EKS vs GKE vs AKS — Managed Kubernetes Compared
Compare Amazon EKS, Google GKE, and Azure AKS for managed Kubernetes. Pricing, features, and which to choose for your workloads.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Amazon EKS | Google GKE | Azure AKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control plane cost | $0.10/hr ($73/mo) | Free | Free (Standard) |
| Serverless pods | Fargate | ACI virtual nodes (preview) | Autopilot |
| Max nodes per cluster | 450 (managed), 5000 (self-managed) | 5,000 | 15,000 |
| K8s version lag | ~2-3 months | ~3-4 months | ~1-2 months |
| GPU support | Full NVIDIA lineup | Full NVIDIA lineup | NVIDIA + TPU |
| Windows containers | Supported | Best support | Supported |
| Service mesh | App Mesh / Istio | Istio add-on | Anthos Service Mesh |
Service Details
Amazon EKS
AWS's managed Kubernetes service. Deep AWS ecosystem integration, extensive marketplace of add-ons, and the largest Kubernetes user base.
- Largest ecosystem of third-party integrations
- Fargate for serverless pod execution
- Deep IAM integration with IRSA
- Most available instance types for worker nodes
- Control plane is not free
- More complex networking setup than GKE
- Add-ons management can be cumbersome
Google GKE
Google's managed Kubernetes — built by the team that created Kubernetes. Autopilot mode abstracts node management entirely.
- Built by the Kubernetes creators — fastest feature adoption
- Autopilot mode eliminates node management
- Best-in-class auto-scaling and node auto-provisioning
- Free standard control plane
- Smaller ecosystem than EKS
- GKE Enterprise pricing can be opaque
- Fewer instance type options than AWS
Azure AKS
Azure's managed Kubernetes with free control plane. Deep integration with Azure AD, Azure Monitor, and the Microsoft enterprise ecosystem.
- Free control plane
- Deep Azure AD integration for enterprise auth
- Strong Windows container support
- Good hybrid story with Azure Arc
- Slower Kubernetes version adoption than GKE
- Networking complexity with Azure CNI options
- Less mature autoscaling than GKE
When to Use Which
Choose GKE for the most mature Kubernetes experience with Autopilot and fastest version adoption. Choose EKS for the largest ecosystem and deepest AWS integration. Choose AKS for enterprise Microsoft shops and the free control plane with Azure AD integration.
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