What is MetalLB?
Provides network load balancing functionality for bare metal Kubernetes deployments that lack built-in cloud provider integrations, addressing the limitation that standard Kubernetes load balancers only work with cloud platforms.
MetalLB pricing
We don't have MetalLB's full plan breakdown yet (its pricing page resisted automated reading). Here's what we could confirm. Always check live pricing for exact numbers.
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- On-premise
- Self-hosted
Security & compliance
Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality
MetalLB FAQ
Common questions about MetalLB, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is MetalLB?
Provides network load balancing functionality for bare metal Kubernetes deployments that lack built-in cloud provider integrations, addressing the limitation that standard Kubernetes load balancers only work with cloud platforms. It is indexed under Load Balancers.
Source: https://metallb.universe.tf
Is MetalLB free to use?
MetalLB is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
Source: https://metallb.universe.tf
Can MetalLB be self-hosted?
Yes. MetalLB can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
Source: https://metallb.universe.tf
Is MetalLB open source?
Yes. MetalLB is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.
MetalLB alternatives
Other load balancers we track, ranked by the same independent score.
- AWS Elastic Load BalancingAutomatically distribute application traffic across multiple computing resourceslow · 25%
- Envoy Proxylow · 27%
- Cloudflare Load BalancingCloud-agnostic traffic distribution with automatic multi-region failoverlow · 20%
- NGINXA lightweight, high-performance web server and reverse proxylow · 6%
- Google Cloud Load BalancingA managed service that distributes traffic across applications for optimal performance and reliabilitylow · 7%
- Kemp LoadMasterlow · 8%
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for MetalLB, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development activity | 34 | 0.09 | 3.2 | ✓ |
| Security score | 63 | 0.04 | 2.6 | ✓ |
| Dependent projects | 36 | 0.06 | 2.3 | ✓ |
| Stars | 74 | 0.03 | 1.9 | ✓ |
| Capabilities | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
| Integrations | 0 | 0.07 | 0.0 | - |
| Release cadence | 0 | 0.05 | 0.0 | - |
| Security posture | 0 | 0.12 | 0.0 | - |
| Package downloads | 0 | 0.14 | 0.0 | - |
| Developer Q&A activity | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Activity
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commits last 30d | 11 | mediumsource · 2026-10-13 · 65% |
Adoption
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 4 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 69% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Go | highsource · 2026-10-13 · 90% |
License
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Spdx | Apache-2.0 | highsource · 2026-10-13 · 95% |
Pricing
Release
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| History | 20 items | mediumsource · 2026-10-13 · 70% |
Security
Is MetalLB the right choice for you?
Tell us the job, the constraints and what you weigh most, and we will rank MetalLB against the rest of the load balancers we index, using the same dated evidence weighted your way.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Is this your product?
This profile was built from public sources without asking you. You can take the badge below and use it anywhere, and you can claim the profile to correct anything we got wrong. Both are free, and neither moves MetalLB up or down: nobody can buy rank here, including you.
Take the badge
Live, always current, and free to use on your own site. It shows MetalLB's independent score and links back to this profile.
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<img src="https://www.vioscale.ai/badge/software/metallb.svg" alt="MetalLB, verified on vioscaleAI" width="330" height="76" loading="lazy" />
</a>Markdown, for a README →
[](https://www.vioscale.ai/software/metallb)Claim the profile
Verify you control the domain, then point us at the pages that state the facts about MetalLB and add your own description and media. Free, and it does not change the score.
- Correct anything wrong, with evidence
- Point our crawler at the pages that matter
- Write your own description and add media
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