What is Calico used for?

Calico provides networking, network security, and observability for Kubernetes environments across cloud, on-premises, or edge. It is a good fit for networking for Kubernetes distributions, network security with policies and DNS policies, and observability for Kubernetes environments.

Is Calico open source?

Yes. Calico is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at projectcalico/calico and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. Calico is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host Calico?

Yes. Calico can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Calico an alternative to?

Calico is an open-source alternative to Illumio. Other open-source alternatives to Illumio include Cilium, Tailscale and ZeroTier.

Is Calico actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Calico was on 14 October 2026, and the latest release is v3.33.0, published on 1 October 2026. The project has 7.4k stars on GitHub.

Calico: open-source alternative to Illumio

About Calico

Calico is a platform for networking, network security, and observability for any Kubernetes distribution in the cloud, on-premises, or at the edge. It offers open source, enterprise, and cloud editions to address networking, security, and observability needs.

Key features

Single platform for networking, network security, and observability for Kubernetes environments
Consistent networking and network security controls for any Kubernetes distribution
Scales to multi-cluster applications, VMs, and bare metal servers without additional software
Includes Calico Open Source, Calico Enterprise (self-managed), and Calico Cloud (fully-managed SaaS)
Calico Cloud Free Tier focuses on observability and policy management for a single cluster
Supports overlay and non-overlay networking, BGP routing, CNI choices, and IPAM modes

Good fit for

Networking for Kubernetes distributions
Network security with policies and DNS policies
Observability for Kubernetes environments

Built with: Go tools; Kubernetes tools
Tags: kubernetes; networking; network security; observability; container networking; cloud native

Calico: questions and answers

What is Calico used for?: Calico provides networking, network security, and observability for Kubernetes environments across cloud, on-premises, or edge. It is a good fit for networking for Kubernetes distributions, network security with policies and DNS policies, and observability for Kubernetes environments.
Is Calico open source?: Yes. Calico is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at projectcalico/calico and is written mainly in Go.
Is Calico free?: Yes. Calico is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host Calico?: Yes. Calico can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Calico an alternative to?: Calico is an open-source alternative to Illumio. Other open-source alternatives to Illumio include Cilium, Tailscale and ZeroTier.
Is Calico actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Calico was on 14 October 2026, and the latest release is v3.33.0, published on 1 October 2026. The project has 7.4k stars on GitHub.