Softwr

Software · head to head

Envoy vs etcd

E

Envoy

Software

An open source edge and service proxy, designed for cloud-native and AI-native applications

From
Free
Rated
-
E

etcd

Software

A strongly consistent, distributed key-value store

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Envoy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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; etcd licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (etcd-io/etcd LICENSE); as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Envoy and etcd actually diverge.

Attributes where Envoy and etcd differ
AttributeEnvoyetcd
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Free tierYesNo

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.

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

etcd

  • Licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (etcd-io/etcd LICENSE); as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
  • Benchmarked at only thousands of writes per second per instance per etcd.io, a throughput ceiling that requires clustering or an alternative store for higher write volumes

Pricing, plan by plan

Envoy

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Envoy review.

etcd

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the etcd review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Envoy if

  • You want to start without paying.

Choose etcd if

Nothing in the data separates etcd from Envoy on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Questions people ask

Is Envoy or etcd better?
Neither clearly leads. Envoy starts at Free and etcd at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Envoy or etcd?
Envoy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Envoy and On request for etcd.
Does Envoy or etcd 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. etcd starts at On request.

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