Serverless on Kubernetes Comparison – AWS Fargate vs Azure Container Instances vs Google Kubernetes Engine
As Kubernetes continues to gain popularity, more and more companies are looking for ways to incorporate serverless computing into their systems. Three of the most popular options for serverless computing on Kubernetes are AWS Fargate, Azure Container Instances, and Google Kubernetes Engine. In this blog post, we will provide a factual comparison of these services and help you decide which one is right for your organization.
Pricing
When it comes to pricing, all three options offer different models, making it hard to compare them. AWS Fargate pricing is based on the amount of vCPU and memory resources allocated to your application. Azure Container Instances offer a pay-per-second billing model based on the memory and CPU of your application. On the other hand, Google Kubernetes Engine has a more complex pricing scheme that includes worker nodes, node pools, and regional clusters pricing.
Example Pricing
To give you an idea of the pricing differences for a simple workload, here is an example pricing comparison. All prices are based on the US East region, and the workload is a simple web application that runs for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- AWS Fargate: $129.60 per month for 1 vCPU and 2 GB of RAM.
- Azure Container Instances: $35.17 per month for 1 CPU core and 2 GB of RAM.
- Google Kubernetes Engine: $87.22 per month for a two-node regional cluster and a single node pool.
Performance
When it comes to performance, all three options offer similar performance for serverless applications running on Kubernetes. The underlying technology for all three is Kubernetes itself, so the difference comes down to the container orchestration layer on top of Kubernetes.
Features
All three services offer similar features, such as auto-scaling, load balancing, and integration with other cloud services. However, each service has its own specifics. For example, AWS offers more native integrations with other AWS services, while Google Kubernetes Engine offers a more flexible and customizable system.
Ease of Use
Each service offers its own set of tools and terminologies to learn, so there is a learning curve for each. However, AWS Fargate and Azure Container Instances offer more streamlined and less complex user interfaces, while Google Kubernetes Engine requires more manual intervention.
Conclusion
When deciding on which serverless computing on Kubernetes service to choose, it ultimately depends on your organization's specific needs. If you're already an AWS or Azure customer, it may be easier to stick with the same provider for consistency. If you value flexibility and customization, then Google Kubernetes Engine may be the way to go.
Regardless of your choice, serverless computing on Kubernetes is a great way to take your applications to the next level.