EKS vs GKE vs AKS: how to choose
EKS, GKE, and AKS all give you a Kubernetes API server you do not have to run. They differ most in how much of the rest of the cluster they take responsibility for, and that difference is larger than the feature tables suggest.
GKE is generally the most complete: node management, autoscaling, and upgrades are the most automated, and Autopilot removes node management entirely. EKS gives the most control and integrates most deeply with the surrounding AWS estate, at the cost of assembling more yourself — a plain EKS cluster arrives without a load balancer controller, without cluster autoscaling, and historically without a CSI driver. AKS sits between the two and is the natural choice where Entra ID and Azure networking are already the standard.
The decision is usually made by where everything else already runs, and that is a reasonable way to make it. Cross-cloud differences in the Kubernetes API are small; differences in IAM, networking, and load balancing are what you will actually spend time on.
Frequently asked questions
Which has the lowest operational burden?
GKE, particularly in Autopilot mode, where nodes are not your concern at all and you are billed for pod resource requests. Standard GKE still leads on upgrade automation and node repair. EKS has narrowed the gap considerably with managed node groups and add-ons, but assembling a production-ready cluster remains more work.
How do the control plane costs compare?
All three now charge an hourly control plane fee in the same range, so it is rarely the deciding number. The real cost differences are in networking — cross-zone traffic, load balancers, and NAT gateway egress — which routinely dwarf the control plane line. Model those on your actual traffic pattern.
What is the biggest gotcha with EKS?
How much is not included. A new cluster has no ingress controller, no cluster autoscaler or Karpenter, and needs IRSA or Pod Identity configured before workloads can assume AWS roles. The VPC CNI also assigns each pod a real VPC address, so pod density is bounded by instance type ENI limits and subnets can exhaust faster than expected.
How do upgrades differ?
GKE offers release channels with automatic upgrades on a schedule you choose, which is the least hands-on option. EKS requires you to initiate the control plane upgrade and then update node groups and add-ons yourself, in the right order. AKS is closer to GKE with auto-upgrade channels. All three support far fewer concurrent versions than people expect, so falling behind is expensive.
Does multi-cloud portability justify avoiding managed services?
Rarely. Your Deployments and Services port easily; what does not port is IAM integration, load balancer annotations, storage classes, and networking. Avoiding managed control planes to preserve portability usually means running your own for a benefit you never exercise. Portability is better bought with abstractions at the edges than by declining the platform.
