Softwr

Developer Tools · head to head

Envoy vs Zoho Projects

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
Zoho Projects logo

Zoho Projects

Project Management

Project management software for smart teams

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit Zoho ProjectsFull review

The short version

  • Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management software.
  • Envoy is free; Zoho Projects starts at $5/mo.
  • Only Envoy lists xDS dynamic configuration; only Zoho Projects lists gantt charts.
  • Where Zoho Projects falls short: the free plan allows 5 users, 3 projects and 5 GB of storage.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Envoy and Zoho Projects actually diverge.

Attributes where Envoy and Zoho Projects differ
AttributeEnvoyZoho Projects
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen-sourceFreemium
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsProject Management

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 Zoho Projects

  • Tasks
  • Gantt charts
  • Time tracking
  • Kanban
  • Blueprints
  • Zoho CRM
  • Slack
  • Microsoft Teams

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

Zoho Projects

  • Project planning, task tracking and time logging for teamsnot Envoy
  • Running projects alongside other Zoho business applicationsnot 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

Zoho Projects

  • The free plan allows 5 users, 3 projects and 5 GB of storage
  • Custom profiles, roles and fields require the Enterprise plan
  • Read only users are rationed by tier, at 10 on Enterprise and 100 on Ultimate
  • Ultimate allocates storage per user with a 150 GB organisation minimum, so small teams pay for capacity they cannot use
  • The pricing page does not display per user costs for any paid tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Envoy

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Envoy review.

Zoho Projects

On request
  • FreeFree
    • 3 users
    • 2 projects
    • Basic features
  • Premium$5/mo
    • 50 users
    • Unlimited projects
    • Advanced features

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 Zoho Projects if

  • You need tasks.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want gantt charts.
Zoho Projects review

Questions people ask

Is Envoy or Zoho Projects better?
Neither clearly leads. Envoy starts at Free and Zoho Projects at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Envoy or Zoho Projects?
Envoy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Envoy and On request for Zoho Projects.
Does Envoy or Zoho Projects run on more platforms?
Envoy runs on Web. Zoho Projects runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Envoy for free?
Yes. Envoy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zoho Projects starts at On request.
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 Zoho Projects is typically brought in for.
What can Envoy do that Zoho Projects cannot?
Envoy covers xDS dynamic configuration, Protocol breadth, Filter chain architecture, Observability by default. Zoho Projects covers Tasks, Gantt charts, Time tracking, Kanban.

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.

Zoho Projects: Do I need to provide a credit card to start?

No, Zoho Projects doesn't require credit card information during signup. You begin with the free plan and can upgrade whenever you choose.

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.

Zoho Projects: Are there long-term contracts required?

No, licenses are not contract-based. You may cancel your account at any time.

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.

Zoho Projects: What happens to my data if I downgrade?

Your data remains safe when downgrading. You simply lose access to higher-tier features. Data becomes accessible again if you upgrade later. Downgrading to the free plan limits you to two projects with restricted functionality.

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.

Zoho Projects: What security measures does Zoho use?

Zoho emphasizes 24/7 monitoring, biometric access controls, and the latest encryption and intrusion detection/prevention technologies.

Source
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.

Share

Related pages

More on Envoy

More on Zoho Projects

Keep looking

Other head to heads