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APIs · head to head

3scale vs IBM QRadar

3scale logo

3scale

APIs

API management platform for designing, securing, and monetizing APIs

From
$300/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IBM QRadar logo

IBM QRadar

Cybersecurity

Enterprise SIEM licensed by events per second, whose cloud business IBM sold to Palo Alto Networks in 2024.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 3scale red Hat's managed 3scale services end on 30 June 2027, so anyone adopting the hosted option now is choosing a product with a published end date; IBM QRadar iBM sold the QRadar SaaS business to Palo Alto Networks in 2024 and those customers are being moved to Cortex XSIAM, so anyone buying today is choosing an on-premises product whose vendor has publicly moved the cloud future to a competitor, and the support horizon becomes a contract negotiation rather than an assumption.
  • They diverge on capability: 3scale covers API Gateway, IBM QRadar covers Offence model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 3scale and IBM QRadar actually diverge.

Attributes where 3scale and IBM QRadar differ
Attribute3scaleIBM QRadar
Starting price$300/monthlyOn request
PlatformsCloud, On-premises, HybridWeb, Api
CategoryAPIsCybersecurity
Founded19931911

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 3scale

  • API Gateway
  • Developer Portal
  • API Monetization
  • Red Hat OpenShift
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud support

Only in IBM QRadar

  • Offence model
  • Network flow analysis
  • Device Support Modules
  • Ariel query language
  • Rules and building blocks
  • Deployment topology
  • App Exchange
  • Use Case Manager

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

3scale

  • API gateway and lifecycle managementnot IBM QRadar
  • Rate limiting and traffic control across API consumersnot IBM QRadar
  • Developer portal and access key managementnot IBM QRadar
  • Monetising APIs with usage-based plansnot IBM QRadar
  • Hybrid deployment across on-premises and cloudnot IBM QRadar

IBM QRadar

  • A regulated enterprise that must keep log data on premises or in a specific jurisdiction and cannot use a shared SaaS SIEMnot 3scale
  • A SOC that wants log correlation and network flow analysis in one platform rather than buying an NDR product separatelynot 3scale
  • An existing QRadar estate deciding whether to stay on premises or accept the migration path to a different vendor's platformnot 3scale
  • Compliance-driven log retention and reporting where the audit requirement is specific about collection, retention and reportingnot 3scale

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

3scale

  • Red Hat's managed 3scale services end on 30 June 2027, so anyone adopting the hosted option now is choosing a product with a published end date
  • Sold as part of Red Hat middleware rather than standalone, and 3scale.net redirects into redhat.com
  • Pricing is not published and a subscription is required for some services

IBM QRadar

  • IBM sold the QRadar SaaS business to Palo Alto Networks in 2024 and those customers are being moved to Cortex XSIAM, so anyone buying today is choosing an on-premises product whose vendor has publicly moved the cloud future to a competitor, and the support horizon becomes a contract negotiation rather than an assumption.
  • Licensing is by events per second and flows per minute, so every additional log source raises the cost directly and teams routinely exclude verbose sources such as DNS, proxy, endpoint and cloud audit logs to stay under the licence, which strips out exactly the data an investigation later needs.
  • It needs a dedicated operator: rule tuning, parser work and offence triage are continuous jobs, and an organisation that deploys QRadar without at least one named engineer accumulates thousands of unreviewed offences and a false sense of coverage.
  • A log source without a matching Device Support Module arrives unparsed, and writing a custom parser with regular expressions against an unfamiliar payload format is specialist work that can take days per source, which quietly determines which systems ever get monitored.
  • On-premises capacity is planned across consoles, processors, collectors and data nodes, so outgrowing the sizing means procuring and racking more appliances rather than changing a subscription tier, and growth becomes a purchasing cycle measured in months.

Pricing, plan by plan

3scale

$300/monthly
  • Starter$300/monthly
    • API gateway
    • Developer portal
    • Basic analytics
  • Professional$750/monthly
    • Advanced features
    • API monetization
    • Enhanced support
  • Enterprise$undefined/monthly
    • Custom deployment
    • Dedicated support
    • Premium SLA

IBM QRadar

On request
  • QRadar SIEMFree
    • Event and flow processing
    • Offense management
    • Threat intelligence
  • QRadar CloudFree
    • Cloud-native deployment
    • Elastic scaling
    • Managed infrastructure
  • QRadar SuiteFree
    • SIEM + SOAR + XDR
    • Unified analyst experience
    • Federated search

Which should you pick?

Choose 3scale if

  • You need api gateway.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid.
  • You also want developer portal.
3scale review

Choose IBM QRadar if

  • You need offence model.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want network flow analysis.
IBM QRadar review

Questions people ask

Is 3scale or IBM QRadar better?
Neither clearly leads. 3scale starts at $300/monthly and IBM QRadar at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 3scale or IBM QRadar?
3scale starts at $300/monthly and IBM QRadar at On request.
Does 3scale or IBM QRadar run on more platforms?
3scale runs on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid. IBM QRadar runs on Web, Api.
What is 3scale best used for?
3scale is most often used for api gateway and lifecycle management, rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers, developer portal and access key management, monetising apis with usage-based plans. Of those, api gateway and lifecycle management and rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers are not what IBM QRadar is typically brought in for.
What can 3scale do that IBM QRadar cannot?
3scale covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, API Monetization, Red Hat OpenShift. IBM QRadar covers Offence model, Network flow analysis, Device Support Modules, Ariel query language.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

3scale: Does Red Hat 3scale require a subscription?

Yes. The page states a subscription may be required for some services, though specific subscription details and costs are not published on this page.

Source
IBM QRadar: Who owns QRadar now?

It is split. IBM sold the QRadar SaaS assets to Palo Alto Networks in a deal announced in May 2024 and closed that September, and those customers are being migrated to Cortex XSIAM. IBM retains and supports the on-premises product.

3scale: Is a trial available for 3scale?

A 'Start a trial' link is mentioned in navigation, but trial duration, included features, and limitations are not specified on this page.

Source
IBM QRadar: Is QRadar being discontinued?

IBM has committed to continuing support for on-premises customers, including security updates, while offering migration assistance. The cloud product's future belongs to Palo Alto. If you are signing a multi-year term, get the support horizon written into the contract.

3scale: When will Red Hat 3scale end support?

Red Hat 3scale API Management maintenance and managed services will end on June 30, 2027. Customers should plan migrations accordingly.

Source
IBM QRadar: How is it licensed?

By events per second for logs and flows per minute for network data, with the software or appliance sized to that rate. Add-on modules in the suite are licensed separately.

IBM QRadar: What is an offence?

QRadar's term for a correlated case. Rules group related events and flows against a common indicator such as a host or user, so an analyst reviews one offence rather than the hundreds of events behind it.

IBM QRadar: Do I need a full-time engineer?

In practice yes for anything beyond a small deployment. Parser development, rule tuning and offence triage do not stop, and the most common failure mode is a well-installed QRadar that nobody has tuned since go-live.

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