Introduction
Managing Kubernetes clusters can be a tedious task, and it requires a lot of resources. Luckily, cloud providers offered managed services to alleviate the burden of managing and scaling Kubernetes clusters. Two of the most popular Kubernetes managed services available in the market are the Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and the Google Cloud Platform Kubernetes Engine (GKE). Let's explore the differences between these two and help you decide which one fits your organization.
Pricing
Cost is always a consideration when it comes to choosing a cloud provider. Both AKS and GKE offer a pay-as-you-go model, which allows you to pay based on the resources you consume.
AKS: The pricing for AKS is calculated based on the virtual machines you use to run your cluster. The VM pricing starts at $0.0207/hour for Standard B2s VMs and goes up to $2.1429/hour for the latest NVv4 VM family. AKS also charges a small management fee on top of the VM pricing, which is $0.10/cluster/hour.
GKE: GKE also charges per hour per cluster, and the pricing is based on the number of nodes in the cluster. The cost per node starts at $0.10/hour for n1-standard-1 nodes and can go up to $4.482/hour for the latest e2-highcpu-32 nodes. GKE charges $0.10/hour per cluster as a management fee.
Winner: AKS
AKS offers a more affordable option, with cheaper VM pricing and a lower management fee.
Features
While both AKS and GKE offer managed Kubernetes services, there are differences in the features they provide.
AKS
- AKS offers an integrated DevOps experience through the Azure DevOps service, which seamlessly integrates with AKS and provides a comprehensive CI/CD pipeline.
- AKS also supports Windows containers, giving you more flexibility in your deployment options.
- AKS provides a private container registry for storing and managing container images, which ensures secure container deployments.
GKE
- GKE's container-native load balancing provides automated traffic management to your applications.
- GKE's node auto-repair feature allows you to automatically replace unhealthy nodes in your cluster, ensuring high availability of your services.
- GKE's Kubernetes engine is certified by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), ensuring that it adheres to the highest standards of Kubernetes compliance.
Winner: Tie
Both AKS and GKE have compelling features that cater to different use cases.
User Interface
A user-friendly interface can boost productivity and reduce the time it takes to manage and monitor your Kubernetes clusters.
AKS: AKS offers a simple web interface through the Azure portal. The interface allows you to configure and monitor your Kubernetes cluster, deploy applications, and adjust scaling options.
GKE: GKE's user interface is clean and simple, allowing you to manage your Kubernetes resources with ease. You can easily create, modify and manage Kubernetes clusters, view logs and metrics, and perform health checks from the Google Cloud console.
Winner: GKE
GKE's clean and well-organized interface, coupled with its advanced monitoring and logging options, makes it the winner in this category.
Conclusion
Choosing the right Kubernetes managed service depends on multiple factors, such as pricing, features, and user interface. Both AKS and GKE offer comprehensive managed Kubernetes services that cater to different needs. In our opinion, AKS wins in terms of pricing, while GKE covers features and user interface. We recommend evaluating your specific requirements carefully before choosing between the two.