OpenResty vs Envoy

Developers should learn and use OpenResty when building high-traffic web services, APIs, or microservices that require low-latency, real-time processing, such as in e-commerce, ad tech, or gaming backends meets developers should learn envoy when building or operating distributed systems, especially in kubernetes or service mesh environments, as it handles complex traffic routing, resilience patterns (like circuit breaking), and telemetry collection efficiently. Here's our take.

OpenResty

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use OpenResty when building high-traffic web services, APIs, or microservices that require low-latency, real-time processing, such as in e-commerce, ad tech, or gaming backends

Pros

• It is ideal for scenarios needing custom logic in the web server layer, like authentication, rate limiting, or A/B testing, as Lua scripting provides flexibility while maintaining Nginx's efficiency
• Related to: nginx, lua

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Envoy

Developers should learn Envoy when building or operating distributed systems, especially in Kubernetes or service mesh environments, as it handles complex traffic routing, resilience patterns (like circuit breaking), and telemetry collection efficiently

Pros

• It is essential for implementing service meshes like Istio, which rely on Envoy as the data plane to manage inter-service communication securely and reliably
• Related to: istio, kubernetes

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. OpenResty is a platform while Envoy is a tool. We picked OpenResty based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

OpenResty wins

Based on overall popularity. OpenResty is more widely used, but Envoy excels in its own space.