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Cloud · head to head

Cerebrium vs Cilium

Cerebrium logo

Cerebrium

Cloud

Serverless GPU infrastructure for real-time AI inference and applications

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: Cerebrium free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency; Cilium requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments
  • They diverge on capability: Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Cilium covers eBPF datapath.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cerebrium and Cilium actually diverge.

Attributes where Cerebrium and Cilium differ
AttributeCerebriumCilium
Pricing modelFreemium with monthly plans and per-second compute chargesOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsCloud, DockerKubernetes, Linux

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

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 Cerebrium

  • Ultra-fast cold starts
  • Elastic scaling
  • Bring your own code
  • Multi-region failover
  • WebSocket and streaming
  • Asynchronous jobs
  • CI/CD with gradual rollouts
  • OpenTelemetry integration

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.

Cerebrium

  • Deploying voice agents and conversational AI applicationsnot Cilium
  • Video and image model serving with low latencynot Cilium
  • LLM inference and completion endpointsnot Cilium
  • Real-time embeddings and vector database operationsnot Cilium
  • Distributed model training with hyperparameter sweepsnot Cilium

Cilium

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

Where each one falls short

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

Cerebrium

  • Free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard plan at $100/month required for production deployments
  • Per-second compute pricing requires continuous cost monitoring
  • Storage costs add up for large model files

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

Cerebrium

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 3 user seats
    • Up to 3 deployed apps
    • 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard$100/month
    • Unlimited seats and apps
    • 30 GPU concurrency
    • Custom domains
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Unlimited resources
    • Volume discounts
    • Dedicated support
  • GPU Compute$undefined/per-second
    • T4: $0.000164/s
    • H100: $0.00167/s

Cilium

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Cerebrium if

  • You need ultra-fast cold starts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Docker.
  • You also want elastic scaling.
Cerebrium 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 Cerebrium or Cilium better?
Neither clearly leads. Cerebrium 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, Cerebrium or Cilium?
Cerebrium starts at Free and Cilium at Free.
Does Cerebrium or Cilium run on more platforms?
Cerebrium runs on Cloud, Docker. Cilium runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Cerebrium for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cerebrium best used for?
Cerebrium is most often used for deploying voice agents and conversational ai applications, video and image model serving with low latency, llm inference and completion endpoints, real-time embeddings and vector database operations. Of those, deploying voice agents and conversational ai applications and video and image model serving with low latency are not what Cilium is typically brought in for.
What can Cerebrium do that Cilium cannot?
Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Elastic scaling, Bring your own code, Multi-region failover. Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Identity-based policy, Hubble observability, Sidecar-free mesh.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cerebrium: Is Cerebrium only for inference or can it train models?

Cerebrium supports both inference serving and model training with hyperparameter sweeps. It enables deployment of voice agents, LLMs, video models, and other AI applications.

Source
Cilium: Is Cilium free?

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

Cerebrium: How do the cold starts compare to other platforms?

Cerebrium achieves 2-4 second cold starts through memory and GPU snapshotting, significantly faster than traditional 30+ second cold boots. This is competitive with platforms like Beam Cloud.

Source
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.

Cerebrium: What compliance certifications does Cerebrium have?

Cerebrium maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance, HIPAA certification, GDPR compliance, and ISO certification. It provides gVisor container isolation and configurable data residency for regulated workloads.

Source
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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