Cilium vs OVN-Kubernetes

Cilium9.4Visit OKOVN-Kubernetes8.8Visit

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

vs

OK OVN-Kubernetes #4 in Container Networking Software 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit OVN-Kubernetes

• Cilium fits best

  Broad Kubernetes networking and observability

• OVN-Kubernetes fits best

  Feature-rich Linux and Windows clusters

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Side by side

Feature	Cilium 9.4/10 Visit ↗	OKOVN-Kubernetes 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.8
Ranking	#1 in Container Networking Software	#4 in Container Networking Software
Best for	Broad Kubernetes networking and observability	Feature-rich Linux and Windows clusters
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Open source	Free plan
Free plan	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Linux	Linux, Windows
Support	Community, Docs	Docs, Community
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Cilium 0/5 · OVN-Kubernetes 4/5
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	✓ (best)
Specs
Supported platforms	Not checked yet	Kubernetes, Linux, Windows, bare metal, VMware vSphere, IBM Power, IBM Z, and Red Hat OpenStack Platform
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	Free, open-source CNI with Kubernetes-conformant networking Policy, egress, multihoming, dual-stack, and IPsec support Supports hybrid Linux and Windows Kubernetes clusters
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	Focused on Kubernetes cluster networking rather than general-purpose networking OVN and Open vSwitch form a specialized networking foundation The broad feature set may exceed simple cluster requirements
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 →	OVN-Kubernetes is an open-source Kubernetes Container Network Interface plugin for cluster administrators managing pod and service traffic. Built on Open Virtual Network and Open vSwitch, it provides overlay networking, policy enforcement,… 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

• OVN-Kubernetes — where it wins

  • Free, open-source CNI with Kubernetes-conformant networking
  • Policy, egress, multihoming, dual-stack, and IPsec support
  • Supports hybrid Linux and Windows Kubernetes clusters

  Where it doesn't

  • Focused on Kubernetes cluster networking rather than general-purpose networking
  • OVN and Open vSwitch form a specialized networking foundation
  • The broad feature set may exceed simple cluster requirements

• Cilium9.4/10 · Open source

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

  Visit CiliumFull verdict →
• OKOVN-Kubernetes8.8/10 · Free plan

  A feature-rich, free CNI for Kubernetes clusters spanning Linux and Windows.

  Visit OVN-KubernetesFull verdict →