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Google Kubernetes Engine

iScore73–89 · #3/4
cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine · Managed Kubernetes
SEPT 2026 audit

Google's managed Kubernetes, in Autopilot or Standard mode, with a flat per-cluster fee and a monthly credit that covers one small cluster.

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Entry paid plan$0.10 per cluster per hour, flat across both Autopilot and Standard modes and charged in one-second increments.
Free tierYes
CategoryManaged Kubernetes

Updated 6 criteria comparedSources last checked

01.Evaluation guide

Who it suits

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 if…

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.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Each value below links to the page it was read from, with the sentence it came from. Criteria Google Kubernetes Engine does not publish are not listed.

Pricing
4 criteria
Free tierYes
Sources (1) →
  • GKE pricing ↗

    “Free tier The GKE free tier provides $74.40 in monthly credits per billing account, which is equivalent to one free Autopilot or zonal Standard cluster per month.”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing

What the free plan includes$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.
Sources (1) →
  • GKE pricing ↗

    “Free tier credits are only applied to zonal and Autopilot clusters and cannot be applied to any other SKUs”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing

Entry paid plan$0.10 per cluster per hour, flat across both Autopilot and Standard modes and charged in one-second increments.
Sources (1) →
  • GKE pricing ↗

    “Cluster management fee A flat cluster management fee of $0.10 per cluster per hour (charged in 1 second increments) applies to all G”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing

Pricing modelA 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.
Sources (1) →
  • GKE pricing ↗

    “This page explains pricing for compute resources, cluster operation mode, cluster management fees, and applicable ingress fees in Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing

Infrastructure
2 criteria
AutoscalingSupported — Autopilot bills the Pods you request rather than the nodes you run
Sources (1) →
  • GKE pricing ↗

    “GKE includes fully automated cluster lifecyc”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing

Uptime SLA99.95% 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%.
Sources (1) →
  • GKE pricing ↗

    “99.95% for the control plane of Autopilot clusters and regional Standard clusters. 99.5% for the control plane of zona”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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Every page here is sourced and dated.