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Amazon EKS VS Google Kubernetes Engine

Compare Amazon EKS VS Google Kubernetes Engine and see what are their differences

Amazon EKS logo Amazon EKS

Amazon EKS makes it easy for you to run Kubernetes on AWS without needing to install and operate your own Kubernetes clusters.

Google Kubernetes Engine logo Google Kubernetes Engine

Google Kubernetes Engine is a powerful cluster manager and orchestration system for running your Docker containers. Set up a cluster in minutes.
  • Amazon EKS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-30
  • Google Kubernetes Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-05

Amazon EKS features and specs

  • Managed Service
    Amazon EKS is a managed Kubernetes service, which means AWS handles the control plane, saving time and operational overhead.
  • Scalability
    EKS integrates with AWS's scaling tools such as Auto Scaling groups, allowing for seamless scaling of applications.
  • Security
    Offers integration with AWS IAM for authentication and supports network policies and encryption for securing applications.
  • AWS Ecosystem Integration
    Deeply integrated with other AWS services like VPC, IAM, CloudWatch, and more, providing a streamlined experience.
  • Community and Ecosystem Support
    Being a Kubernetes service, it benefits from the extensive Kubernetes ecosystem and community support for tools and extensions.

Possible disadvantages of Amazon EKS

  • Cost
    While EKS simplifies management, it comes with additional costs over using self-managed Kubernetes clusters.
  • Complexity
    EKS, like Kubernetes itself, can be complex to manage and configure, needing skilled personnel to handle deployments.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Reliance on AWS services can make it hard to migrate to another cloud provider or an on-premises solution if needed.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Organizations new to Kubernetes might find the learning curve steep when adopting EKS, requiring significant training and adjustment.
  • Regional Availability
    EKS might not be available in all AWS regions, limiting deployment flexibility for global applications.

Google Kubernetes Engine features and specs

  • Managed Service
    GKE is a fully managed service, which means Google takes care of tasks like provisioning, maintenance, and updates of the cluster, reducing the operational burden on users.
  • Scalability
    GKE offers robust scalability options, allowing you to easily scale your applications up or down based on demand. This is facilitated through auto-scaling features for both nodes and pods.
  • Integration with Google Cloud Services
    GKE integrates seamlessly with other Google Cloud services such as Cloud Storage, BigQuery, and more, providing a streamlined experience for leveraging multiple cloud tools.
  • Security
    GKE offers advanced security features like private clusters, and integrates with Google Cloud IAM, which allows for fine-grained access control, helping to secure your Kubernetes environment.
  • Ease of Use
    GKE's comprehensive dashboard, command-line interface, and supporting documentation make it easy to deploy, manage, and monitor Kubernetes clusters.
  • Global Reach
    With GKE, you can deploy clusters across multiple regions and zones, giving you the ability to build highly available, geographically dispersed applications.

Possible disadvantages of Google Kubernetes Engine

  • Cost
    While GKE offers extensive features, it can be more expensive compared to other Kubernetes solutions, especially when additional services and high-availability features are utilized.
  • Limited Customization
    As a managed service, GKE has some limitations in terms of customization and control over the underlying infrastructure compared to self-managed Kubernetes environments.
  • Complexity
    Despite its ease of use features, GKE still requires a certain level of expertise to efficiently manage Kubernetes clusters, which can be a steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Dependence on Google Cloud
    Using GKE ties you to the Google Cloud ecosystem, which may limit flexibility if you decide to migrate to a different cloud provider or adopt a multi-cloud strategy.
  • Resource Constraints
    Like all cloud services, GKE nodes can be subject to resource limits and quotas imposed by Google Cloud, which can impact performance if not properly managed.
  • SLA and Downtime
    While Google Cloud offers Service Level Agreements (SLAs), there is still a risk of downtime which could affect your applications. Additionally, relying on a third-party provider means issues may take time to resolve.

Analysis of Google Kubernetes Engine

Overall verdict

  • Overall, many users find GKE to be a powerful and reliable platform for container orchestration, especially when leveraging other Google Cloud Platform services.

Why this product is good

  • Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is considered good because it is a managed environment for deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications using Google infrastructure. It offers seamless integration with other Google Cloud services, robust cluster management, strong security features, auto-scaling capabilities, and a strong focus on performance and reliability. It also benefits from Google's expertise in Kubernetes, as Google was a primary contributor to the Kubernetes project.

Recommended for

  • Organizations adopting a microservices architecture.
  • Developers looking for a managed Kubernetes solution.
  • Teams that need seamless integration with other Google Cloud services.
  • Companies aiming to efficiently scale their applications with auto-scaling features.
  • Enterprises that require robust security features and compliance with industry standards.

