Software · head to head
Checkmk vs Envoy
E
Envoy
Software
An open source edge and service proxy, designed for cloud-native and AI-native applications
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Envoy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Checkmk pricing is metered per service (each individual metric or sensor monitored) rather than per host, so cost scales with monitoring depth, not just server count; Envoy licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (envoyproxy/envoy LICENSE); as a CNCF graduated project it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Checkmk and Envoy actually diverge.
Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Checkmk
- Pricing is metered per service (each individual metric or sensor monitored) rather than per host, so cost scales with monitoring depth, not just server count
- Pro edition starts at 190 euro per month billed annually, and Ultimate at 275 euro per month billed annually; prices are published in euros only
- The CloudAI SaaS edition is capped at 50,000 services even though self-hosted Pro and Ultimate scale to over 100,000 hosts
Envoy
- Licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (envoyproxy/envoy LICENSE); as a CNCF graduated project it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
- Envoy is a proxy that runs alongside each application instance, per envoyproxy.io, requiring a sidecar or edge deployment model rather than a single centralized install
Pricing, plan by plan
Checkmk
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Checkmk review.
Envoy
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Envoy review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Checkmk if
Nothing in the data separates Checkmk from Envoy on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is Checkmk or Envoy better?
- Neither clearly leads. Checkmk starts at On request and Envoy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Checkmk or Envoy?
- Envoy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Checkmk and Free for Envoy.
- Does Checkmk or Envoy run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Envoy for free?
- Yes. Envoy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Checkmk starts at On request.