# Amazon EKS vs Google Kubernetes Engine

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/amazon-eks-vs-google-gke/

Every value below is read from Amazon EKS's and Google Kubernetes Engine's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | Amazon EKS | Google Kubernetes Engine |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Entry paid plan | $0.10 per cluster per hour on standard Kubernetes version support — roughly $73 a year before any node runs. Extended version support, for clusters kept on an older Kubernetes release, is $0.60 per cluster per hour. | $0.10 per cluster per hour, flat across both Autopilot and Standard modes and charged in one-second increments. |
| Pricing model | Per cluster per hour for the control plane, with the rate rising sixfold if you stay on an unsupported Kubernetes version. Nodes, EKS Auto Mode, add-on capabilities and hybrid nodes are each metered separately on top. | A flat per-cluster fee regardless of mode, plus compute — which is where Autopilot and Standard actually differ, Autopilot billing the Pods you request and Standard the nodes you run. |
| Autoscaling | Supported | Supported — Autopilot bills the Pods you request rather than the nodes you run |
| Uptime SLA | 99.95% monthly for the Kubernetes endpoint of a Standard Control Plane cluster, measured in five-minute intervals. | 99.95% for the control plane of Autopilot and regional Standard clusters; 99.5% for zonal Standard clusters. Autopilot Pods spread across multiple zones carry 99.9%. |

## Where they differ

### Free tier

- Amazon EKS: No ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/eks/pricing/))
- Google Kubernetes Engine: Yes ([source](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/pricing))

### Entry paid plan

- Amazon EKS: $0.10 per cluster per hour on standard Kubernetes version support — roughly $73 a year before any node runs. Extended version support, for clusters kept on an older Kubernetes release, is $0.60 per cluster per hour. ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/eks/pricing/))
- Google Kubernetes Engine: $0.10 per cluster per hour, flat across both Autopilot and Standard modes and charged in one-second increments. ([source](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/pricing))

### Pricing model

- Amazon EKS: Per cluster per hour for the control plane, with the rate rising sixfold if you stay on an unsupported Kubernetes version. Nodes, EKS Auto Mode, add-on capabilities and hybrid nodes are each metered separately on top. ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/eks/pricing/))
- Google Kubernetes Engine: A flat per-cluster fee regardless of mode, plus compute — which is where Autopilot and Standard actually differ, Autopilot billing the Pods you request and Standard the nodes you run. ([source](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/pricing))

### Uptime SLA

- Amazon EKS: 99.95% monthly for the Kubernetes endpoint of a Standard Control Plane cluster, measured in five-minute intervals. ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/eks/sla/))
- Google Kubernetes Engine: 99.95% for the control plane of Autopilot and regional Standard clusters; 99.5% for zonal Standard clusters. Autopilot Pods spread across multiple zones carry 99.9%. ([source](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/pricing))

## Which should you choose?

Pick Amazon EKS if A cluster that has to sit inside AWS — IAM on the cluster, VPC networking, EC2 or Fargate nodes — with a 99.95% control-plane SLA measured in five-minute intervals rather than described in prose.

Pick Google Kubernetes Engine if One cluster, free. The $74.40 monthly credit is exactly the cluster fee for one Autopilot or zonal Standard cluster refunded, and Autopilot bills the Pods you ask for rather than the nodes you guessed at.

Consider something else: Amazon EKS — You run many small clusters. $0.10 an hour is about $73 a year each before a node exists, and it becomes $0.60 an hour the moment you fall behind on Kubernetes versions — DigitalOcean charges nothing for the control plane at all.

Consider something else: Google Kubernetes Engine — You need the SLA the free cluster does not get. Zonal Standard clusters — the shape the credit covers — carry 99.5% against 99.95% for regional and Autopilot, and the credits apply to no other SKU and do not roll over.

## Documented by only one

- What the free plan includes: Google Kubernetes Engine: $74.40 a month in credits per billing account — the cluster fee for one Autopilot or zonal Standard cluster, refunded. The credits apply to no other SKU and do not roll over.
- Containers: Amazon EKS: Supported

## Questions this comparison answers

**Entry paid plan: Amazon EKS or Google Kubernetes Engine?**

Amazon EKS: $0.10 per cluster per hour on standard Kubernetes version support — roughly $73 a year before any node runs. Extended version support, for clusters kept on an older Kubernetes release, is $0.60 per cluster per hour.
Google Kubernetes Engine: $0.10 per cluster per hour, flat across both Autopilot and Standard modes and charged in one-second increments.

**Free tier: Amazon EKS or Google Kubernetes Engine?**

Amazon EKS: No
Google Kubernetes Engine: Yes

**Should I choose Amazon EKS or Google Kubernetes Engine?**

Pick Amazon EKS if A cluster that has to sit inside AWS — IAM on the cluster, VPC networking, EC2 or Fargate nodes — with a 99.95% control-plane SLA measured in five-minute intervals rather than described in prose.
Pick Google Kubernetes Engine if One cluster, free. The $74.40 monthly credit is exactly the cluster fee for one Autopilot or zonal Standard cluster refunded, and Autopilot bills the Pods you ask for rather than the nodes you guessed at.