Envoy Proxy vs Traefik Proxy
Envoy Proxy
envoyproxy.io
Traefik Proxy
traefik.ioSide by side
| Figure | Envoy Proxy | Traefik Proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Reverse Proxy Software | 8.0 (#14) | 8.3 (#10) |
| Integrations | The documentation names Envoy Gateway and Istio as control planes compatible with Envoy's API. | The project identifies Docker, Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, Consul, Etcd, Rancher and Amazon ECS among its supported infrastructure integrations. |
| Observability | Envoy provides subsystem statistics, an administration interface for viewing statistics, and distributed tracing through third-party providers. | Proxy includes real-time logs, access logs, metrics and distributed tracing. |
| Purpose | Envoy is an open-source edge and service proxy designed for cloud-native and AI-native applications. | Traefik is an open-source reverse proxy and ingress controller for deploying services and APIs. |
| Security | Envoy supports TLS, JWT, role-based access control, and OAuth-related authentication and authorization features. | Traefik provides automatic HTTPS, Let’s Encrypt support, custom certificates, authentication, and Web Application Firewall support. |
| Traffic management | Features include routing, retries, circuit breaking, rate limiting, request shadowing, and outlier detection. | Features include Layer 4 and Layer 7 routing, mirroring, blue-green and canary deployments, stickiness, and active health checks. |
Plans
Traefik Proxy
- Traefik ProxyFree
- Traefik Proxy Open SourceFree
- Traefik Hub API GatewayPriced on request
- Traefik Hub API ManagementPriced on request
In their own words
Envoy Proxy
Envoy Proxy is a free, open-source proxy for edge traffic and service-to-service communication in cloud-native and AI-native applications. It runs as a self-contained process outside the application and can serve software written in different languages. Envoy handles HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, gRPC, and HTTP/3, with HTTP/3 documented as alpha. Traffic features include routing, retries, circuit breaking, rate limiting, request shadowing, and outlier detection. It exposes subsystem statistics, an administration interface, and distributed tracing through third-party providers. Security features include TLS, JWT, role-based access control, and OAuth-related authorization and authentication. Operators must configure protections such as watermarks, overload management, and circuit breakers for availability resilience. Installation options include Docker images for amd64 and arm64, macOS Homebrew, and static binaries. Its API is compatible with Envoy Gateway and Istio.
Traefik Proxy
Traefik Proxy is a free, open-source reverse proxy and ingress controller for deploying services and APIs. It discovers services and adjusts routing dynamically, supporting HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, TCP, UDP, WebSockets, and gRPC. Traffic controls include Layer 4 and Layer 7 routing, mirroring, blue-green and canary deployments, stickiness, and active health checks. Security options include automatic HTTPS, Let’s Encrypt, custom certificates, authentication, and Web Application Firewall support. Integrations span Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Swarm, Red Hat OpenShift, Rancher, Amazon ECS, Consul, and key-value stores. It supports deployment on environments including Kubernetes distributions, virtual machines, bare metal, Docker Swarm, and HashiCorp Nomad. Observability includes OpenTelemetry, a built-in dashboard, distributed tracing, and metrics integrations. WebAssembly plugins and a public plugin catalog provide extension options. Traefik Proxy is self-hosted and listed for Linux, macOS, and Windows. The plan is free; Traefik Labs also offers commercial support with expert assistance available 24/7/365.