Software Alternatives & Startups

Amazon EKS VS OpenStack

Compare Amazon EKS VS OpenStack and see what are their differences

Amazon EKS

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

Rating
0 reviews
OpenStack

OpenStack software controls large pools of compute, storage, and networking resources throughout a datacenter, managed through a dashboard or via the OpenStack API.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Amazon EKS seems to be a lot more popular than OpenStack. While we know about 80 links to Amazon EKS, we've tracked only 2 mentions of OpenStack.

social mentions
80 vs 2
Cloud Computing popularity
50% vs 50%
alternatives listed
136 vs 239

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Amazon EKS
OpenStack
Website aws.amazon.com openstack.org
Pricing —
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Amazon EKS 5 features
OpenStack 5 features
  • 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

  • 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.
  • Open Source
    OpenStack is open source, which means there is no licensing fee and a broad community of users and developers contributes to its development and support.
  • Flexibility
    It supports a wide variety of hardware and software, allowing organizations to customize their cloud infrastructure to meet specific needs.
  • Scalability
    OpenStack can scale horizontally, allowing organizations to add or remove resources as their needs change, effectively managing large pools of compute, storage, and networking resources.
  • Vendor Neutrality
    Being vendor-neutral, OpenStack offers flexibility to avoid vendor lock-in and choose from a wide range of compatible technologies and service providers.
  • Community Support
    A large and active community provides extensive documentation, forums, and support, which can be very helpful for troubleshooting and development.

Possible disadvantages

  • Complexity
    Setting up and managing OpenStack can be complex and requires a significant level of expertise, which may necessitate specialized training for staff.
  • Performance Overhead
    Being a feature-rich platform, it often involves more performance overhead compared to other simpler, more streamlined services.
  • Resource Intensive
    OpenStack can be resource-intensive in terms of CPU, memory, and storage, which might not be suitable for all organizations, especially smaller ones with limited resources.
  • Interoperability Issues
    Integrating OpenStack with existing systems and third-party tools can sometimes present challenges, especially when dealing with legacy infrastructure.
  • Evolving Platform
    The platform is constantly evolving, which can be both a pro and a con. Keeping up to date with the latest releases and changes can be time-consuming and may require ongoing maintenance.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Amazon EKS
OpenStack

No analysis of Amazon EKS yet.

Overall verdict

  • OpenStack can be an excellent choice for businesses and enterprises looking to deploy a cloud infrastructure, particularly if they value flexibility, scalability, and control over their environment. Being open-source, it also offers cost advantages compared to proprietary solutions, provided the organization has the necessary expertise to manage and maintain it. However, it may be challenging for smaller teams without dedicated IT resources due to its complexity and the steep learning curve associated with its deployment and management.

Why this product is good

  • OpenStack is a popular open-source cloud computing platform that enables users to build and manage both public and private clouds. It offers a flexible and scalable solution for organizations that need to handle large amounts of data and infrastructure. OpenStack is developed by a vast community of developers and organizations, ensuring continuous improvement and adaptation to new technologies. It supports a wide range of APIs, which allows for customization and integration with other services and tools.

Recommended for

    OpenStack is particularly recommended for large enterprises, organizations with skilled IT teams, academic institutions, and service providers that need a highly customizable and scalable cloud solution. It's also a great fit for entities with specific compliance requirements or those that need to run a private cloud with tailored configurations.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Amazon EKS 6 videos + Add
OpenStack 3 videos + Add

Amazon EKS Architecture Introduction

More videos

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

OpenStack Summit Primer, The Who, What, Why and How of OpenStack

More videos

  • - Red Hat OpenStack Platform GPU use case
  • - Performance Analysis Review for Production OpenStack Private Cloud in SaaS

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Amazon EKS
OpenStack
50% 50%
50% 50%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
VPS
100% 100%
56% 56%
44% 44%

User comments

Share your experience with using Amazon EKS and OpenStack. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Amazon EKS no reviews yet
OpenStack no reviews yet

We have no reviews of Amazon EKS yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Amazon EKS 80 mentions
OpenStack 2 mentions
  • Kubernetes in Production: Reference Architecture, Zero-Downtime Upgrades, Autoscaling, and Running Postgres in Containers
    Managed control plane. Use a managed Kubernetes service so the cloud provider runs etcd, the API server, and control plane upgrades. The three major options are Amazon EKS, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). - Source: dev.to / about 18 hours ago
  • Kubernetes kills your pod? Here's why
    On managed Kubernetes platforms like EKS, this has a second benefit: the cluster autoscaler pays attention to resource requests when deciding whether to add new nodes. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Optimising GenAI/ML workloads in AWS EKS with Karpenter
    After returning from AWS Summit London 2026 I was doing some research on running AI/ML workload in AWS EKS with Karpenter. With some assistance from Gemini I turned some of my notes from various talks into this guide that will talk... - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago

View more

  • Learn OpenStack by Example: Part 1 - Install DevStack
    In my first post, I looked into what is OpenStack and how, if done right, can be quite a powerful ally in our cloud deployment strategies. In this post, I want to start looking at how we can create an application to learn the basics and... - Source: dev.to / over 5 years ago
  • Learn OpenStack by examples: Part 0 - Summary and Goals
    While searching for solutions and documentation on the various problems I've come across, I would often see references to OpenStack and it got my curiosity going. What is OpenStack? What services does it offer and who owns it? How do I... - Source: dev.to / over 5 years ago

Alternatives to Amazon EKS and OpenStack

When comparing Amazon EKS and OpenStack, you can also consider the following products.