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Developer Tools · head to head

Envoy vs Veriff

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
Veriff logo

Veriff

Cybersecurity

Document and biometric identity verification with published per-check pricing

From
$0.8/verification
Free plan
No
Visit VeriffFull review

The short version

  • Envoy is free; Veriff starts at $0.8/mo.
  • Only Envoy lists xDS dynamic configuration; only Veriff lists document verification.
  • Where Veriff falls short: monthly minimums of $49 and $99 are low but real, so a product with seasonal signup patterns pays in quiet months.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Envoy and Veriff actually diverge.

Attributes where Envoy and Veriff differ
AttributeEnvoyVeriff
Starting priceFree$0.8/verification
Pricing modelOpen-sourcePer verification
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android, API
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 Veriff

  • Document verification
  • Biometric liveness
  • Hybrid review
  • Screening add-ons
  • Ongoing monitoring
  • Age estimation

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

Veriff

  • A crypto exchange that needs a published rate to model unit economics before committing to a KYC vendornot Envoy
  • A marketplace verifying sellers in dozens of countries where a single document library matters more than depth in one marketnot Envoy
  • A mobility platform running age and licence checks at signup with volumes too small for an enterprise contractnot Envoy
  • A regulated firm wanting automated decisions by default but human review on borderline cases, priced explicitlynot 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

Veriff

  • You pay per verification attempt, not per verified customer, so a confusing capture flow or poor lighting on mobile makes you pay two or three times for one onboarding
  • The headline $0.80 covers the document and selfie check only; adding PEP and sanctions screening at $0.64 nearly doubles the per-check cost, which is the number regulated buyers actually need
  • Monthly minimums of $49 and $99 are low but real, so a product with seasonal signup patterns pays in quiet months
  • Automated decision quality varies sharply by document type and issuing country, so a strong global average conceals weak performance in specific markets you may depend on
  • Standard data retention is short and extending it to two years is a $0.30 per verification add-on, which matters because most financial regulators require records for five years or more

Pricing, plan by plan

Envoy

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Envoy review.

Veriff

$0.8/verification
  • Essential$0.8/verification
    • Fully automated decisions
    • $49 per month minimum
    • Documents from 230+ countries
  • Plus$1.39/verification
    • Hybrid automation with human review
    • $99 per month minimum
    • Enhanced fraud prevention for regulated industries
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Volume pricing negotiated
    • Dedicated support and custom SLAs
    • Custom data retention and residency terms

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 Veriff if

  • You need document verification.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want biometric liveness.
Veriff review

Questions people ask

Is Envoy or Veriff better?
Neither clearly leads. Envoy starts at Free and Veriff at $0.8/verification, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Envoy or Veriff?
Envoy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Envoy and $0.8/verification for Veriff.
Does Envoy or Veriff run on more platforms?
Envoy runs on Web. Veriff runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Can I use Envoy for free?
Yes. Envoy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Veriff starts at $0.8/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 Veriff is typically brought in for.
What can Envoy do that Veriff cannot?
Envoy covers xDS dynamic configuration, Protocol breadth, Filter chain architecture, Observability by default. Veriff covers Document verification, Biometric liveness, Hybrid review, Screening add-ons.

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.

Veriff: What does a verification actually cost?

$0.80 on Essential or $1.39 on Plus, before add-ons. Sanctions and PEP screening adds $0.64 and ongoing monitoring $0.09 per verification.

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.

Veriff: Are failed attempts charged?

Sessions are charged, so retries by the same user generally cost you again. Ask for the exact billing definition of a session before signing.

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.

Veriff: How long is data retained?

The default retention period is short and two-year extended retention is a paid add-on at $0.30 per verification, which is worth checking against your regulatory record-keeping obligations.

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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