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Cloud · head to head

Koyeb vs Linkerd

Koyeb logo

Koyeb

Cloud

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

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Linkerd logo

Linkerd

Cloud

Lightweight service mesh for Kubernetes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Linkerd 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; Linkerd deliberately fewer features than Istio, so complex routing and multi-cluster policy can hit its limits
  • They diverge on capability: Koyeb covers Serverless containers, Linkerd covers Automatic mutual TLS.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Koyeb and Linkerd actually diverge.

Attributes where Koyeb and Linkerd differ
AttributeKoyebLinkerd
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 Linkerd

  • Automatic mutual TLS
  • Golden metrics
  • Rust micro-proxy
  • Traffic policy

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

Linkerd

  • Adding mutual TLS between services to satisfy a compliance requirementnot Koyeb
  • Getting per-service latency and success rates without instrumenting applicationsnot Koyeb
  • Progressive delivery with traffic splitting during rolloutsnot 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

Linkerd

  • Deliberately fewer features than Istio, so complex routing and multi-cluster policy can hit its limits
  • Kubernetes only, with no story for workloads outside a cluster
  • A sidecar per pod is still real memory and latency overhead, however small, and a mesh is another layer to debug during incidents

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

Linkerd

Free
  • LinkerdFree
    • 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 Linkerd if

  • You need automatic mutual tls.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want golden metrics.
Linkerd review

Questions people ask

Is Koyeb or Linkerd better?
Neither clearly leads. Koyeb starts at $29/month and Linkerd at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Koyeb or Linkerd?
Linkerd has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Koyeb and Free for Linkerd.
Does Koyeb or Linkerd run on more platforms?
Koyeb runs on Web, CLI, API. Linkerd runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Linkerd for free?
Yes. Linkerd 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 Linkerd is typically brought in for.
What can Koyeb do that Linkerd cannot?
Koyeb covers Serverless containers, GPU support, Global distribution, Multi-protocol support. Linkerd covers Automatic mutual TLS, Golden metrics, Rust micro-proxy, Traffic policy.

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
Linkerd: Is Linkerd free?

The open-source project is free. Buoyant, its maintainer, sells enterprise distributions and support 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
Linkerd: Linkerd or Istio?

Linkerd trades features for simplicity, with a smaller proxy and far less configuration. Istio is more capable and correspondingly more work to run.

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
Linkerd: Do I need a service mesh at all?

Only if you need mutual TLS, uniform retries or per-service traffic metrics across many services. For a handful of services it is usually more machinery than the problem justifies.

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