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Cloud · head to head

Koyeb vs Cilium

Koyeb logo

Koyeb

Cloud

High-performance serverless infrastructure for APIs, inference, and databases

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cilium logo

Cilium

Cloud

eBPF-based networking, observability and security for Kubernetes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cilium has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Koyeb pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs; Cilium requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments
  • They diverge on capability: Koyeb covers Serverless containers, Cilium covers eBPF datapath.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Koyeb and Cilium actually diverge.

Attributes where Koyeb and Cilium differ
AttributeKoyebCilium
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, CLI, APIKubernetes, Linux

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Koyeb

  • Serverless containers
  • GPU support
  • Global distribution
  • Multi-protocol support
  • Serverless Postgres
  • Zero-downtime deployments

Only in Cilium

  • eBPF datapath
  • Identity-based policy
  • Hubble observability
  • Sidecar-free mesh

What people use each for

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

Koyeb

  • Deploying AI inference models globally with GPU accelerationnot Cilium
  • Building SaaS platforms with automatic scalingnot Cilium
  • Running distributed AI agents and background workersnot Cilium

Cilium

  • Kubernetes networking at a scale where iptables-based CNI performance degradesnot Koyeb
  • Network policy expressed on workload identity rather than fragile IP rulesnot Koyeb
  • Seeing which services actually talk to each other, and what policy is droppingnot Koyeb

Where each one falls short

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

Koyeb

  • Pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs
  • GPU compute is expensive at $0.75-$2.50 per hour
  • Limited customization for infrastructure configuration

Cilium

  • Requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments
  • eBPF is genuinely hard to debug when it misbehaves, and the skill is rare on most teams
  • Broad scope — CNI, policy, mesh, observability — means the learning curve covers several domains at once

Pricing, plan by plan

Koyeb

$29/month
  • Pro$29/month
    • $10 included compute
    • 10 users
    • 100 services
  • Scale$299/month
    • $100 included compute
    • 50 users
    • 1,000 services
  • Enterprise$1000/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom resources
    • SSO/RBAC

Cilium

Free
  • CiliumFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Koyeb if

  • You need serverless containers.
  • You work on Web, CLI, API.
  • You also want gpu support.
Koyeb review

Choose Cilium if

  • You need ebpf datapath.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want identity-based policy.
Cilium review

Questions people ask

Is Koyeb or Cilium better?
Neither clearly leads. Koyeb starts at $29/month and Cilium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Koyeb or Cilium?
Cilium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Koyeb and Free for Cilium.
Does Koyeb or Cilium run on more platforms?
Koyeb runs on Web, CLI, API. Cilium runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Cilium for free?
Yes. Cilium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Koyeb starts at $29/month.
What is Koyeb best used for?
Koyeb is most often used for deploying ai inference models globally with gpu acceleration, building saas platforms with automatic scaling, running distributed ai agents and background workers. Of those, deploying ai inference models globally with gpu acceleration and building saas platforms with automatic scaling are not what Cilium is typically brought in for.
What can Koyeb do that Cilium cannot?
Koyeb covers Serverless containers, GPU support, Global distribution, Multi-protocol support. Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Identity-based policy, Hubble observability, Sidecar-free mesh.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Koyeb: What are Koyeb's subscription plans?

Pro plan is $29/month with $10 included compute, Scale plan is $299/month with $100 included compute and 99.9% SLA, and Enterprise starts at $1,000/month with unlimited users and 99.99% SLA.

Source
Cilium: Is Cilium free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-graduated. Isovalent sells an enterprise distribution and support.

Koyeb: How much does GPU compute cost?

GPU pricing is per-second: RTX-A6000 costs $0.75/hour, A100 costs $1.60/hour, H100 costs $2.50/hour, and 8x H100 costs $20.00/hour.

Source
Cilium: What does eBPF change?

It lets Cilium run packet-processing programs inside the kernel instead of relying on iptables rule chains, which behave poorly as the number of services grows.

Koyeb: What database options are available?

Koyeb offers serverless Postgres starting at free (0.25 vCPU, 1GB RAM) up to 3XL at $1.28/hour with 8 vCPU and 32GB RAM. Storage costs $0.50/month per GB.

Source
Cilium: Does Cilium replace a service mesh?

It can cover much of what a mesh does without sidecars, though full mesh feature sets still favour Istio or Linkerd.

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