Zuplo
API Gateway Comparisons

Zuplo vs
WSO2 API Manager

  • SOC 2 Type II
  • 99.999% SLA
  • 300+ edge locations

The Modern Enterprise API Gateway for Teams Replatforming Off WSO2

Talk to an Architect Compare with AI
Feature
Zuplo
WSO2
Compliance and Audit Readiness
Enterprise Identity (SSO + RBAC)
Managed Dedicated Deployment
AI Gateway and MCP Support
Operational Simplicity
Time to First API
AccuWeather
Read the Case Study
Blockdaemon
Read the Case Study
Lake Michigan Credit Union
Read the Case Study
Finsolutia
Read the Case Study
VNDR
Read the Case Study
Mews
Read the Case Study
Yext
Read the Case Study
Zumiez
Read the Case Study

What's wrong with WSO2

WSO2's key limitations for modern engineering teams

The forces driving enterprises off WSO2 in 2026 — operational tax, plugin sprawl, retrofitted AI, and pricing that doesn't predict.

Self-Managed Operating Burden

Self-hosted and hybrid deployments require you to run the gateway, databases, and Kubernetes scaling yourself. The long-standing API Manager adds a Java runtime, keystore configuration, and ongoing patching across its component stack. There is no fully managed global edge.

Multi-Component, Multi-Product Stack

Full lifecycle spans API Manager, the newer API Platform control plane and gateway, Identity Server for federated auth, and Choreo for managed hosting — components and products to integrate, version, and operate.

Opaque Enterprise Pricing

Commercial subscriptions are quote-based with no published price list; pricing scales by gateway cores and support tier. Total cost of ownership combines licensing with infrastructure and operational overhead.

Why Zuplo

Built for teams replatforming off WSO2 API Manager

Managed, modern API management with predictable economics across procurement cycles — no operator overhead, no plugin sprawl, no consumption-pricing surprises.

Compliance and Audit Readiness

First-class managed compliance vs. compliance tied to customer deployment.

Enterprise Identity (SSO + RBAC)

Direct SAML/SCIM with project-level RBAC vs. additional Identity Server component.

Managed Dedicated Deployment

Managed dedicated across major clouds vs. self-hosted operations or Choreo managed offering.

A solutions architect can walk you through your current WSO2 setup, surface the biggest operational tax, and map a migration path — no slide deck required.

Talk to an Architect Evaluate your migration

Enterprise ready

Production-ready for regulated and high-volume workloads

Compliance & Audit

  • SOC 2 Type II audited annually
  • Third-party penetration test reports available under NDA
  • GDPR-aligned data processing
  • Audit logs across the control plane
  • API governance with policy enforcement

Identity & Access

  • SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning
  • Role-based access control across organizations, projects, and environments
  • Service-account credentials with scoped permissions
  • API key metadata for downstream authorization

Deployment Flexibility

  • Managed edge across 300+ locations — global by default
  • Managed dedicated single-tenant on AWS, Azure, GCP, Akamai, or any major cloud
  • Self-hosted on Kubernetes with full control plane
  • Bring-your-own-cloud for data residency requirements

Support & Success

  • Up to 30-minute response SLA on Enterprise
  • 24/7/365 emergency hotline for critical incidents
  • Named technical account manager
  • Architecture and migration professional services

Built for the AI era

Built for AI agents, MCP, and token-aware traffic

WSO2 added an AI Gateway and MCP support to its newer API Platform, but delivering them still means running the Envoy gateway yourself or adopting Choreo — there is no fully managed global edge. Zuplo's AI Gateway and MCP Gateway are native to a zero-ops managed platform across 300+ locations.

Unified AI Gateway

Multi-provider model routing, semantic caching, prompt injection protection, budget and token controls, auto-failover.

MCP Gateway

Turn any API into a remote MCP server, or govern third-party MCP servers behind a single managed gateway.

Agentic auth and identity

Per-agent API keys, scoped credentials, and dynamic per-call policies.

Token economics built in

Per-token metering and per-customer model budgets, with native API monetization (beta).

See it in action

See Zuplo running on your stack

A 30-minute working session with a Zuplo solutions engineer. Bring an OpenAPI spec or a Kong route definition and walk away with a working preview.

