Managed Kubernetes cost compared: EKS vs AKS vs GKE
EKS, AKS, and GKE all charge for the worker nodes; the difference is the control-plane fee (EKS and GKE charge per cluster-hour, AKS's standard tier is free) and autopilot-style options. This compares them and where the real cost lives.
Quick answer
EKS, AKS, and GKE all bill the worker nodes (VMs) that run your pods, which is the bulk of the cost. The control-plane fee differs: EKS and GKE charge roughly $0.10 per cluster-hour (about $73/month), while AKS's standard control plane is free (a paid uptime-SLA tier is optional). So the control-plane difference is small; node efficiency, right-sizing, autoscaling, and Spot, dominates the bill on all three.
The three major clouds offer managed Kubernetes, and their cost structures are more alike than different. The worker nodes, the VMs your pods run on, are the overwhelming majority of the bill on every one. The control-plane fee, the part people compare, is a small fixed difference that rarely changes the total meaningfully.
Control plane: the small difference
| Service | Control-plane fee | Nodes |
|---|---|---|
| EKS | ~$0.10/cluster-hour (~$73/mo) | Standard EC2 cost |
| AKS | Free standard (paid SLA tier optional) | Standard VM cost |
| GKE | ~$0.10/cluster-hour (~$73/mo), one zonal cluster free | Standard Compute Engine cost |
EKS and GKE charge roughly $73 per month per cluster for the control plane (GKE includes one zonal cluster free); AKS's standard control plane is free, with an optional paid tier for an uptime SLA. For a single cluster this difference is small relative to the node cost, and for many clusters it adds up but is still secondary.
Nodes dominate the bill
The real cost is the worker nodes, and the levers are identical across all three: right-size node types, set resource requests correctly so the scheduler packs pods efficiently, use cluster autoscaling to match nodes to demand, and run fault-tolerant workloads on Spot. Node efficiency, not the control- plane fee or the provider, decides most of the bill.
Autopilot-style options
Each provider offers a mode that abstracts nodes: GKE Autopilot, AKS with node autoprovisioning, and EKS with Fargate or Auto Mode. These bill for pod resource requests rather than node capacity, which removes idle-node waste but can cost more if requests are set generously, the tradeoff in GKE Standard versus Autopilot.
Choosing on cost
Cost rarely decides the managed-Kubernetes choice, since node cost dominates and is similar across clouds; the control-plane difference is minor. Choose the provider your workloads, data, and team already use, and focus the cost effort on node efficiency, requests, autoscaling, right-sizing, and Spot, which is where the savings actually are, as in the EKS cost breakdown.
FAQ
Is EKS, AKS, or GKE cheapest?
The worker nodes dominate the bill on all three at similar cost, so the total is close. The control-plane fee differs, EKS and GKE charge roughly $73 per month per cluster while AKS's standard control plane is free, but this is small relative to node cost. Node efficiency, not the provider, decides most of the bill.
How much is the Kubernetes control plane on each cloud?
EKS and GKE charge roughly $0.10 per cluster-hour (about $73 per month), with GKE including one zonal cluster free. AKS's standard control plane is free, with an optional paid tier for an uptime SLA. For a single cluster the difference is small relative to node cost.
What drives managed Kubernetes cost?
The worker nodes, the VMs your pods run on, which are the overwhelming majority of the bill on every provider. The levers are node right-sizing, correct resource requests so the scheduler packs efficiently, cluster autoscaling, and Spot for fault-tolerant workloads, all identical across EKS, AKS, and GKE.
Does AKS's free control plane make it cheaper?
Only by the control-plane fee, roughly $73 per month per cluster versus EKS and GKE, which is small relative to node cost. For many clusters it adds up, but node efficiency dominates the total, so AKS's free control plane is a minor advantage rather than a decisive cost difference.
Should I choose a cloud based on Kubernetes cost?
Rarely, since node cost dominates and is similar across clouds, and the control-plane difference is minor. Choose the provider your workloads, data, and team already use, and focus cost effort on node efficiency, requests, autoscaling, right-sizing, and Spot, which is where the real savings are.
Does C3X estimate managed Kubernetes cost?
C3X prices the node groups and managed cluster resources of EKS, AKS, and GKE from your Terraform, so the node cost, which dominates, appears before deploy. Node efficiency depends on your requests and autoscaling, which you tune from usage.
What to do next
Price your cluster nodes before you deploy. C3X reads your Terraform and prices managed Kubernetes and the rest of your stack against a live catalog. Start with the quickstart.
Pricing references
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