As Kubernetes adoption grows, so does the need for advanced networking and service mesh capabilities to manage increasingly complex environments. Among the myriad of tools available, Cilium and Istio stand out for their unique approaches to solving modern networking challenges. However, they are designed with different purposes in mind, and understanding these differences is crucial to selecting the right tool for your use case. In this post, we’ll explore the core features, use cases, and trade-offs of Cilium and Istio.