Should You Use Integral?
Get an idea of whether your needs fit what Integral can solve easily and in a much more robust manner by going through this page. We highly recommend you use this page as a reference for your public API needs.
When to use / not use Integral
Building an API has many requirements, and understanding them are helpful to see if Integral is the right solution for you to use. Generally, the most common Integral alternative is building the API in house - with all of the logic and security concerns fixated on the API developer. Other alternatives include using AWS API Gateway, Google Cloud’s API Gateway or Apigee, Kong API, or even younger companies like RapidAPI or Zuplo.
When to use Integral
We recommend using Integral when you have little time to spare developing an external API, but have immediate needs to get it out there. This can be but is not limited to:
Low Bandwidth: We like to say Integral can be setup in less than an hour, making us far more advantageous than many other API gateway alternatives
Rapid Development: Many times, APIs come out of a need from customers continuously asking for them. Integral is really helpful in getting a rich and useful feature set out of the box to accomplish this.
High Customizability: Integrating with your database, making error handling customizable, and even being able to customize how your keys look and which standard they comply with, Integral can make that happen.
When NOT to use Integral
Developing an external API comes down to personal preference, and while we try to account for as much developer opinion as possible and continue to build for everyone, sometimes specific solutions become necessary.
Extreme Performance: While Kong API may not have all the features or customizations you need, it makes up for it by prodiving basic, yet incredibly low latent API Gateway services. If most of your cloud infrastructure lives on one provider (AWS, GCP, Azure), then going with the native API Gateway for your Cloud provider could be incredibly useful.
API Discovery / Network Effects: RapidAPI has built one of the best API discovery platforms currently on the market. With over 1 trillion API calls a month, and developers only needing a single call to access all their APIs, it makes simple APIs powerful and monetizable (RapidAPI also makes billing very easy).
Built in Code Editor: Zuplo has a solution in which it already builds out this software for you as a Typescript app, and you just need to fill in the rest of your services. If you want to start on a brand new slate, and may be looking to do a one off project, this may be the cleanest and fastest solution to get your server and external API up and running!