Talk to Sales Compare features

Side by side

Feature-by-feature comparison

Feature
Zuplo
WSO2
Compliance and Audit Readiness
SOC 2 Type II audited annually, third-party penetration test reports under NDA, audit logs, GDPR-aligned data processing.
Compliance posture depends on customer-operated deployment. Self-hosted deployments inherit compliance from the customer's environment.
Enterprise Identity (SSO + RBAC)
SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, and RBAC across organizations, projects, and environments.
WSO2 Identity Server integration with SAML, OIDC, and federated auth. Identity Server adds another component to operate.
Managed Dedicated Deployment
Single-tenant managed deployment on AWS, Azure, GCP, Akamai, or any major cloud with up to a 30-minute response SLA. Self-hosted on Kubernetes also supported.
Self-hosted on Kubernetes or VMs, a hybrid model (your gateway + managed SaaS control plane), or WSO2's fully managed SaaS. Self-hosted and hybrid retain operational ownership of the gateway runtime.
AI Gateway and MCP Support
Purpose-built AI Gateway with multi-provider model routing, semantic caching, prompt injection protection, budget and token controls. Dedicated MCP Gateway product.
AI Gateway and MCP support on the newer API Platform with model routing, guardrails, and token controls — but delivered self-hosted or via Choreo, not on a managed global edge.
Operational Simplicity
Fully managed and auto-scaled across 300+ edge locations. Zero database, cluster, or component operations.
Self-managed and hybrid deployments require running the gateway, databases, and Kubernetes scaling yourself. API Manager adds a Java runtime and a multi-component stack (Publisher, Portal, Gateway, Traffic Manager, Key Manager) to patch and operate.
Time to First API
Deploy in minutes — import OpenAPI spec, configure policies, ship globally to 300+ edge locations.
Days to weeks of infrastructure setup including Kubernetes clusters, databases, JKS keystores, and component configuration.
Developer Experience
TypeScript policies with full IDE support, npm ecosystem, and GitOps. Configuration as code.
Policies via Publisher UI, config files, and Java mediation on API Manager; the newer API Platform uses a Go-based policy engine and Policy Hub. No TypeScript or npm-ecosystem programmability.
GitOps Support
Native GitHub integration — all configuration as text files in Git with automatic preview environments.
The newer API Platform is GitOps-driven with config-as-code; the established API Manager is primarily UI or API-driven and needs custom CI/CD scripting. Preview environments are not turnkey.
Developer Portal
Auto-generated from OpenAPI spec with self-serve API key management. Deployed with every Git push.
Developer Portal included for API discovery and subscription management. Customization is limited; portal requires manual updates.

Migration path

Migrating from WSO2 to Zuplo

OpenAPI specs export from WSO2 Publisher and import directly into Zuplo. Mediation sequences map to Zuplo TypeScript policies. WSO2 Micro Integrator can stay in place for backend integration if needed.

Migration phases

Typical production cut-over in 8–14 weeks

  1. Inventory APIs and policies

    Catalog APIs, mediation sequences, plans, and applications in WSO2 API Manager.

    2 wksPlan locked

  2. Foundation deployment

    Stand up Zuplo Enterprise on managed dedicated deployment, configure SSO/SCIM, RBAC, audit log destinations, and CI/CD wiring.

    2 wksFoundation live

  3. Policy and consumer migration

    Translate mediation sequences (auth, rate limiting, transforms) to Zuplo TypeScript policies. Migrate applications and API keys via the Zuplo Developer API.

    4 wksSide-by-side

  4. Cut-over and decommission

    Move primary traffic to Zuplo with weighted routing, validate SLOs, then decommission WSO2 components. Micro Integrator can remain for backend integration when needed.

    2 wksCut-over done
Read the full migration guide

What our customers say

Trusted by engineering teams at scale

Blockdaemon

90%

Hardware footprint reduction at scale

Read the Blockdaemon case study →

"The move to Zuplo from our existing API Management vendor was easy, taking just over 2 months to switch mission critical systems, and we're saving over 70% on costs."

Ryan Waites

Senior Director, Blockdaemon

Case study →

"Zuplo gives us the flexibility to scale efficiently, ensures security and compliance, and reduces operational complexity so we can focus on building new capabilities."

Daryl Benzel

Staff Software Engineer, Yext

Case study →
AccuWeather

1B+

End users served via Zuplo APIs

Read the AccuWeather case study →

Finsolutia

Hours

To launch MCP server on regulated APIs

Read the Finsolutia case study →

"We didn't touch a line of code, it's just plug and play. The results were very surprising, in just a couple of hours we had a great result and a fully working MCP Server."

Miguel Madeira

CTO & Co-Founder, Finsolutia

Case study →

Trusted for regulated and high-volume workloads

SOC 2 Type II Third-party penetration testing GDPR-aligned 24/7/365 emergency hotline
300+ Global edge locations
Billions API requests served / month
Up to 99.999% Enterprise uptime SLA
<20s Global deploy time

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Zuplo vs WSO2 API Manager.

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