BunkerWeb vs Istio
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
BunkerWeb
Next-gen Web Application Firewall (WAF) that will protect your web
VS
Istio
Full-featured service mesh for traffic and security control
| Feature | BunkerWeb | Istio |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,784 | ★ 38,338 |
| First released | 2026 | 2017 |
| Replaces | — | AWS App Mesh |
Why pick each one
Choose BunkerWeb if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 10.8k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is BunkerWeb or Istio better?
Neither is universally better. Istio has the larger community, while BunkerWeb is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BunkerWeb and Istio free and open-source?
Yes. BunkerWeb is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Istio under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BunkerWeb and Istio with Docker?
BunkerWeb: yes. Istio: check the project docs for container support.