# Google Kubernetes Engine vs DigitalOcean Kubernetes

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/google-gke-vs-digitalocean-kubernetes/

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

## At a glance

| Criterion | Google Kubernetes Engine | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Entry paid plan | $0.10 per cluster per hour, flat across both Autopilot and Standard modes and charged in one-second increments. | Nothing for the control plane. Nodes start at $12/month each on the Basic tier, so the smallest real cluster is the node bill and nothing else. |
| Pricing model | 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. | Nodes only, with the control plane free and high availability for it sold as a $40/month upgrade. Inbound transfer is free and outbound starts at 2,000 GiB a month. |
| Autoscaling | Supported — Autopilot bills the Pods you request rather than the nodes you run | Supported |
| Uptime SLA | 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%. | None published for Kubernetes: /sla/kubernetes and /sla/kubernetes-service both soft-404. The docs describe the control plane as highly available, which is a description of the service rather than a commitment about it. |

## Where they differ

### Entry paid plan

- 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))
- DigitalOcean Kubernetes: Nothing for the control plane. Nodes start at $12/month each on the Basic tier, so the smallest real cluster is the node bill and nothing else. ([source](https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/kubernetes))

### Pricing model

- 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))
- DigitalOcean Kubernetes: Nodes only, with the control plane free and high availability for it sold as a $40/month upgrade. Inbound transfer is free and outbound starts at 2,000 GiB a month. ([source](https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/kubernetes))

### Uptime 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))
- DigitalOcean Kubernetes: None published for Kubernetes: /sla/kubernetes and /sla/kubernetes-service both soft-404. The docs describe the control plane as highly available, which is a description of the service rather than a commitment about it. ([source](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/kubernetes/details/limits/))

## Which should you choose?

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.

Pick DigitalOcean Kubernetes if The node bill and nothing else. The control plane is free at any size, inbound transfer is free, and the smallest real cluster is one $12 node — no per-cluster fee to amortise across workloads.

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.

Consider something else: DigitalOcean Kubernetes — You need a commitment in writing. DigitalOcean publishes no Kubernetes SLA — both SLA URLs soft-404 — and high availability for the control plane is a $40/month upgrade rather than the default, which is more than the control plane costs anywhere else.

## 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.
- Included bandwidth: DigitalOcean Kubernetes: Free inbound transfer, and free outbound from 2,000 GiB a month upward on the Basic tier.
- Dedicated infrastructure: DigitalOcean Kubernetes: High availability for the control plane is an explicit $40/month upgrade rather than the default, so a cluster is single-control-plane until you pay for it not to be.

## Questions this comparison answers

**Entry paid plan: Google Kubernetes Engine or DigitalOcean Kubernetes?**

Google Kubernetes Engine: $0.10 per cluster per hour, flat across both Autopilot and Standard modes and charged in one-second increments.
DigitalOcean Kubernetes: Nothing for the control plane. Nodes start at $12/month each on the Basic tier, so the smallest real cluster is the node bill and nothing else.

**Should I choose Google Kubernetes Engine or DigitalOcean Kubernetes?**

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.
Pick DigitalOcean Kubernetes if The node bill and nothing else. The control plane is free at any size, inbound transfer is free, and the smallest real cluster is one $12 node — no per-cluster fee to amortise across workloads.