Calico Open Source
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About
Calico Open Source is ranked #3 of 22 in container networking software on Inferse. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.
Compared on container networking software
Facts
- Purpose
- Calico Open Source provides networking, network security, and observability across Kubernetes distributions.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Workloads
- It supports containers, virtual machines, and bare-metal workloads with a consistent security policy framework.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Network policy
- Its policy engine implements Kubernetes network policy features, including AdminNetworkPolicy and BaselineAdminNetworkPolicy.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Policy controls
- Calico network policies support policy tiers, deny and log actions, NetworkSets, and cluster-wide global policies.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Staged policies
- Staged Policies let teams evaluate policy behavior without enforcing it.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Data planes
- The product page lists eBPF, iptables, nftables, Windows, and VPP data plane options.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Observability
- Calico Open Source includes Whisker, a visual UI for viewing flow logs and analyzing network communication.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Ingress
- Calico Ingress Gateway is described as an upstream distribution of Envoy Gateway with traffic control, load balancing, and ingress policy enforcement.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Encryption
- It can automatically create and manage WireGuard tunnels between nodes to encrypt in-cluster Kubernetes pod traffic.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Scale
- Tigera says its development testing includes clusters with thousands of nodes and describes the product as suitable for deployments from 10 to 10,000 or more nodes.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Support
- The editions comparison describes Calico Open Source support and maintenance as community-driven.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Supported environments
- The product page describes multi-cloud, hybrid-cloud, and on-premises workload networking, security, and observability.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
- Intended users
- Tigera describes Calico Open Source as best suited to users seeking open-source networking, network security, and observability capabilities for Kubernetes.tigera.io · 28 Sept 2026
Company
- Founded
- 2016tigera.io · 23 Sept 2026
Best Calico Open Source alternatives
See all 12
8.7 OVN-Kubernetes See plans price on the maker's page
8.5 Antrea Free free plan, no paid price published Free plan
6.6 Submariner See plans price on the maker's page
6.4 Kube-OVN See plans price on the maker's page
6.3 Calico Enterprise See plans price on the maker's page
6.2 Flannel See plans price on the maker's page Where it ranks on Inferse
Sources
- tigera.io/tigera-products/calico/· checked 28 Sept 2026
- tigera.io/tigera-products/compare-products/· checked 28 Sept 2026
- tigera.io/project-calico/· checked 23 Sept 2026

