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Comparison · Infra & APIs

CrowdSec vs Gloo Gateway

A side-by-side editorial comparison of CrowdSec and Gloo Gateway — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

CrowdSec vs Gloo Gateway: at a glance

FeatureCrowdSecGloo Gateway
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themeswaf, bot-detection, security, fingerprintingapi-gateway, maintenance, kubernetes, envoy
Last editorial update6h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is CrowdSec?

CrowdSec's 1.8.2 candidates let operators write their own bot fingerprints.

The bot detection introduced with 1.8 is now being opened to customization. The 1.8.2 candidates add custom JavaScript fingerprinting, a cscli bot subcommand and a FlagSubmission helper, and rc2 adds a RateLimit helper for the WAF plus a cookie option for embedded contexts. Operational work runs alongside it: a cs_features metric, optional limits on concurrent decision streams and TLS certificate reloads.

Read the full CrowdSec trajectory →

What is Gloo Gateway?

Gloo Gateway's October batch fixes proxies that silently kept stale endpoints.

Gloo Gateway still maintains 1.19, 1.20 and 1.21 in parallel and releases them in same-day batches. The 2026-10-21 batch fixes a bug where a placeholder EDS assignment carried the wrong cluster name, so a proxy received an update it could not match, kept its old endpoints and never recovered. Each line also moved to Go 1.26.10; 1.21 additionally upgraded kin-openapi.

Read the full Gloo Gateway trajectory →

CrowdSec vs Gloo Gateway: editorial side-by-side

C
CrowdSec
INFRA · APIS
5.0

CrowdSec's 1.8.2 candidates let operators write their own bot fingerprints.

◆ Current state

The bot detection introduced with 1.8 is now being opened to customization. The 1.8.2 candidates add custom JavaScript fingerprinting, a cscli bot subcommand and a FlagSubmission helper, and rc2 adds a RateLimit helper for the WAF plus a cookie option for embedded contexts. Operational work runs alongside it: a cs_features metric, optional limits on concurrent decision streams and TLS certificate reloads.

◆ Where it's heading

The WAF remains the center of gravity, and the direction is programmability. RateLimit, SkipProcessing and the fingerprinting hooks give rule authors primitives rather than fixed behavior. The LAPI changes point at larger deployments, where decision streaming puts load on the central API.

◆ Prediction

The final 1.8.2 is dated 26 October on GitHub, though it has not reached this feed yet. Whether fingerprint data ever joins the community blocklist remains unanswered in these notes.

G
Gloo Gateway
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Gloo Gateway's October batch fixes proxies that silently kept stale endpoints.

◆ Current state

Gloo Gateway still maintains 1.19, 1.20 and 1.21 in parallel and releases them in same-day batches. The 2026-10-21 batch fixes a bug where a placeholder EDS assignment carried the wrong cluster name, so a proxy received an update it could not match, kept its old endpoints and never recovered. Each line also moved to Go 1.26.10; 1.21 additionally upgraded kin-openapi.

◆ Where it's heading

Releases remain maintenance: Go and Kubernetes bumps on a weekly rhythm, with an occasional real bug fix shipped to every line at once. The 1.18 line no longer appears in the October batches. No new features are visible.

◆ Prediction

Expect further same-day dependency batches across the three lines; the entries show no feature release coming.

Alternatives to CrowdSec and Gloo Gateway

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either CrowdSec or Gloo Gateway.

See all CrowdSec alternatives → · See all Gloo Gateway alternatives →

Recent activity from CrowdSec and Gloo Gateway

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 11d agoCrowdSec1.8.2 rc2 adds a WAF RateLimit helper and decision stream limits
  2. 11d agoGloo GatewayFix for proxies stuck on stale endpoints; Go 1.26.10
  3. 11d agoGloo Gateway1.20 backport of the stale-endpoint fix; Go 1.26.10
  4. 11d agoGloo Gateway1.19 backport of the stale-endpoint fix; Go 1.26.10
  5. 17d agoGloo Gateway1.20.27 bumps Go to 1.26.9
  6. 17d agoGloo Gateway1.21.18 bumps Go to 1.26.9
  7. 17d agoGloo Gateway1.19.25 bumps Go to 1.26.9
  8. 19d agoCrowdSec1.8.2 rc1 adds custom JS fingerprinting for bot detection
  9. 2mo agoCrowdSec1.8 rc2 tunes the bot-detection challenge, hardens acquisition
  10. 3mo agoCrowdSecCrowdSec 1.8 RC adds WAF bot detection and a Kubernetes datasource ⚡
  11. 6mo agoCrowdSec1.7.8 RC: OpenAPI schema validation in the WAF
  12. 7mo agoCrowdSec1.7.7 RC: flexible WAF rule conditions and RE2 by default

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between CrowdSec and Gloo Gateway?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. CrowdSec and Gloo Gateway are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is CrowdSec better than Gloo Gateway?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. CrowdSec and Gloo Gateway are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to CrowdSec?

Top CrowdSec alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "CrowdSec alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/crowdsec for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Gloo Gateway?

Top Gloo Gateway alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Gloo Gateway alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gloo for the full list with editorial commentary on each.