Side by side
Liqo vs Skupper
Both stand on container networking software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1
Choose Liqo if you need free, open-source tooling to peer Kubernetes clusters and share namespace resources or workload capacity across them. Look elsewhere if your environment cannot meet its Linux kernel requirement or depends on officially supported Kubernetes releases older than the latest three major versions.
Visit Liqo Free plan APILinuxMac+2
Choose Skupper when you want an open-source way to connect application services across sites over existing IP networks. Look elsewhere if your stateful workloads require Skupper itself to orchestrate failover in a specific redirection order.
Visit SkupperThe facts
| Liqo | Skupper | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Not published |
| Plans published | None | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | liqo.io | skupper.io |
| On container networking software | #12 of 28 | #16 of 28 |
Liqo: what it does well
- Free and open source under the Apache-2.0 license.
- Extends namespaces and replicates resources across clusters.
- Schedules workloads on remote clusters through virtual nodes.
- Connects pods with WireGuard VPN tunnels by default.
- Supports declarative peering and GitOps management with ArgoCD.
What to know first
- Requires Linux kernel 5.10 or later.
- Compatibility is guaranteed only for the latest three Kubernetes major releases.
- ServiceAccount tokens can propagate to remote clusters unless API-server support is disabled.
Skupper: what it does well
- Connects services across network boundaries without VPNs or special firewall rules.
- Uses mutual TLS and certificates unique to each router.
- Balances new TCP connections across workloads at distinct sites.
- Supports weighted distribution and priority-based routing strategies.
- Offers CLI and declarative YAML management.
What to know first
- Stateful applications needing ordered traffic redirection require separate orchestration.
- Cluster-scoped Kubernetes installation requires cluster-admin access.