Apigee vs Google Cloud Endpoints: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the key differences between Apigee and Google Cloud Endpoints, two popular API management solutions offered by Google.

1. Deployment Infrastructure: Apigee is a cloud-based API platform that runs as a fully-managed service on the Apigee infrastructure, while Google Cloud Endpoints is a serverless offering that leverages the infrastructure of Google Cloud Platform. This means that Apigee provides a dedicated environment for managing APIs, whereas Google Cloud Endpoints leverages the scalability and reliability of the broader Google Cloud infrastructure.

2. Flexibility and Customization: Apigee offers a higher degree of flexibility and customization compared to Google Cloud Endpoints. With Apigee, developers have access to a comprehensive set of tools and features to design, develop, and manage APIs with advanced capabilities such as traffic management, caching, and security policies. On the other hand, Google Cloud Endpoints provides a more streamlined and opinionated approach to API management, which simplifies the setup and configuration process but limits the flexibility for advanced customization.

3. Pricing Model: Apigee follows a subscription-based pricing model, where customers pay based on the number of API calls and the level of support they require. Google Cloud Endpoints, on the other hand, follows a consumption-based pricing model, where customers pay for the actual usage of the underlying Google Cloud Platform resources such as compute, networking, and storage. This difference in pricing models allows customers to choose the option that aligns better with their specific usage patterns and budget.

4. Traffic Routing Options: Apigee provides advanced traffic routing options, including support for multi-region deployments and global load balancing, allowing API traffic to be routed to the nearest or least loaded backend servers. Google Cloud Endpoints, while leveraging the global infrastructure of Google Cloud Platform, does not offer the same level of advanced traffic routing capabilities as Apigee.

5. Developer Portal: Apigee includes a developer portal that allows API providers to create a customized and branded portal for developers to discover, learn, and consume APIs. This portal provides essential features such as API documentation, code samples, interactive playgrounds, and support forums. Google Cloud Endpoints, on the other hand, does not have a built-in developer portal and requires additional setup and configuration to offer similar functionality.

6. Integration with Other Google Services: As both Apigee and Google Cloud Endpoints are Google products, they naturally integrate well with other services provided by Google Cloud Platform. However, Apigee offers tighter integration and native support for additional Google services such as Cloud Logging, Cloud Monitoring, and Cloud IAM. Google Cloud Endpoints also integrates with these services, but the integration might require additional configuration and setup compared to Apigee.

In Summary, Apigee and Google Cloud Endpoints differ in their deployment infrastructure, flexibility, pricing model, traffic routing options, developer portal capabilities, and integration with other Google services. While Apigee offers more customization and advanced features, Google Cloud Endpoints provides a streamlined and serverless API management solution.