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Head-to-head · Kubernetes Ingress Controllers

Traefik Proxy vs Envoy Gateway

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score Traefik Proxy #1 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit Traefik Proxy
Envoy Gateway #8 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Envoy Gateway

Traefik Proxy leads on 0 checks, Envoy Gateway on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreTraefik Proxy · 9.3/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresTraefik Proxy · 2 of 5

Traefik Proxy scores higher on our rubric for kubernetes ingress controllers: 9.3 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #8.

Traefik Proxy is the better fit for broad self-hosted routing and discovery. Envoy Gateway is the better fit for gateway API-first Kubernetes teams.

  • Traefik Proxy fits best

    Broad self-hosted routing and discovery

  • Envoy Gateway fits best

    Gateway API-first Kubernetes teams

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 Traefik Proxy 9.3/10 Visit ↗ Envoy Gateway 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.3 8.6
Ranking #1 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers #8 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers
Best for Broad self-hosted routing and discovery Gateway API-first Kubernetes teams
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 14 integrations 2 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Traefik Proxy 2/5 · Envoy Gateway 0/5
TLS automation Not checked yet Not checked yet
Canary routing Not checked yet Not checked yet
Rate limiting ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Web application firewall ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Auth policies Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Ingress API model Not checked yet Not checked yet
Deployment model Self-hosted Self-hosted
Our review
Pros
  • Free open-source plan with Kubernetes ingress and service auto-discovery
  • Layer 4 and Layer 7 routing across HTTP, TCP, UDP, gRPC, and WebSockets
  • Automatic HTTPS, rate limiting, tracing, metrics, and deployment controls
  • Routes HTTP, gRPC, TLS, TCP, and UDP traffic
  • Supports JWT, API key, Basic Auth, OIDC, and mutual TLS
  • Combines rate limiting, transformations, retries, and traffic splitting
Cons
  • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to operate it in their own environment
  • Its broad scope may exceed the needs of basic HTTP-only ingress
  • No AI features are included
  • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to manage the environment
  • Its documented ecosystem centers on Kubernetes Gateway API and Envoy Proxy
  • Configuration spans Gateway API resources and Envoy Gateway custom resources
Our verdict

Traefik Proxy is an open-source application proxy, reverse proxy, ingress controller, and load balancer for developers and DevOps teams running microservices or containerized infrastructure. It automatically discovers services and…

Read the review →

Envoy Gateway is an open-source API gateway and reverse-proxy control plane for managing Envoy Proxy in Kubernetes or standalone gateway environments. It is aimed at platform teams and engineers responsible for APIs, ingress traffic,…

Read the review →
  1. Traefik ProxyKubernetes Ingress Controllers 9.3Free plan
  2. Envoy GatewayKubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.6Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Traefik Proxy — where it wins

    • Free open-source plan with Kubernetes ingress and service auto-discovery
    • Layer 4 and Layer 7 routing across HTTP, TCP, UDP, gRPC, and WebSockets
    • Automatic HTTPS, rate limiting, tracing, metrics, and deployment controls

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to operate it in their own environment
    • Its broad scope may exceed the needs of basic HTTP-only ingress
    • No AI features are included

  • Envoy Gateway — where it wins

    • Routes HTTP, gRPC, TLS, TCP, and UDP traffic
    • Supports JWT, API key, Basic Auth, OIDC, and mutual TLS
    • Combines rate limiting, transformations, retries, and traffic splitting

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to manage the environment
    • Its documented ecosystem centers on Kubernetes Gateway API and Envoy Proxy
    • Configuration spans Gateway API resources and Envoy Gateway custom resources

More comparisons

All kubernetes ingress controllers comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update