Amazon EKS videos

Amazon EKS Architecture Introduction

More videos:

  • Review - AWS re:Invent 2018: [REPEAT 1] Deep Dive on Amazon EKS (CON361-R1)
  • Review - AWS re:Invent 2020: Looking at Amazon EKS through a networking lens
  • Review - Amazon EKS Roadmap - Nathan Taber
  • Review - AWS re:Invent 2023 - The future of Amazon EKS (CON203)
  • Review - Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (Amazon EKS)

Google Kubernetes Engine videos

Getting Started with Containers and Google Kubernetes Engine (Cloud Next '18)

More videos:

  • Review - Optimize cost to performance on Google Kubernetes Engine
  • Tutorial - Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) | Coupon: UDEMYSEP20 - Kubernetes Made Easy | Kubernetes Tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Amazon EKS and Google Kubernetes Engine)
Cloud Computing
45 45%
55% 55
Developer Tools
33 33%
67% 67
Cloud Hosting
100 100%
0% 0
DevOps Tools
30 30%
70% 70

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Amazon EKS and Google Kubernetes Engine

Amazon EKS Reviews

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Google Kubernetes Engine Reviews

Top 12 Kubernetes Alternatives to Choose From in 2023
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a prominent choice for a Kubernetes alternative. It is provided and managed by Google Cloud, which offers fully managed Kubernetes services.
Source: humalect.com
11 Best Rancher Alternatives Multi Cluster Orchestration Platform
Google Kubernetes Engine is a CaaS (container as a service) platform that lets you easily create, resize, manage, update, upgrade, and debug container clusters. Google Kubernetes Engine, aka GKE, was the first managed Kubernetes service, and therefore, it is highly regarded in the industry.
Top 10 Best Container Software in 2022
If you need a speedy creation of developer environments, working on micro services-based architecture and if you want to deploy production grade clusters then Docker and Google Kubernetes Engine would be the most suitable tools. They are very well suited for DevOps team.
7 Best Containerization Software Solutions of 2022
If you’re looking for a managed solution to help you deploy and scale containerized apps on your virtual machines quickly, Google Kubernetes Engine is a great choice.
Source: techgumb.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Amazon EKS might be a bit more popular than Google Kubernetes Engine. We know about 70 links to it since March 2021 and only 49 links to Google Kubernetes Engine. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Amazon EKS mentions (70)

  • Vector: A lightweight tool for collecting EKS application logs with long-term storage capabilities
    In this article, we present an architecture that demonstrates how to collect application logs from Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) via Vector, store them in Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for long-term retention, and finally query these logs using AWS Glue and Amazon Athena. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Comparing the Top 10 Managed Kubernetes Providers (2025 Edition)
    Amazon EKS Deep AWS integration (just bring your patience). - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Top 8 Docker Alternatives to Consider in 2025
    AWS Elastic Container Service (ECS) and Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) provide managed container orchestration platforms integrated with AWS infrastructure. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Securing Applications Using Keycloak's Helm Chart
    Kubernetes cluster: You need a running Kubernetes cluster that supports persistent volumes. You can use a local cluster, like kind or Minikube, or a cloud-based solution, like GKE%20orEKS or EKS. The cluster should expose ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) for external access. Persistent storage should be configured to retain Keycloak data (e.g., user credentials, sessions) across restarts. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • HardenEKS: The Easy Way to keep your AWS EKS clusters secure and compliant
    HardenEKS is a potent Python-based Command Line Interface (CLI), capable of systematically assessing whether Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) clusters comply with the strict guidelines laid out in the AWS EKS Best Practices Guide (EBPG). This comprehensive guide covers six fundamental pillars of best practices for Amazon EKS clusters:. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
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Google Kubernetes Engine mentions (49)

  • Google Cloud Unveils A4 VMs with NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs for AI
    Integration with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), which supports up to 65,000 nodes per cluster, facilitating robust AI infrastructure. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Deploy Gemini-powered LangChain applications on GKE
    In my previous post, we explored how LangChain simplifies the development of AI-powered applications. We saw how its modularity, flexibility, and extensibility make it a powerful tool for working with large language models (LLMs) like Gemini. Now, let's take it a step further and see how we can deploy and scale our LangChain applications using the robust infrastructure of Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and the... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Securing Applications Using Keycloak's Helm Chart
    Kubernetes cluster: You need a running Kubernetes cluster that supports persistent volumes. You can use a local cluster, like kind or Minikube, or a cloud-based solution, like GKE%20orEKS or EKS. The cluster should expose ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) for external access. Persistent storage should be configured to retain Keycloak data (e.g., user credentials, sessions) across restarts. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Simplify development of AI-powered applications with LangChain
    In a later post, I will take a look at how you can use LangChain to connect to a local Gemma instance, all running in a Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • 26 Top Kubernetes Tools
    Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is another managed Kubernetes service that lets you spin up new cloud clusters on demand. It's specifically designed to help you run Kubernetes workloads without specialist Kubernetes expertise, and it includes a range of optional features that provide more automation for admin tasks. These include powerful capabilities around governance, compliance, security, and configuration... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Amazon EKS and Google Kubernetes Engine, you can also consider the following products

Kubernetes - Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers

AWS Fargate - AWS Fargate is a compute engine for Amazon ECS and EKS that allows you to run containers without having to manage servers or clusters.

Docker - Docker is an open platform that enables developers and system administrators to create distributed applications.

Azure Container Service - Azure Container Service is a solution that optimizes the configuration of popular open-source tools and technologies specifically for Azure, it provides an open solution that offers portability for both users containers and users application configu…

Amazon ECS - Amazon EC2 Container Service is a highly scalable, high-performance​ container management service that supports Docker containers.

Amazon EC2 - Amazon Web Services offers reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services. Free to join, pay only for what you use.