Calico Enterprise vs Amazon VPC CNI

Calico Enterprise8.5Visit AVAmazon VPC CNI8.2Visit

Higher score Calico Enterprise #6 in Container Networking Software 8.5/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Tigera

vs

AV Amazon VPC CNI #8 in Container Networking Software 8.2/10 Open source ✓ 3 of 5 features Visit Amazon VPC CNI

• Calico Enterprise fits best

  Enterprise Kubernetes security and networking

• Amazon VPC CNI fits best

  Amazon EKS and native AWS networking

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	Calico Enterprise 8.5/10 Visit ↗	AVAmazon VPC CNI 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.5	8.2
Ranking	#6 in Container Networking Software	#8 in Container Networking Software
Best for	Enterprise Kubernetes security and networking	Amazon EKS and native AWS networking
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	—	Open source
Free plan	—	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, Linux	Linux, Windows
Support	Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Calico Enterprise 0/5 · Amazon VPC CNI 3/5
CNI plugin	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Network policies	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Egress control	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Multi-cluster networking	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Encryption in transit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Supported platforms	Not checked yet	Kubernetes, Amazon EKS, Amazon EC2, Linux, Windows, IPv4, IPv6
Our review
Pros	Supports eBPF, iptables, nftables, VPP, and Windows data planes Combines gateways, policies, cluster mesh, and centralized management Adds IDS/IPS, WAF, DDoS protection, observability, and compliance reporting	Native VPC networking with ENI and Pod IP management Supports IPv4, IPv6, prefix delegation, and custom networking Adds Security Groups for Pods and Kubernetes NetworkPolicy support
Cons	Pricing is contact-sales rather than publicly listed There is no free plan or open-source edition Self-managed deployment requires in-house operational responsibility	Network policy support must be enabled before use Designed around AWS VPC, EC2, ENIs, and EKS Its scope centers on AWS-native Kubernetes networking
Our verdict	Calico Enterprise is Tigera’s self-managed platform for Kubernetes networking and security. It is aimed at organizations running Kubernetes across cloud, on-premises, or edge environments that need centralized policy control, network… Read the review →	Amazon VPC CNI is an open-source Kubernetes container networking plugin from Amazon Web Services. It assigns Pod IP addresses from an AWS VPC and connects Pods through Elastic Network Interfaces. The plugin is intended for Kubernetes… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Calico Enterprise — where it wins

  • Supports eBPF, iptables, nftables, VPP, and Windows data planes
  • Combines gateways, policies, cluster mesh, and centralized management
  • Adds IDS/IPS, WAF, DDoS protection, observability, and compliance reporting

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing is contact-sales rather than publicly listed
  • There is no free plan or open-source edition
  • Self-managed deployment requires in-house operational responsibility

• Amazon VPC CNI — where it wins

  • Native VPC networking with ENI and Pod IP management
  • Supports IPv4, IPv6, prefix delegation, and custom networking
  • Adds Security Groups for Pods and Kubernetes NetworkPolicy support

  Where it doesn't

  • Network policy support must be enabled before use
  • Designed around AWS VPC, EC2, ENIs, and EKS
  • Its scope centers on AWS-native Kubernetes networking

• Calico Enterprise8.5/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad Kubernetes networking and security suite for enterprises operating complex clusters.

  Visit TigeraFull verdict →
• AVAmazon VPC CNI8.2/10 · Open source

  A native AWS networking plugin for Kubernetes clusters running on Amazon infrastructure.

  Visit Amazon VPC CNIFull verdict →