Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Helm.sh VS Google Kubernetes Engine

Compare Helm.sh VS Google Kubernetes Engine and see what are their differences

Helm.sh logo Helm.sh

The Kubernetes Package Manager

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.
  • Helm.sh Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-30
  • Google Kubernetes Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-05

Helm.sh features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Helm simplifies the deployment and management of Kubernetes applications by providing a package manager format that is easy to understand and use. It abstracts complex Kubernetes configurations into simple YAML files called Charts.
  • Reusable Configurations
    Helm Charts allow for reusable Kubernetes configurations, making it easier to maintain and share best-practice templates across different environments and teams.
  • Versioning
    Helm supports versioning of Helm Charts, enabling rollbacks to previous application states, which is critical for managing updates and rollbacks in production environments.
  • Extensibility
    Helm is highly extensible with Plugins and the ability to use community-contributed Charts. This extensibility facilitates customizations and leveraging the community for improved and varied functionality.
  • Templating Engine
    Helm Charts support Go templating, which allows for dynamic configuration values, making Helm Charts more flexible and powerful.
  • Broad Adoption
    Helm is widely adopted in the Kubernetes ecosystem, leading to a vast repository of pre-built Charts, extensive documentation, and strong community support.

Possible disadvantages of Helm.sh

  • Complexity
    While Helm simplifies many tasks, the templating language and Chart configurations can become complex and hard to manage, especially for large-scale applications.
  • Learning Curve
    New users of Helm may face a steep learning curve, particularly those who are not already familiar with Kubernetes concepts or YAML configuration syntax.
  • Security
    Helm's default Tiller component (used in Helm v2) had security concerns related to role-based access control (RBAC). While Helm v3 removed Tiller, previous versions may still be in use, leading to potential security risks.
  • Debugging
    Debugging issues with Helm Charts can be challenging, especially due to the abstraction and layering between the Helm template engine and the actual Kubernetes resources deployed.
  • Resource Abstraction
    Helm can sometimes abstract away too much of the Kubernetes internals, which might hinder advanced users who need fine-grained control over their deployments.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies between different Helm Charts can become cumbersome and lead to complex dependency trees that are hard to manage and debug.

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.

Helm.sh videos

Review: Helm's Zind Is My Favorite Black Boot (Discount Available)

More videos:

  • Review - Helm Free VST/AU Synth Review
  • Review - Another Khracker From Helm - Khuraburi Review

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 Helm.sh and Google Kubernetes Engine)
Developer Tools
52 52%
48% 48
DevOps Tools
61 61%
39% 39
Cloud Computing
48 48%
52% 52
Cloud Hosting
42 42%
58% 58

User comments

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Reviews

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

Helm.sh Reviews

We have no reviews of Helm.sh yet.
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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

Based on our record, Helm.sh should be more popular than Google Kubernetes Engine. It has been mentiond 170 times since March 2021. 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.

Helm.sh mentions (170)

  • Install Red Hat Developer Hub with AI Software Templates on OpenShift
    Helm installed: brew install helm or from https://helm.sh. - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • Even more OpenTelemetry - Kubernetes special
    Docker Compose is great for demos: docker compose up, and you're good to go, but I know no organization that uses it in production. Deploying workloads to Kubernetes is much more involved than that. I've used Kubernetes for demos in the past; typing kubectl apply -f is dull fast. In addition to GitOps, which isn't feasible for demos, the two main competitors are Helm and Kustomize. I chose the former for its... - Source: dev.to / 26 days ago
  • Kubernetes and Container Portability: Navigating Multi-Cloud Flexibility
    Helm Charts – An open-source solution for software deployment on top of Kubernetes. - Source: dev.to / 23 days ago
  • Chart an Extensible Course with Helm
    Clicks, copies, and pasting. That's an approach to deploying your applications in Kubernetes. Anyone who's worked with Kubernetes for more than 5 minutes knows that this is not a recipe for repeatability and confidence in your setup. Good news is, you've got options when tackling this problem. The option I'm going to present below is using Helm. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • IKO - Lessons Learned (Part 1 - Helm)
    Looks like we're good to go (assuming you already have helm installed, if not install it first)! Let's install the IKO. We are going to need to tell helm where the folder with all our goodies is (that's the iris-operator folder you see above). If we were to be sitting at the chart directory you can use the command. - Source: dev.to / 2 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 / about 1 month 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 / 3 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 / 5 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 / 7 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 / 11 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Helm.sh and Google Kubernetes Engine, you can also consider the following products

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

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service

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

Docker Compose - Define and run multi-container applications with Docker

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

Google App Engine - A powerful platform to build web and mobile apps that scale automatically.