Amazon EKS vs Google Kubernetes Engine
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Amazon EKS and Google Kubernetes Engine.
Quick Verdict
4.1/5
Amazon EKS
140 reviews
4.6/5
Google Kubernetes Engine
314 reviews
Google Kubernetes Engine is rated higher (4.6 vs 4.1). Managed Kubernetes service that handles cluster operations, patching, and scaling. For teams running containerized workloads who want to reduce Kubernetes infrastructure overhead. GKE provides hosted Kubernetes clusters on Google Cloud infrastructure. Deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications with built-in monitoring, security, and automatic node management.
 Amazon EKS AWS-managed Kubernetes with automatic control plane patching and scaling | Google Kubernetes Engine Managed Kubernetes on Google Cloud with automated scaling and updates | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.1 (140 reviews) | 4.6 (314 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | paid | freemium |
| Starting price | From €73/mo | Free tier available✓ |
| Best for | Organizations already committed to AWS who need production Kubernetes without managing the control plane infrastructure. | Teams running containerized workloads who want managed Kubernetes without operational overhead and need native GCP service integration. |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | managed optionapi accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenterterraform provider | free tiermanaged optionapi accesseu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterterraform provider |
| Visit Amazon EKS → | Visit Google Kubernetes Engine → | |
Amazon EKS
Pros
- + Eliminate control plane management and security patching
- + Integrate natively with AWS IAM, CloudWatch, and VPC networking
- + Choose between EC2 or Fargate for compute without managing nodes
- + Run multi-az clusters with automatic failover
Cons
- - AWS-only solution with vendor lock-in for infrastructure
- - Higher total cost than self-managed Kubernetes due to control plane fees
- - Steeper learning curve if unfamiliar with AWS ecosystem
Google Kubernetes Engine
Pros
- + Scale applications automatically across thousands of containers
- + Simplify cluster upgrades with automated control plane and node management
- + Integrate directly with Google Cloud services like Cloud Build and Artifact Registry
- + Reduce security complexity with Workload Identity and native IAM controls
Cons
- - Higher cost than self-managed Kubernetes for small, simple workloads
- - Requires Google Cloud account and familiarity with GCP ecosystem
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