---
title: "Service mesh platforms: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the service meshes used to connect workloads. Share of Search among Istio, Cilium, Linkerd, HashiCorp Consul and Kuma, the service mesh platforms Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/service-mesh-platforms"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Service mesh platforms: Which are searched most?

Compare the service meshes used to connect workloads. Share of Search among Istio, Cilium, Linkerd, HashiCorp Consul and Kuma, the service mesh platforms Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Service mesh platforms
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Istio, 46.6%

## Which brand is most popular in search among service mesh platforms worldwide?

- In August 2026, Istio was the most searched among service mesh platforms worldwide, with an estimated 22.2K branded searches and 46.6% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- Cilium is in 2nd place, 8.6 percentage points behind at 38% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Istio’s estimated Share of Search among service mesh platforms worldwide peaked at 50.5% in March 2026 and was lowest at 41.6% in May 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Cilium’s estimated Share of Search among service mesh platforms worldwide peaked at 41.6% in May 2026 and was lowest at 33.5% in November 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Linkerd’s estimated Share of Search among service mesh platforms worldwide peaked at 11.1% in June 2026 and was lowest at 9.2% in July 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, HashiCorp Consul’s estimated Share of Search among service mesh platforms worldwide peaked at 6.7% in May 2026 and was lowest at 5.5% in March 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Istio, Cilium, Linkerd, HashiCorp Consul and Kuma held steady: their estimated Share of Search among service mesh platforms worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Istio vs Cilium: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/cilium-vs-istio): 46.6% against 38% Share of Search.
- [Istio vs Linkerd: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/istio-vs-linkerd): 46.6% against 9.2% Share of Search.
- [Istio vs HashiCorp Consul: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/hashicorp-consul-vs-istio): 46.6% against 6.1% Share of Search.
- [Cilium vs Linkerd: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/cilium-vs-linkerd): 38% against 9.2% Share of Search.
- [Cilium vs HashiCorp Consul: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/cilium-vs-hashicorp-consul): 38% against 6.1% Share of Search.
- [Linkerd vs HashiCorp Consul: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/hashicorp-consul-vs-linkerd): 9.2% against 6.1% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for service mesh platforms worldwide in August 2026?

- Estimated monthly branded searches for HashiCorp Consul worldwide fell 34.1% over 11 measured months, from 4.4K to 2.9K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Linkerd worldwide fell 33.3% over 11 measured months, from 6.6K to 4.4K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Cilium worldwide fell 33.2% over 11 measured months, from 27.1K to 18.1K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Istio worldwide fell 32.9% over 11 measured months, from 33.1K to 22.2K in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Istio | 46.6% | 22.2K | 0.0% | Istio |
| 2 | Cilium | 38% | 18.1K | 0.0% | Cilium |
| 3 | Linkerd | 9.2% | 4.4K | 0.0% | Linkerd |
| 4 | HashiCorp Consul | 6.1% | 2.9K | 0.0% | HashiCorp Consul |
| — | Kuma | — | — | — | Kuma |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Istio | 33.1K | 46.5% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Cilium | 27.1K | 38.1% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Linkerd | 6.6K | 9.3% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | HashiCorp Consul | 4.4K | 6.2% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Nov 2025 | Istio | 33.1K | 49.9% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Cilium | 22.2K | 33.5% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Linkerd | 6.6K | 10% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | HashiCorp Consul | 4.4K | 6.6% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Dec 2025 | Istio | 27.1K | 46.5% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Cilium | 22.2K | 38.1% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Linkerd | 5.4K | 9.3% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | HashiCorp Consul | 3.6K | 6.2% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Jan 2026 | Istio | 27.1K | 45.5% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Cilium | 22.2K | 37.3% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Linkerd | 6.6K | 11.1% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | 3.6K | 6.1% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Feb 2026 | Istio | 27.1K | 46.5% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Cilium | 22.2K | 38.1% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Linkerd | 5.4K | 9.3% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | 3.6K | 6.2% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Mar 2026 | Istio | 33.1K | 50.5% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Cilium | 22.2K | 33.9% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Linkerd | 6.6K | 10.1% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | 3.6K | 5.5% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Apr 2026 | Istio | 27.1K | 46.5% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Cilium | 22.2K | 38.1% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Linkerd | 5.4K | 9.3% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | 3.6K | 6.2% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| May 2026 | Cilium | 22.2K | 41.6% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Istio | 22.2K | 41.6% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Linkerd | 5.4K | 10.1% | 3 |
| May 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | 3.6K | 6.7% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Jun 2026 | Istio | 22.2K | 45.7% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Cilium | 18.1K | 37.2% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Linkerd | 5.4K | 11.1% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | 2.9K | 6% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Jul 2026 | Istio | 22.2K | 46.6% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Cilium | 18.1K | 38% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Linkerd | 4.4K | 9.2% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | 2.9K | 6.1% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Aug 2026 | Istio | 22.2K | 46.6% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Cilium | 18.1K | 38% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Linkerd | 4.4K | 9.2% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | 2.9K | 6.1% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Cilium | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | HashiCorp Consul | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Istio | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Kuma | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Linkerd | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **Cilium**: Measured on the search term “cilium”.
- **HashiCorp Consul**: Measured on the search term “hashicorp consul”.
- **Istio**: Measured on the search term “istio”.
- **Kuma**: Measured on the search term “kuma service mesh”.
- **Linkerd**: Measured on the search term “linkerd”.

- [Cilium](/demand/global-en/brands/cilium)
- [HashiCorp Consul](/demand/global-en/brands/hashicorp-consul)
- [Istio](/demand/global-en/brands/istio)
- [Kuma](/demand/global-en/brands/kuma)
- [Linkerd](/demand/global-en/brands/linkerd)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among service mesh platforms worldwide?

In August 2026, Istio was the most searched among service mesh platforms worldwide, with an estimated 22.2K branded searches and 46.6% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Service mesh platforms: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/service-mesh-platforms

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/service-mesh-platforms. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.