# Amazon EKS vs Google Kubernetes Engine

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Google Kubernetes Engine

| Attribute | Amazon EKS | Google Kubernetes Engine |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 46 (73% (medium)) | 80.9 (61% (medium)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A fully managed Kubernetes platform that automates cluster and infrastructure management, allowing teams to build and run production-grade containerized workloads with AWS's operational reliability and security. Supports unified workload management across cloud, on-premises, and edge locations. | A managed Kubernetes service that handles cluster operations, scaling, and security automatically, allowing teams to deploy containerized applications at scale without deep Kubernetes expertise. Provides flexible deployment options with support for AI workloads, specialized hardware accelerators, and production-grade reliability. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","gui_dashboard":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes","managed_control_plane":true}` | `{"hosting":"cloud","gui_dashboard":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes","gpu_scheduling":true,"k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"managed_control_plane":true}` |
| integrations.count | 11 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Cast AI"},{"name":"Tailscale"},{"name":"1Password"},{"name":"Okta"},{"name":"Trend Micro"},{"name":"Orca Security"},{"name":"Vanta"},{"name":"Arctic Wolf"},{"name":"Asana"},{"name":"LucidLink"},{"name":"Brave Search API"}]` | - |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Standard Kubernetes version support","summary":"$0.10 per cluster per hour (standard support for 14 months after release)","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0.1,"period":"hour","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Extended Kubernetes version support","summary":"$0.60 per cluster per hour (extended support for 12 months after standard support ends)","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0.6,"period":"hour","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false}],"summary":"From $0.10 per cluster per hour. No minimum fees or upfront commitments. Additional charges for compute resources (EC2, EBS, IP addresses, cross-AZ traffic).","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/eks/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:05:16.722Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.1,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["hour"]}` | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Autopilot","summary":"$0.10/cluster/hour cluster management fee plus per-pod compute costs","features":["Automated cluster lifecycle management","Pod and cluster autoscaling","Cost visibility","Automated infrastructure cost optimization","Multi-cluster management","Per-pod billing model","Container-optimized compute","Fleet dashboard"],"components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"cluster","amount":0.1,"period":"hour","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Google manages node infrastructure, scaling, security, and pre-configured features with automatic capacity right-sizing and per-pod pricing","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"$0.10/cluster/hour cluster management fee plus Compute Engine instance pricing","features":["Flexible cluster management","Node-based billing","Compute Engine pricing applies","Committed use discounts available"],"components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"cluster","amount":0.1,"period":"hour","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Standard node pools with per-node billing based on underlying Compute Engine instances","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free tier provides $74.40/month credit. Cluster management fee: $0.10/cluster/hour. New customers receive $300 in free credits. Compute costs based on Autopilot per-pod or Standard per-node pricing.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:08:38.643Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.1,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | no | no |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.95 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Amazon EKS | Google Kubernetes Engine |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | Kubernetes | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud only |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OCI / CRI compliant | - | - |
| CNCF Certified Kubernetes conformant | - | ✓ |
| **Security** |  |  |
| Rootless operation | - | - |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| Daemonless architecture | - | - |
| **Platform** |  |  |
| Windows containers | - | - |
| ARM architecture support | - | - |
| **Workloads** |  |  |
| GPU scheduling | - | ✓ |
| Stateful workloads | - | ✓ |
| **Networking** |  |  |
| Built-in networking / CNI | - | - |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| Vendor-managed control plane | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| CNCF maturity | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:02:28.367Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*