Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Koyeb vs HAProxy

Koyeb logo

Koyeb

Cloud

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

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
HAProxy logo

HAProxy

Cloud

High-performance TCP and HTTP load balancer

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only HAProxy 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; HAProxy configuration syntax is dense and unforgiving, with a steep initial learning curve
  • They diverge on capability: Koyeb covers Serverless containers, HAProxy covers High throughput.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Koyeb and HAProxy actually diverge.

Attributes where Koyeb and HAProxy differ
AttributeKoyebHAProxy
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, CLI, APILinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted

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 HAProxy

  • High throughput
  • Layer 4 and 7
  • Health checking
  • Rate limiting and ACLs

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 HAProxy
  • Building SaaS platforms with automatic scalingnot HAProxy
  • Running distributed AI agents and background workersnot HAProxy

HAProxy

  • Load balancing at traffic levels where proxy efficiency shows up in the hardware billnot Koyeb
  • Precise traffic control — rate limits, sticky sessions, complex routing rulesnot Koyeb
  • TCP load balancing for databases and non-HTTP servicesnot 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

HAProxy

  • Configuration syntax is dense and unforgiving, with a steep initial learning curve
  • No automatic certificate management, unlike newer servers that treat it as default behaviour
  • The built-in stats page is basic, so real observability needs exporters and dashboards
  • A dedicated load balancer is more machinery than small deployments need

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

HAProxy

Free
  • HAProxyFree
    • 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 HAProxy if

  • You need high throughput.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want layer 4 and 7.
HAProxy review

Questions people ask

Is Koyeb or HAProxy better?
Neither clearly leads. Koyeb starts at $29/month and HAProxy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Koyeb or HAProxy?
HAProxy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Koyeb and Free for HAProxy.
Does Koyeb or HAProxy run on more platforms?
Koyeb runs on Web, CLI, API. HAProxy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use HAProxy for free?
Yes. HAProxy 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 HAProxy is typically brought in for.
What can Koyeb do that HAProxy cannot?
Koyeb covers Serverless containers, GPU support, Global distribution, Multi-protocol support. HAProxy covers High throughput, Layer 4 and 7, Health checking, Rate limiting and ACLs.

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
HAProxy: Is HAProxy free?

Yes, the community version is open source. HAProxy Technologies sells HAProxy Enterprise separately.

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
HAProxy: HAProxy or Nginx?

HAProxy is a specialist load balancer with deeper balancing and health-check features. Nginx also serves static content and is more approachable, which is why it is more common as a general web server.

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
HAProxy: Does HAProxy handle TLS certificates automatically?

No. Certificate issuance and renewal are external, unlike Caddy where it is automatic.

Share

Related pages

More on Koyeb

More on HAProxy

Keep looking

Other head to heads