Cilium vs Calico Enterprise

Cilium9.4Visit Calico Enterprise8.5Visit

Higher score Cilium #1 in Container Networking Software 9.4/10 Open source ✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Cilium

vs

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

• Cilium fits best

  Broad Kubernetes networking and observability

• Calico Enterprise fits best

  Enterprise Kubernetes security and networking

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Side by side

Feature	Cilium 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Calico Enterprise 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.5
Ranking	#1 in Container Networking Software	#6 in Container Networking Software
Best for	Broad Kubernetes networking and observability	Enterprise Kubernetes security and networking
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Open source	—
Free plan	Not checked yet	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Linux	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Docs
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Cilium 0/5 · Calico Enterprise 0/5
CNI plugin	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Network policies	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Egress control	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Multi-cluster networking	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Encryption in transit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Supported platforms	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	eBPF-based networking with Layer 3 through Layer 7 policies Hubble provides network and security observability Integrates with Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, Prometheus, and Grafana	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
Cons	Focused on Linux container platforms such as Kubernetes and Docker Its broad feature set spans networking, security, APIs, and observability Self-hosted and hybrid deployments require platform-level ownership	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
Our verdict	Cilium is open-source networking and security software for application services running on Linux container platforms, including Kubernetes and Docker. It is aimed at teams that need one layer for container networking, load balancing,… Read the review →	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 →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Cilium — where it wins

  • eBPF-based networking with Layer 3 through Layer 7 policies
  • Hubble provides network and security observability
  • Integrates with Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, Prometheus, and Grafana

  Where it doesn't

  • Focused on Linux container platforms such as Kubernetes and Docker
  • Its broad feature set spans networking, security, APIs, and observability
  • Self-hosted and hybrid deployments require platform-level ownership

• 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

• Cilium9.4/10 · Open source

  A broad open-source networking and observability layer for Kubernetes environments.

  Visit CiliumFull verdict →
• Calico Enterprise8.5/10 · Pricing on request

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

  Visit TigeraFull verdict →