DeepFlow vs Kubeshark
DeepFlow
deepflow.ioKubeshark
kubeshark.comSide by side
| Figure | DeepFlow | Kubeshark |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.40/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 6 |
| Spec score · eBPF Observability Tools | 8.1 (#8) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Deployment | The documentation provides Kubernetes and Docker Compose deployment methods for an all-in-one installation. | Kubeshark can be deployed with Helm in Kubernetes and supports self-hosted air-gapped operation on the Enterprise tier. |
Plans
DeepFlow
- Community EditionFree
- Cloud EditionPriced on request
- Enterprise EditionPriced on request
Kubeshark
- CommunityFree
- Enterprise$0.40 a month
- Micro$30 a month
- Pro$30 a month
- Dynamic$190 a month
- Small$360 a month
In their own words
DeepFlow
DeepFlow is an observability product for cloud infrastructure and cloud-native applications. It uses eBPF to collect application performance metrics, distributed traces, and continuous profiling data without intrusion. Its core capabilities include a universal service map, distributed tracing, and profiling. Built-in parsing covers HTTP, HTTPS, Dubbo, gRPC, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, Kafka, MQTT, and DNS. DeepFlow can serve as storage for Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, SkyWalking, and Pyroscope, and offers SQL, PromQL, and OTLP interfaces. AutoTagging links observability data with cloud and Kubernetes resources, tags, and CMDB business tags. The Community Edition is open source under Apache 2.0 and is listed at free. It supports Linux servers and selected Kubernetes, cloud, and container environments; deployment guidance covers Kubernetes and Docker Compose. Enterprise Edition adds encrypted agent-to-server transmission, multi-tenancy, and data permission isolation. The listed platforms include Android, API, Linux, self-hosted, web, and Windows.
Kubeshark
Kubeshark indexes Kubernetes cluster network traffic at the kernel level using eBPF and makes it searchable with Kubernetes, API, and network context. It can decrypt TLS and service-mesh mTLS traffic without keys, certificates, sidecars, or application changes. Users can capture retrospective traffic snapshots, filter them by time, nodes, workloads, and IPs, then export PCAP files. Its KFL query language combines Kubernetes identity, API context, and network attributes. Kubeshark also provides an identity-aware service map and performance indicators for pods, services, nodes, and namespaces. It supports more than 23 protocols, including HTTP, Kafka, Redis, PostgreSQL, gRPC, and DNS. Cluster network data can be exposed through MCP to AI assistants such as Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot. Deployment uses Helm in Kubernetes, and self-hosted air-gapped operation is listed for Enterprise. The free Community plan supports up to 3 nodes or 60 pods and requires internet connectivity. Paid plans start at $30/mo.