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APIs · head to head

Formance vs WSO2 API Manager

Formance logo

Formance

APIs

Open source double-entry ledger and payment orchestration for money-moving software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
WSO2 API Manager logo

WSO2 API Manager

APIs

Complete API management platform for designing and managing APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Formance formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.; WSO2 API Manager the free open source distribution does not include a subscription to the WSO2 Update service, so continuous improvements and security patches require a paid subscription
  • They diverge on capability: Formance covers Double-entry ledger, WSO2 API Manager covers API Gateway.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Formance and WSO2 API Manager actually diverge.

Attributes where Formance and WSO2 API Manager differ
AttributeFormanceWSO2 API Manager
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, APIJava, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes
FoundedUnknown2005

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

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 Formance

  • Double-entry ledger
  • Numscript transaction DSL
  • Multi-currency
  • Payments connectivity
  • Reconciliation
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Cloud offering
  • API and SDKs

Only in WSO2 API Manager

  • API Gateway
  • API Designer
  • Developer Portal
  • LDAP
  • Okta
  • Keycloak
  • Microservices
  • Java support

What people use each for

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

Formance

  • A marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditablenot WSO2 API Manager
  • A fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an auditnot WSO2 API Manager
  • A payments team that wants one normalised model across several PSPs so reconciliation is not written separately for eachnot WSO2 API Manager
  • A company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappearsnot WSO2 API Manager

WSO2 API Manager

  • Publishing, securing and rate limiting APIs behind a gatewaynot Formance
  • Running an API developer portal with subscription key managementnot Formance
  • Self hosting an open source API management layer on premisesnot Formance

Where each one falls short

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

Formance

  • Formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
  • Numscript is a domain-specific language your team must learn, and while it makes complex splits expressible it also means transaction logic sits outside the languages your engineers already debug well.
  • Self-hosting a ledger that must never lose or duplicate a transaction is a serious operational commitment covering backups, upgrades and Postgres tuning, which is real cost the zero licence fee hides.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published, so the difference between the free path and the supported path cannot be evaluated without a sales conversation.
  • The company is much smaller than the incumbent alternatives, and while the MIT licence protects the code it does not protect the roadmap, so features on the hosted side may arrive slowly or change direction.

WSO2 API Manager

  • The free open source distribution does not include a subscription to the WSO2 Update service, so continuous improvements and security patches require a paid subscription
  • A commercial production licence is not part of the free download and comes only with a subscription
  • No subscription price is published; Basic Support and Enterprise Support both require contacting sales for a quote
  • 24x7x365 coverage requires Enterprise Support; the general query SLA is one business day
  • A Customer Success Manager is a paid optional add on covering business hours only
  • Consulting services and WSO2 Private Cloud hosting are quoted separately

Pricing, plan by plan

Formance

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • MIT licensed core ledger
    • Numscript transaction DSL
    • Multi-currency tracking
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Managed or private deployment
    • Payments connectivity and reconciliation
    • Support with response commitments

WSO2 API Manager

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Core API management
    • Community support
  • Commercial$undefined/monthly
    • Enterprise features
    • Technical support
    • SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Formance if

  • You need double-entry ledger.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
  • You also want numscript transaction dsl.
Formance review

Choose WSO2 API Manager if

  • You need api gateway.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Java, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want api designer.
WSO2 API Manager review

Questions people ask

Is Formance or WSO2 API Manager better?
Neither clearly leads. Formance starts at Free and WSO2 API Manager at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Formance or WSO2 API Manager?
Formance starts at Free and WSO2 API Manager at Free.
Does Formance or WSO2 API Manager run on more platforms?
Formance runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API. WSO2 API Manager runs on Java, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Formance for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Formance best used for?
Formance is most often used for a marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditable, a fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an audit, a payments team that wants one normalised model across several psps so reconciliation is not written separately for each, a company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappears. Of those, a marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditable and a fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an audit are not what WSO2 API Manager is typically brought in for.
What can Formance do that WSO2 API Manager cannot?
Formance covers Double-entry ledger, Numscript transaction DSL, Multi-currency, Payments connectivity. WSO2 API Manager covers API Gateway, API Designer, Developer Portal, LDAP.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Formance: Is Formance really open source?

Yes. The core ledger is MIT licensed with full source access and no deployment restrictions.

WSO2 API Manager: How is WSO2 API Manager priced?

WSO2 API Manager pricing is not published on their website. As an enterprise API management platform, pricing is custom-quoted based on deployment model and organizational requirements.

Source
Formance: Does Formance move money?

No. It records and orchestrates movements; the actual payments happen at a PSP or bank you connect.

WSO2 API Manager: Does WSO2 API Manager offer different pricing for on-premises versus cloud deployments?

WSO2 API Manager supports multiple deployment options including on-premises and cloud, but pricing structures for different deployment models are not publicly disclosed.

Source
Formance: What does the enterprise version cost?

Not published. It is an annual subscription quoted per customer.

WSO2 API Manager: What deployment flexibility does WSO2 API Manager provide?

WSO2 API Manager enables flexible deployment on-premises or in cloud environments, but specific pricing tiers for each deployment model require contacting WSO2 sales.

Source
Formance: Do I have to use Numscript?

Yes for anything beyond the simplest transfers. It is how multi-party transactions are expressed atomically.

WSO2 API Manager: How would I request a WSO2 API Manager pricing quote?

Organizations can request pricing quotes by contacting WSO2 sales through their website. Custom quotes depend on API volume, deployment model, and feature requirements.

Source
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