Is Cilium or Wiz better?

Neither clearly leads. Cilium starts at Free and Wiz at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Cilium or Wiz?

Cilium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cilium and On request for Wiz.

Does Cilium or Wiz run on more platforms?

Cilium runs on Kubernetes, Linux. Wiz runs on web, api.

Can I use Cilium for free?

Yes. Cilium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Wiz starts at On request.

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 Wiz is typically brought in for.

What can Cilium do that Wiz cannot?

Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Identity-based policy, Hubble observability, Sidecar-free mesh. Wiz covers Cloud security posture management, Code security (Wiz Code), Runtime threat detection (Wiz Defend), AI security agents.

Cloud · head to head

Cilium vs Wiz

Cilium

Cloud

eBPF-based networking, observability and security for Kubernetes

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Wiz

Cloud

Cloud and AI security platform unifying code, cloud, and runtime protection.

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Cilium has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Cilium requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments; Wiz no public pricing; licensing requires a custom quote based on workloads and sensors.
They diverge on capability: Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Wiz covers Cloud security posture management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cilium and Wiz actually diverge.

Attributes where Cilium and Wiz differ
Attribute	Cilium	Wiz
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	quote
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Kubernetes, Linux	web, api

Identical on both: 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 Wiz

Cloud security posture management
Code security (Wiz Code)
Runtime threat detection (Wiz Defend)
AI security agents
AI workload protection
Attack path analysis

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 Wiz
Network policy expressed on workload identity rather than fragile IP rulesnot Wiz
Seeing which services actually talk to each other, and what policy is droppingnot Wiz

Wiz

Identifying cloud misconfigurations across multi-cloud environmentsnot Cilium
Securing code from IDE through CI/CD deploymentnot Cilium
Detecting and responding to active threats at runtimenot Cilium
Governing AI workloads and models in the cloudnot Cilium
Prioritizing risk with cross-environment attack path analysisnot 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

Wiz

No public pricing; licensing requires a custom quote based on workloads and sensors.
Modular licensing across Cloud, Code, Defend, and Sensor products can complicate cost planning.
Full runtime protection value depends on deploying Wiz Sensor agents, adding operational overhead.
Primarily aimed at mid-to-large enterprises despite the smaller Wiz Go bundle.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cilium

Free

CiliumFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support

Wiz

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Wiz review.

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.

Cilium review

Choose Wiz if

You need cloud security posture management.
You work on web, api.
You also want code security (wiz code).

Wiz review

Questions people ask

Is Cilium or Wiz better?: Neither clearly leads. Cilium starts at Free and Wiz at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cilium or Wiz?: Cilium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cilium and On request for Wiz.
Does Cilium or Wiz run on more platforms?: Cilium runs on Kubernetes, Linux. Wiz runs on web, api.
Can I use Cilium for free?: Yes. Cilium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Wiz starts at On request.
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 Wiz is typically brought in for.
What can Cilium do that Wiz cannot?: Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Identity-based policy, Hubble observability, Sidecar-free mesh. Wiz covers Cloud security posture management, Code security (Wiz Code), Runtime threat detection (Wiz Defend), AI security agents.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cilium: Is Cilium free?

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

Wiz: How much does Wiz cost?

Wiz does not publish standard pricing. The platform uses modular licensing based on workloads, active developers, log ingestion, or sensors. All pricing requires requesting a custom quote directly from the company.

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.

Wiz: Does Wiz offer a free trial?

No free trial information is mentioned on Wiz's pricing page. Pricing is determined by custom quote based on organizational needs.

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.

Wiz: What products does Wiz offer?

Wiz provides five modular licensing options: Wiz Cloud, Wiz Code, Wiz Defend, Wiz Sensor, and Wiz Go Bundle for SMBs, allowing organizations to scale based on specific security requirements.

Source

Cilium vs Wiz

Cilium

Wiz

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Cilium

Only in Wiz

What people use each for

Cilium

Wiz

Where each one falls short

Cilium

Wiz

Pricing, plan by plan

Cilium

Wiz

Which should you pick?

Choose Cilium if

Choose Wiz if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Cilium

More on Wiz

Keep looking

Other head to heads