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Developer Tools · head to head

Envoy vs Snyk

Envoy logo

Envoy

Developer Tools

A high-performance L7 proxy written in C++ that is configured by an API rather than a config file, and is usually deployed under a control plane.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit EnvoyFull review
Snyk logo

Snyk

Cybersecurity

Developer-first security platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit SnykFull review

The short version

  • Snyk is a developer security platform.
  • Envoy is free; Snyk starts at $25/mo.
  • Only Envoy lists xDS dynamic configuration; only Snyk lists open source security.
  • Where Snyk falls short: free and Team plans count only contributing developers making commits within 90 days; public contributions do not count.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Envoy and Snyk actually diverge.

Attributes where Envoy and Snyk differ
AttributeEnvoySnyk
Pricing modelOpen-sourceFreemium
PlatformsWebWeb, API, IDE integrations
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: founded for Envoy.

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 Envoy

  • xDS dynamic configuration
  • Protocol breadth
  • Filter chain architecture
  • Observability by default
  • Outlier detection
  • Traffic shaping
  • mTLS termination and origination
  • Hot restart

Only in Snyk

  • Open source security
  • Code security (SAST)
  • Container security
  • IaC security
  • License compliance
  • Fix PRs
  • Priority scoring
  • Developer IDE integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Envoy

  • Acting as the data plane under a service mesh or Gateway API implementation, which is how the overwhelming majority of deployments use itnot Snyk
  • An edge or API gateway that needs per-route retry budgets, circuit breaking and outlier detection rather than round-robin proxyingnot Snyk
  • Migrating traffic between service versions or between a monolith and its replacement, using weighted splits and shadow trafficnot Snyk
  • Standardising observability across a polyglot estate, so that latency, error rates and tracing look the same regardless of the language a service is written innot Snyk

Snyk

  • Vulnerability scanningnot Envoy
  • Application securitynot Envoy
  • Infrastructure as Code securitynot Envoy
  • Container securitynot Envoy

Where each one falls short

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

Envoy

  • The configuration surface is very large and hand-written bootstrap YAML runs to hundreds of lines for routing that Nginx expresses in twenty, which is why nearly every production deployment sits under a control plane and inherits that control plane's constraints as well
  • xDS is the real API and it is not stable in the comfortable sense; the v2 API set was removed outright, resource types continue to be deprecated, and your control plane and Envoy binaries have to be upgraded roughly in step or the proxies stop accepting configuration
  • Extending it properly means writing a C++ filter and building and maintaining your own Envoy binary; the alternatives are Lua, which adds per-request overhead, and proxy-wasm, whose ABI has remained effectively experimental for years with a real performance cost
  • At sidecar density the per-proxy memory and CPU footprint is a measurable share of cluster capacity, since thousands of workloads each carry a full proxy, and this is precisely the cost that has pushed mesh projects towards node-level or ambient architectures
  • There is no single vendor selling support for Envoy itself; you get the community plus control-plane vendors such as Solo.io and Tetrate, so an Envoy-level production bug is your own engineers in a C++ codebase unless a support contract happens to cover it
  • Diagnosing why a request got a particular response involves reading config dumps, the stats endpoint and the RESPONSE_FLAGS codes in access logs rather than a readable error, which is a specific skill you must hire or spend months growing

Snyk

  • Free plan has strict test limits across all modules: Open Source (200), Code (100), Infrastructure as Code (300), Container (100) tests per month
  • Free and Team plans count only contributing developers making commits within 90 days; public contributions do not count
  • Enterprise plan requires custom pricing and sales contact

Pricing, plan by plan

Envoy

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Envoy review.

Snyk

Free
  • FreeFree
    • SCA scanning
    • SAST scanning
    • IaC and Container scanning
  • Team$25/mo
    • 1000 Code tests
    • 100 projects
    • Jira integration
  • Ignite$105/mo
    • Unlimited tests
    • Unlimited projects
    • Custom security rules
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Zero-day prevention
    • Unified AppSec control
    • Full SDLC automation

Which should you pick?

Choose Envoy if

  • You need xds dynamic configuration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want protocol breadth.
Envoy review

Choose Snyk if

  • You need open source security.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API, IDE integrations.
  • You also want code security (sast).
Snyk review

Questions people ask

Is Envoy or Snyk better?
Neither clearly leads. Envoy starts at Free and Snyk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Envoy or Snyk?
Envoy starts at Free and Snyk at Free.
Does Envoy or Snyk run on more platforms?
Envoy runs on Web. Snyk runs on Web, API, IDE integrations.
Can I use Envoy for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Envoy best used for?
Envoy is most often used for acting as the data plane under a service mesh or gateway api implementation, which is how the overwhelming majority of deployments use it, an edge or api gateway that needs per-route retry budgets, circuit breaking and outlier detection rather than round-robin proxying, migrating traffic between service versions or between a monolith and its replacement, using weighted splits and shadow traffic, standardising observability across a polyglot estate, so that latency, error rates and tracing look the same regardless of the language a service is written in. Of those, acting as the data plane under a service mesh or gateway api implementation, which is how the overwhelming majority of deployments use it and an edge or api gateway that needs per-route retry budgets, circuit breaking and outlier detection rather than round-robin proxying are not what Snyk is typically brought in for.
What can Envoy do that Snyk cannot?
Envoy covers xDS dynamic configuration, Protocol breadth, Filter chain architecture, Observability by default. Snyk covers Open source security, Code security (SAST), Container security, IaC security.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Envoy: Should I run Envoy on its own, or under a control plane?

Almost always under one. Directly authoring xDS or static bootstrap configuration is viable for a handful of routes and becomes unmanageable beyond that. Envoy Gateway, Istio, Contour, Gloo and Consul all exist to generate that configuration for you.

Snyk: How much does Snyk cost?

Snyk offers a free plan with limited tests, Team plan at $25/month per contributing developer, Ignite at $1260/year, and custom Enterprise pricing. Contributing developers are those who made commits to private repos within the last 90 days.

Source
Envoy: How does it compare with Nginx or HAProxy?

Envoy is dynamically configured over an API and instrumented far more heavily; Nginx and HAProxy are faster to configure and lighter for straightforward reverse proxying. If you never need to change routing without a reload, Envoy is more machinery than the problem requires.

Snyk: What does Snyk's Team plan include?

The Team plan at $25/month includes 1000 Code tests, up to 100 projects, Jira integration, next business day support, and all features from the free plan including SCA, SAST, IaC and Container scanning.

Source
Envoy: What does it cost?

Nothing to licence; it is Apache 2.0 and there is no paid edition. The cost is engineering time and, for most organisations, a commercial control plane or cloud service that packages it.

Snyk: Is there a free version of Snyk?

Yes, Snyk offers a free plan with full platform access including SCA, SAST, IaC and Container scanning. The free tier includes 200 Open Source tests, 100 Code tests, 300 IaC tests, 100 Container tests, and up to 5 projects.

Source
Envoy: Can I write extensions without C++?

You can write Lua filters or proxy-wasm modules in Rust, Go, C++ or AssemblyScript. Both carry per-request overhead compared with a native filter, and the Wasm path has been slower to stabilise than the project originally projected.

Envoy: Is it a CNCF project?

Yes, it is a graduated CNCF project licensed under Apache 2.0, which means the trademark and governance sit with the foundation rather than with Lyft or any vendor.

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