Cloud Kubernetes Costs EKS vs AKS vs GKE
Kubernetes has quickly become the go-to orchestrator for container-based applications. It provides a framework for deploying, scaling, and managing distributed systems. However, managing Kubernetes clusters can be cumbersome, leading to high costs. In this blog post, we'll compare the pricing of Kubernetes in the cloud for EKS, AKS, and GKE.
Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)
Amazon EKS is a fully managed Kubernetes service for deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications on AWS. EKS is ideal for users who already have experience with Kubernetes but may not want to manage the infrastructure.
The pricing for EKS clusters is based on the number and type of EC2 instances that the Kubernetes control plane and worker nodes run on. The cost of an EKS cluster includes the cost of instances for the Kubernetes control plane and worker nodes, as well as the cost of the EKS service itself.
The average cost of an EKS cluster per hour is $0.11 for the Kubernetes control plane and $0.050 for a worker node. Additionally, the EKS service fee costs $0.10 per hour.
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Azure Kubernetes Service is Microsoft's managed Kubernetes offering. It provides enterprise features such as self-healing, rolling updates, autoscaling, and more. AKS is ideal for developers who want to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications in a highly-available, highly-scalable environment.
The pricing structure for AKS is similar to EKS. Users pay for the virtual machines needed to run the Kubernetes control plane and worker nodes, as well as the AKS service fee. The average hourly cost of an AKS cluster is $0.15 for the Kubernetes control plane and $0.06 for a worker node. Additionally, the AKS service fee costs $0.10 per hour.
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
Google Kubernetes Engine is a fully-managed Kubernetes service, offered by Google Cloud Platform. GKE helps users to build and manage containerized applications on Kubernetes.
The pricing structure for GKE is slightly different than that of EKS and AKS. Users pay for the virtual machines needed to run the Kubernetes control plane and worker nodes, as well as a cluster management fee. For GKE, the Kubernetes control plane and worker node pricing is combined. The average hourly cost of a GKE cluster is $0.10 for the Kubernetes control plane and worker node, and the cluster management fee costs $0.10 per hour.
Conclusion
The cost of running Kubernetes in the cloud depends on the cloud provider and the level of management that is required. If you already have experience with Kubernetes, EKS or AKS may be the best option for you. If you're looking for a fully managed Kubernetes offering, GKE might be the best fit.
Regardless of which cloud provider you choose, make sure to carefully evaluate the pricing structure and consider the hidden costs associated with each service.