Cloud · head to head
Cilium vs Jaeger
Cilium
Cloud
eBPF-based networking, observability and security for Kubernetes
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Cilium requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments; Jaeger tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps
- They diverge on capability: Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Jaeger covers Distributed trace search.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cilium and Jaeger actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Cilium
- eBPF datapath
- Identity-based policy
- Hubble observability
- Sidecar-free mesh
Only in Jaeger
- Distributed trace search
- Dependency graph
- Adaptive sampling
- Pluggable storage
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Cilium
- Kubernetes networking at a scale where iptables-based CNI performance degradesnot Jaeger
- Network policy expressed on workload identity rather than fragile IP rulesnot Jaeger
- Seeing which services actually talk to each other, and what policy is droppingnot Jaeger
Jaeger
- Finding which service in a request path causes the latencynot Cilium
- Understanding real service dependencies rather than the diagram on the wikinot Cilium
- Debugging failures that only appear under production traffic patternsnot Cilium
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Jaeger
- Tracing is only as good as the instrumentation, and partial instrumentation produces misleading gaps
- Storage is the real operational cost: high-volume tracing on Elasticsearch or Cassandra is a cluster to run and pay for
- Traces alone, without correlated metrics and logs, leave you switching between tools during an incident
Pricing, plan by plan
Cilium
Free- CiliumFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support
Jaeger
Free- JaegerFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support
Which should you pick?
Choose Cilium if
- You need ebpf datapath.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
- You also want identity-based policy.
Choose Jaeger if
- You need distributed trace search.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker.
- You also want dependency graph.
Questions people ask
- Is Cilium or Jaeger better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cilium starts at Free and Jaeger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cilium or Jaeger?
- Cilium starts at Free and Jaeger at Free.
- Does Cilium or Jaeger run on more platforms?
- Cilium runs on Kubernetes, Linux. Jaeger runs on Linux, Kubernetes, Docker.
- Can I use Cilium for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Cilium best used for?
- Cilium is most often used for kubernetes networking at a scale where iptables-based cni performance degrades, network policy expressed on workload identity rather than fragile ip rules, seeing which services actually talk to each other, and what policy is dropping. Of those, kubernetes networking at a scale where iptables-based cni performance degrades and network policy expressed on workload identity rather than fragile ip rules are not what Jaeger is typically brought in for.
- What can Cilium do that Jaeger cannot?
- Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Identity-based policy, Hubble observability, Sidecar-free mesh. Jaeger covers Distributed trace search, Dependency graph, Adaptive sampling, Pluggable storage.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Cilium: Is Cilium free?
Yes, open source and CNCF-graduated. Isovalent sells an enterprise distribution and support.
Jaeger: Is Jaeger free?
Yes, open source and CNCF-graduated. Costs are the storage backend you run.
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.
Jaeger: Do I use Jaeger or OpenTelemetry?
Both, usually. Instrument with OpenTelemetry and use Jaeger to store and query the traces.
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.
Jaeger: Does Jaeger handle metrics and logs?
No. It is a tracing system. Metrics and logs need Prometheus, Loki or an equivalent.
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