Side by side
MetalLB vs OpenELB
Both stand on load balancing software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
MetalLB provides service IP allocation and announcement for Kubernetes clusters where cloud-provider load balancing is not being used. Check the cluster requirements and beta status before adopting it.
Visit MetalLB Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
OpenELB offers several ways to expose Kubernetes services, but each mode has prerequisites and tradeoffs. Check the IPv4-only support and the selected mode's routing and failover limits against your environment.
Visit OpenELBThe facts
| MetalLB | OpenELB | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Self-hosted | Linux, Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Not published |
| Plans published | 1 | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | metallb.io | openelb.io |
| On load balancing software | #4 of 32 | #8 of 32 |
MetalLB: what it does well
- Free and open source, with no paid plans listed.
- Supports ARP, NDP, and BGP announcement modes.
- BGP mode can distribute traffic across multiple nodes.
- Install options include manifests, Kustomize, and Helm.
- Layer 4 routing is supported.
What to know first
- Remains idle until configured with resources such as an IPAddressPool.
- Requires Kubernetes 1.13.0 or later and a compatible network.
- AWS, Azure, DigitalOcean, and Google Cloud are listed as unsupported.
- Project is beta and its configuration format may change incompatibly.
OpenELB: what it does well
- Supports BGP, Layer 2 and VIP modes.
- Provides IP pools for LoadBalancer services.
- Can be installed with kubectl manifests or Helm 3.
- Lists guides for Kubernetes, K3s and KubeSphere.
- Licensed under Apache License 2.0.
What to know first
- Currently supports IPv4 only.
- Requires Kubernetes 1.15 or later.
- BGP requires a router supporting BGP and ECMP.
- Layer 2 and VIP have one-node bandwidth limits.
Alternatives to MetalLB Alternatives to OpenELB The whole list