Softwr

Networking · head to head

Catchpoint vs Cilium

Catchpoint logo

Catchpoint

Networking

Internet and digital experience monitoring, with a genuinely published entry price through its WebPageTest product line

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cilium logo

Cilium

Cloud

eBPF-based networking, observability and security for Kubernetes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Catchpoint its flagship enterprise Internet Performance Monitoring product reverts to custom Enterprise pricing beyond the Quick Start package, so full-scale deployment cost is not knowable from the public site; Cilium requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments
  • They diverge on capability: Catchpoint covers Global vantage point network, Cilium covers eBPF datapath.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Catchpoint and Cilium actually diverge.

Attributes where Catchpoint and Cilium differ
AttributeCatchpointCilium
Pricing modelFree tier plus published entry tiers, enterprise quote-onlyOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebKubernetes, Linux
CategoryNetworkingCloud

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Catchpoint

  • Global vantage point network
  • WebPageTest integration
  • BGP and DNS monitoring
  • Real user monitoring
  • Token-based points model

Only in Cilium

  • eBPF datapath
  • Identity-based policy
  • Hubble observability
  • Sidecar-free mesh

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Catchpoint

  • A web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of WebPageTest with longer retention and more locationsnot Cilium
  • An enterprise SRE or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, DNS and CDN performance at scalenot Cilium
  • An organisation wanting BGP-level visibility into internet routing issues affecting its servicesnot Cilium
  • A team wanting real user monitoring with session replay alongside synthetic testing from one vendornot Cilium

Cilium

  • Kubernetes networking at a scale where iptables-based CNI performance degradesnot Catchpoint
  • Network policy expressed on workload identity rather than fragile IP rulesnot Catchpoint
  • Seeing which services actually talk to each other, and what policy is droppingnot Catchpoint

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Catchpoint

  • Its flagship enterprise Internet Performance Monitoring product reverts to custom Enterprise pricing beyond the Quick Start package, so full-scale deployment cost is not knowable from the public site
  • The token-based points model, while flexible, requires understanding point consumption per test type to budget usage accurately, which is not always intuitive upfront
  • The IPM Quick Start Package carries a 12-month minimum commitment, so there is no genuinely short-term way to trial the enterprise product at scale
  • WebPageTest's published tiers are aimed at web performance testing specifically; the broader enterprise IPM feature set (BGP, DNS, CDN monitoring) is not available at those lower published prices
  • As with ThousandEyes, meaningful internet path visibility depends on a large distributed vantage point network that only the vendor controls, so coverage gaps in specific regions are not something a buyer can fix themselves
  • Session replay and RUM features are gated to the Expert tier and above, so lower tiers give synthetic testing only, without the real user data many teams actually want

Cilium

  • Requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments
  • eBPF is genuinely hard to debug when it misbehaves, and the skill is rare on most teams
  • Broad scope — CNI, policy, mesh, observability — means the learning curve covers several domains at once

Pricing, plan by plan

Catchpoint

Free
  • WebPageTest StarterFree
    • 150 monthly test runs
    • 60-day retention
    • 30 global locations
  • WebPageTest Professional$180/year
    • 1,000-20,000 monthly test runs
    • 13-month retention
    • 40 global locations
  • WebPageTest Expert$11988/year
    • Real user monitoring with session replay
    • Unlimited users with SSO
    • 3,000+ agents across 300+ cities
  • IPM Quick Start$10000/year
    • Single end-to-end journey monitoring
    • DNS, SSL, CDN and API monitoring

Cilium

Free
  • CiliumFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Catchpoint if

  • You need global vantage point network.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want webpagetest integration.
Catchpoint review

Choose Cilium if

  • You need ebpf datapath.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want identity-based policy.
Cilium review

Questions people ask

Is Catchpoint or Cilium better?
Neither clearly leads. Catchpoint starts at Free and Cilium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Catchpoint or Cilium?
Catchpoint starts at Free and Cilium at Free.
Does Catchpoint or Cilium run on more platforms?
Catchpoint runs on Web. Cilium runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Catchpoint for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Catchpoint best used for?
Catchpoint is most often used for a web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of webpagetest with longer retention and more locations, an enterprise sre or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, dns and cdn performance at scale, an organisation wanting bgp-level visibility into internet routing issues affecting its services, a team wanting real user monitoring with session replay alongside synthetic testing from one vendor. Of those, a web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of webpagetest with longer retention and more locations and an enterprise sre or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, dns and cdn performance at scale are not what Cilium is typically brought in for.
What can Catchpoint do that Cilium cannot?
Catchpoint covers Global vantage point network, WebPageTest integration, BGP and DNS monitoring, Real user monitoring. Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Identity-based policy, Hubble observability, Sidecar-free mesh.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Catchpoint: Is there a free tier?

Yes, WebPageTest Starter is free with 150 monthly test runs.

Cilium: Is Cilium free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-graduated. Isovalent sells an enterprise distribution and support.

Catchpoint: Is enterprise IPM pricing published?

Only the entry Quick Start Package at $10,000/year with a 12-month minimum; full Enterprise pricing is custom.

Cilium: What does eBPF change?

It lets Cilium run packet-processing programs inside the kernel instead of relying on iptables rule chains, which behave poorly as the number of services grows.

Catchpoint: Does Catchpoint own WebPageTest?

Yes, Catchpoint operates WebPageTest as a productised offering with its own tiered pricing.

Cilium: Does Cilium replace a service mesh?

It can cover much of what a mesh does without sidecars, though full mesh feature sets still favour Istio or Linkerd.

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