sustaining, and expanding their customers. The attributes that enable this are:
- It’s fast multi-point and fast, as well as offers the ability to adapt to real-time as well as batch-oriented integration requirements.
- It is built on a flexible structure that works similarly to web servers but additionally, it allows users to take advantage of the flexibility.
- It also includes unique data flow solutions which encourage companies to integrate well-known SaaS-based applications such as SugarCRM and Salesforce into their existing methods.
14. DreamFactory
DreamFactory API Management platform is one of the most effective open-source and free tools you can think about when you are planning your next venture. The main reasons for its success are:
- It allows developers to get away from the tedious task of coding APIs to develop mobile apps. It allows them to connect any SQL/NoSQL database, any external HTTP/SOAP services, or the storage of files in the DreamFactory environment. They will receive an extensive and flexible, well-documented, and ready-to-use REST API in a matter of minutes.
- The platform also has an extensive REST API for SQL databases as well as the ability to access API parameters to advanced filters, pagination virtual foreign keys table joins, and much more.
- A different feature of the DreamFactory API Management platform is that it instantly converts the JSON request into SOAP and reverses the process.
- Furthermore, it provides extremely secure services through the ease of user management, SSO Authentication, CORS JSON Web Tokens SAML integration as well as Role-Based Access Control on API endpoints and OAuth and LDAP.
15. 3Scale
Not to be left out, 3Scale is a notable inclusion in this collection of tools for managing APIs.
As part of the ownership of Red Hat, the API management tool lets large and small enterprises manage their APIs easily with tools, like the following:
- It uses a cloud layer distributed across the world which centralizes the API program’s management. This makes it simpler to maintain control over the analytics, accessibility of developers’ workflows, monetization, etc.
- Because it is hosted on a cloud-hosted, distributed layer, it’s extremely versatile and adaptable to be used.
- Its OpenShift Integration feature of 3Scale API allows you to run applications that are extremely fast in a controlled and automated way.
- The full-lifecycle API management system allows developers to design, plan applications, implement and monitor, analyze, optimize, and deactivate your APIs anytime, to give you an amazing experience.
- It gives you the ability to share data from your company information, services, and other information via the internet or mobile applications quickly.
- The most important thing is that The 3scale API management system offers the opportunity to incorporate an array of encryption as well as authentication as well as authorization methods into your development environment. This enables the backend development software services to offer a highly secure mobile application experience that is suitable to the needs of their users.
16. Gloo Edge
Gloo Edge is a next-generation cloud-native API gateway that can support microservices and legacy apps and is serverless. It can be integrated into your existing environment and lets you select your preferred tools for scheduling, persistence, as well as security. The API gateway manages both egress and ingress since it’s the point of entry for responses and connections inbound. Gloo Edge also employs top open-source projects like GraphQL, gRPC, OpenTracing, NATS, and more, to offer top-quality features.
17. Akana
Akana is another excellent open API gateway that is open source. It is an API end-to-end management platform. It allows you to develop, secure, create monitoring, and publish APIs on this platform. It can be implemented on-premises as well as in the cloud.
The most notable attributes that are part of the API platform include:
- Security against threats
- Leading open-source API management platform,
- Microservices management, as well as DevOps,
- Aids with traffic management.
- It protects applications by detecting flaws in the code, or at the run-time process,
- It also provides open-source assistance.
18. Mashery
Mashery provides market-leading complete lifecycle API management tools for companies using cloud-native deployment and development practices like DevOps, Microservices, and Containers. The extensive set of capabilities includes API creation and productization, as well as security and analysis on your API program as well as the community of developers.
The most notable characteristics of Mashery include:
- Supports the import of Swagger 2.0 specification.
- Integration API Fortress. API Fortress to provide additional API test capabilities.
- Controls on-premise SSL termination and management of secrets.
19. Azure
Microsoft Azure provides complete API management for cloud, on-premises, or hybrid. It is possible to manage API management in a programmatic manner using the API REST API as well as the SDK. You can also import the web service descriptions languages (WSDL) for their SOAP service and Azure will build a SOAP front-end. They have all of the standard features that include the ability to monetize. It is also possible to improve the accessibility and useability of the microservices you use in your company by using the concepts that underlie API management.
20. KrakenD
Kraken is the top open-source API Gateway. Its main function is to build an API that functions as an aggregator of multiple microservices into one endpoint performing the heavy lifting for you: aggregate, transform filters decode, throttle authentication, and much more. It provides a declarative method to design the endpoints. It is well-structured and has layers, which makes it flexible enough to allow for further expansion of its capabilities through plug-and-play middleware that is developed in the open-source community, or internally.
The API management tools and tools listed above are open-sourced, and likely to make a positive technology stack. To ensure you pick the most appropriate one for your needs for business apps and requirements, we’ll be presenting some tips for selecting the right API management tool in the next.
How do you choose the right Open Source API Management Platforms?
1. Features
If you’re trying to find an answer to the question of ‘how you pick the right API administration (APIM) solution The most important thing to take into consideration is the capabilities that are offered by API managing platforms.
Each open-source API management tool has its specifications and limitations for implementation. Thus, conducting an API management platform comparison based on the technical as well as non-technical requirements could prove extremely useful.
2. Complexity of deployment
In terms of deployment, certain gateways require just one node, whereas others operate on different types of nodes to create databases. Additionally, some gateways work with several databases, which could be difficult to manage.
Therefore, focusing on the difficulty of deployment could aid in finding the best API management open-source software.
3. On-Premise vs Cloud hosted
On-Premise devices, as you can see by their name they are found inside the premises of a business. They can add additional time to the installation and maintenance process.
However, in Cloud-hosted services API management, the API management tools are hosted in an in-person location and its services are available through Cloud computing. They could cause increased latency because of the additional hop, and may even reduce service availability services when the service provider is down.
Thus, studying the advantages and disadvantages of both choices to decide the most open-source API management software to adopt can be a good idea.
4. Community Support for the Community
Last but not least having an understanding of the kind of community support an API managing open source software will help you select the most appropriate one. The more active and large the community and the more active it is, the better your chances of receiving updates and answers to your questions, ultimately providing a better user experience.
In this regard, we’ve looked over the list of the 20 top Open Source API Management Platforms and how to choose the one that is the most suitable. It is now time to implement this knowledge into practical solutions, which is to implement an open-source API management tool in your mobile application. That, in turn, implies that you bring the top mobile app developers who can handle your API implementation requirements, while also taking into account the most secure API security practices.
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