# Amazon EKS vs Kubernetes

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Kubernetes

| Attribute | Amazon EKS | Kubernetes |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 46 (73% (medium)) | 78.5 (38% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 83 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 125,197 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":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 platform for orchestrating containerized applications across clusters of computers, automatically handling deployment, scaling, and updates based on decades of production experience at Google and community best practices. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","gui_dashboard":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes","managed_control_plane":true}` | `{"hosting":"both","orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"windows_containers":true,"built_in_networking_cni":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"}]` | - |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":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":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://kubernetes.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:42:16.309Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.transparent | no | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 1 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0","date":"2026-08-26T16:29:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.36.4","date":"2026-08-20T11:48:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.35.8","date":"2026-08-20T18:59:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.34.11","date":"2026-08-20T18:45:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc.1","date":"2026-08-20T02:44:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc.0","date":"2026-08-06T12:04:57Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.36.3","date":"2026-07-23T00:35:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.35.7","date":"2026-07-22T22:28:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.34.10","date":"2026-07-22T22:01:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-beta.0","date":"2026-07-20T23:21:18Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-beta.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-alpha.3","date":"2026-07-08T18:11:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-alpha.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-alpha.2","date":"2026-06-25T02:40:51Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-alpha.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.36.2","date":"2026-06-12T11:34:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.35.6","date":"2026-06-12T11:32:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.34.9","date":"2026-06-12T11:30:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.33.13","date":"2026-06-12T11:30:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-alpha.1","date":"2026-06-11T03:25:52Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-alpha.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.36.1","date":"2026-05-12T16:39:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.35.5","date":"2026-05-12T15:37:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.34.8","date":"2026-05-12T15:35:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.8"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 7.5 |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Amazon EKS | Kubernetes |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | Kubernetes | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **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 2026-09-01T17:13:02.191Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*