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Developer Tools · head to head

Envoy vs Sumsub

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
Sumsub logo

Sumsub

Cybersecurity

Identity verification and AML screening priced per verification

From
$1.35/verification
Free plan
No
Visit SumsubFull review

The short version

  • Envoy is free; Sumsub starts at $1.35/mo.
  • Only Envoy lists xDS dynamic configuration; only Sumsub lists document verification.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Envoy and Sumsub actually diverge.

Attributes where Envoy and Sumsub differ
AttributeEnvoySumsub
Starting priceFree$1.35/verification
Pricing modelOpen-sourcePer verification
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

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 Sumsub

  • Document verification
  • AML screening
  • KYB verification
  • No-code flow builder
  • Transaction monitoring
  • Travel Rule
  • Fraud and duplicate detection

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 Sumsub
  • An edge or API gateway that needs per-route retry budgets, circuit breaking and outlier detection rather than round-robin proxyingnot Sumsub
  • Migrating traffic between service versions or between a monolith and its replacement, using weighted splits and shadow trafficnot Sumsub
  • 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 Sumsub

Sumsub

  • A crypto exchange needing KYC plus Travel Rule handling under one contractnot Envoy
  • A gambling operator entering several European markets and needing document coverage without a separate vendor per countrynot Envoy
  • A fintech that wants a published price it can model in a business case before speaking to a salespersonnot Envoy
  • A marketplace verifying both individual sellers and the companies behind them without buying two productsnot 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

Sumsub

  • The published per-verification rate is undercut by a monthly minimum of 149 or 299 dollars, so low volume businesses pay a much higher effective rate than the headline suggests
  • You are billed per verification attempt in most configurations, meaning applicant drop-off and resubmissions cost money without producing a customer
  • Pass rates and document support vary noticeably by country, and a market that works well in Europe can produce materially worse rejection rates in parts of Africa and South East Asia
  • The AML screening tier bundles list coverage that large institutions would normally buy separately and tune, giving less control over match thresholds than a dedicated screening vendor
  • The company originated in Russia before restructuring to a UK entity, and some financial institutions still raise that history in vendor risk review, which can slow or block procurement at conservative banks

Pricing, plan by plan

Envoy

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Envoy review.

Sumsub

$1.35/verification
  • Basic$1.35/verification
    • 149 USD minimum monthly spend
    • Document verification and liveness
    • No-code flow builder
  • Compliance$1.85/verification
    • 299 USD minimum monthly spend
    • Everything in Basic
    • AML sanctions and PEP screening
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Negotiated volume rate
    • Custom jurisdictions and languages
    • Dedicated support

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 Sumsub if

  • You need document verification.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want aml screening.
Sumsub review

Questions people ask

Is Envoy or Sumsub better?
Neither clearly leads. Envoy starts at Free and Sumsub at $1.35/verification, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Envoy or Sumsub?
Envoy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Envoy and $1.35/verification for Sumsub.
Does Envoy or Sumsub run on more platforms?
Envoy runs on Web. Sumsub runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Envoy for free?
Yes. Envoy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sumsub starts at $1.35/verification.
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 Sumsub is typically brought in for.
What can Envoy do that Sumsub cannot?
Envoy covers xDS dynamic configuration, Protocol breadth, Filter chain architecture, Observability by default. Sumsub covers Document verification, AML screening, KYB verification, No-code flow builder.

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.

Sumsub: What does a verification actually cost?

1.35 USD on Basic and 1.85 USD on Compliance, but with 149 and 299 USD monthly minimums respectively. Below roughly 110 or 160 checks a month you are paying the minimum, not the rate.

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.

Sumsub: Do failed verifications get charged?

Attempts are generally billable, so a poor onboarding funnel raises your bill. Confirm the exact resubmission policy in your contract.

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.

Sumsub: Does it cover business verification?

Yes, KYB with company registry lookups and beneficial owner resolution is part of the platform rather than a separate product.

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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