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Head-to-head · Load Balancer Services

HAProxy Enterprise vs Envoy Proxy

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 2 checks side by side
Higher score HAProxy Enterprise #5 in Load Balancer Services 8.7/10 Pricing on request ✓ 1 of 3 features Visit HAProxy
Envoy Proxy #7 in Load Balancer Services 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 3 features Visit Envoy

HAProxy Enterprise leads on 0 checks, Envoy Proxy on 1, and 1 is even. Who comes out ahead on the 2 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreHAProxy Enterprise · 8.7/10
  • Free planonly Envoy Proxy

HAProxy Enterprise scores higher on our rubric for load balancer services: 8.7 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #7.

Envoy Proxy offers free plan; HAProxy Enterprise doesn't.

HAProxy Enterprise is the better fit for enterprises needing self-hosted L4/L7 control. Envoy Proxy is the better fit for engineers needing powerful open-source proxying.

  • HAProxy Enterprise fits best

    Enterprises needing self-hosted L4/L7 control

  • Envoy Proxy fits best

    Engineers needing powerful open-source proxying

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 HAProxy Enterprise 8.7/10 Visit ↗ Envoy Proxy 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.7 8.5
Ranking #5 in Load Balancer Services #7 in Load Balancer Services
Best for Enterprises needing self-hosted L4/L7 control Engineers needing powerful open-source proxying
Pricing model Paid Free
Starting price Pricing on request Free plan
Free plan — ✓ (best)
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Self-hosted
Platforms Linux Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Email, Phone, Tickets · 24/7 Community, Docs
Built for Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features HAProxy Enterprise 1/3 · Envoy Proxy 1/3
TLS termination ✓ ✓
Sticky sessions Not checked yet Not checked yet
DNS traffic steering Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Balancing layers Not checked yet Not checked yet
Global regions Not checked yet Not checked yet
Backend target limit Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Supports TCP, UDP, HTTP-family, TLS, and global server load balancing
  • Combines Kubernetes routing, WAF, bot management, and health checks
  • Provides APIs plus centralized operations through HAProxy Fusion
  • Broad HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, gRPC and WebSocket support
  • Advanced load balancing with retries, circuit breaking and health detection
  • Static or dynamic xDS configuration with built-in observability
Cons
  • Pricing requires contacting sales and there is no free plan
  • It is self-hosted rather than a managed load balancing service
  • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simpler deployments
  • Self-managed deployment puts operations and maintenance on your team
  • No vendor-hosted SaaS model or paid service tiers
  • Cache documentation notes the cache filter is work-in-progress in some versions
Our verdict

HAProxy Enterprise is a self-hosted software load balancer for organizations running high-traffic applications, APIs, databases, message queues, and IoT services. It distributes TCP, UDP, and HTTP-family traffic across healthy server…

Read the review →

Envoy Proxy is open-source Layer 7 proxy software for modern service-oriented architectures. It can run as an edge proxy, service-mesh data plane or sidecar alongside application servers. Engineers can use it for HTTP routing and…

Read the review →
  1. HAProxy EnterpriseLoad Balancer Services 8.7Pricing on request
  2. Envoy ProxyLoad Balancer Services 8.5Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • HAProxy Enterprise — where it wins

    • Supports TCP, UDP, HTTP-family, TLS, and global server load balancing
    • Combines Kubernetes routing, WAF, bot management, and health checks
    • Provides APIs plus centralized operations through HAProxy Fusion

    Where it doesn't

    • Pricing requires contacting sales and there is no free plan
    • It is self-hosted rather than a managed load balancing service
    • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simpler deployments

  • Envoy Proxy — where it wins

    • Broad HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, gRPC and WebSocket support
    • Advanced load balancing with retries, circuit breaking and health detection
    • Static or dynamic xDS configuration with built-in observability

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-managed deployment puts operations and maintenance on your team
    • No vendor-hosted SaaS model or paid service tiers
    • Cache documentation notes the cache filter is work-in-progress in some versions
  • HAProxy Enterprise8.7/10 · Pricing on request

    A broad self-hosted load balancer for enterprises that need L4/L7 and global traffic control.

    Visit HAProxyFull verdict →
  • Envoy Proxy8.5/10 · Free plan

    A capable self-hosted Layer 7 proxy for teams that want control over traffic management.

    Visit EnvoyFull verdict →

More comparisons

All load balancer services comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update