compare
Cilium vs Istio
The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.
| Fact | Cilium | Istio |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Go | Go |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Stars | 26k | 38k |
| Latest | v1.20.2 | 1.31.1 |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Release cadence | about 1 day between releases | about 1 day between releases |
| Active contributors | 96+ commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days | 71 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days |
| Flags | none | none |
How they relate
Cilium replaces Istio. Alternatives to Istio →
PartialeBPF networking with a sidecar-free mesh; fewer traffic management features than Istio.
Cilium
- v1.21.0-pre.32026-10-021.21.0-pre.3pre-release
- v1.19.82026-09-161.19.8
- v1.20.22026-09-161.20.2
- v1.18.142026-09-161.18.14
- v1.21.0-pre.22026-09-091.21.0-pre.2pre-release
Istio
- 1.32.0-alpha.02026-10-05Istio 1.32.0-alpha.0pre-release
- 1.30.52026-09-21Istio 1.30.5
- 1.29.82026-09-21Istio 1.29.8
- 1.31.12026-09-21Istio 1.31.1
- 1.31.02026-08-31Istio 1.31.0
Cilium
✓ signed The latest release, v1.20.2, carries a signature GitHub verified.
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Istio
unsigned The latest release, 1.31.1, carries no signature GitHub could verify.
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