Key differences between Apigee X, Apigee Hybrid, Apigee Edge Private Cloud, and Apigee Edge Cloud:

Below are the key differences based on deployment model, runtime location, and so many..

1. Deployment Model

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2. Runtime Location

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3. Management and Maintenance

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4. Integration with GCP

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5. Networking and Security

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6. Use Case Fit

Let’s explore the above with a simple real-life example.

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Imagine You Run an API Company

You need to manage and secure APIs for your mobile app, website, and partners. Depending on your needs and environment, you can pick from four versions of Apigee:

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1. Apigee X (Fully Cloud - Google manages everything)

• Example: You’re a startup or company already using Google Cloud.

• You don’t want to worry about installing or maintaining anything.

• You just want to deploy APIs and start using them with auto-scaling, security, logging etc.

• Google manages everything – infrastructure, updates, scaling.

Use Case:
You deploy your APIs on Google Cloud and everything just works.

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2. Apigee Hybrid (Mixed – You manage part, Google manages part)

• Example: You work in a bank or hospital where API traffic/data must stay inside your company (for security reasons).

• But you still want to use Google's powerful API management dashboard, analytics, and control plane.

• So:

  • Google manages the "control" (tools, dashboard, analytics, etc.).

  • You install and manage the runtime (gateway that handles API calls) on your own servers – either on-prem or in AWS/Azure.

Use Case:
You keep customer data in-house but use Google's tools to manage APIs.

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3. Apigee Edge Cloud (Old Cloud Model)

• Example: You want a cloud solution but don’t care which cloud.

• Apigee (not Google) manages everything for you.

• You don’t get tight integration with Google Cloud features.

Use Case:
Before Apigee X existed, this was used to manage APIs without hosting anything yourself.

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4. Apigee Edge Private Cloud (Fully On-Prem - You manage everything)

• Example: You are a government agency or defense company that doesn't trust cloud.

• You want to install and run all components on your own servers – control + runtime.

• You are responsible for installing, updating, scaling, security, and everything.

Use Case:
You want full control and zero cloud dependency.

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Summary Table:

I hope this blog will help you understand the difference between Apigee X, Apigee Hybrid, Apigee Edge Cloud, and Apigee Edge Private Cloud.