Kubernetes · Cloud
EKS vs GKE vs AKS in 2026: which managed Kubernetes should you pick?
If you are choosing a managed Kubernetes service in 2026, the honest answer is that the decision is mostly about which cloud you are already on. The Kubernetes API is the same across Amazon EKS, Google GKE, and Azure AKS. The real differences show up in networking, identity, autoscaling, the add-on ecosystem, and how much of the service each provider manages for you.
TL;DR
- EKS is the natural default if you already run on AWS. Deep IAM, VPC, and ecosystem integration, the largest third-party tooling marketplace, but more self-assembly.
- GKE is the most managed experience. Autopilot removes node management, Fleet handles multi-cluster, and the control plane is free. Best when you want fewer operational decisions.
- AKS is the logical choice if you are committed to Azure. Tight Entra ID and Azure DevOps integration, free control plane at standard tier.
- All three are production-ready. The decision is which cloud you are on, not a Kubernetes feature gap.
| Dimension | EKS | GKE | AKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best when you're on | AWS | GCP | Azure |
| Control plane | $73/mo per cluster | Free | Free (standard) |
| Autoscaler | Karpenter, most flexible | Autopilot, zero node ops | Cluster Autoscaler (Karpenter in preview) |
| Networking | VPC CNI, pod gets a VPC IP | VPC-native alias IPs | Azure CNI / Overlay |
| Identity | IRSA / Pod Identity | Workload Identity Federation | Entra Workload ID |
| Add-ons | Largest third-party ecosystem | Most first-party, managed | Azure-native |
| Long-term support | ~14 mo (paid extended) | ~14 mo, ships newest first | LTS up to 2 yrs (Premium) |
Control plane pricing
EKS charges $0.10/hour (about $73/month) per cluster. GKE and AKS both give you a free control plane at the base tier. That sounds small until you run five clusters across dev, staging, prod, data, and platform, where EKS quietly adds up to $4,000+ a year in control plane fees alone. Account for it early.
Compute and autoscaling
EKS uses Karpenter, the most adaptable autoscaler of the three. It provisions right-sized nodes from a wide instance selection, consolidates aggressively, and mixes spot and on-demand in the same pool. Having originated on AWS, it integrates deepest there. GKE Autopilot removes node management entirely: you declare pods, Google runs the nodes, and you are billed per pod resource. AKS uses the Cluster Autoscaler natively, with Karpenter still in preview as of mid-2026, plus KEDA as a managed add-on for event-driven scaling.
Networking
EKS defaults to the VPC CNI: every pod gets a real VPC IP, which makes native security groups and routing easy but can lead to IP exhaustion in large clusters. GKE uses VPC-native networking with alias IP ranges and manages those ranges efficiently, so exhaustion is less of a concern at 500+ nodes. AKS supports Azure CNI and kubenet, and the newer Azure CNI Overlay mode gives you the best of both: pods on an overlay that still reach VNET resources natively. If your workloads talk to managed databases in the same network (RDS, Elasticache, Azure SQL), the native CNI approach of EKS and AKS simplifies firewall rules.
Identity and access
All three solve the same problem, no static credentials in pods, through different mechanisms. EKS uses IAM Roles for Service Accounts or the newer EKS Pod Identity. GKE uses Workload Identity Federation tied to Google Cloud IAM. AKS uses Entra Workload ID. The distinction is simply which identity provider you already manage: Entra ID users onboard fastest on AKS, AWS IAM users on EKS, Google Workspace users on GKE.
Add-on ecosystem
EKS has the broadest third-party ecosystem. AWS manages a handful of add-ons (CoreDNS, kube-proxy, VPC CNI, EBS CSI), but a real cluster still needs 5 to 10 tools you install yourself (ArgoCD, cert-manager, external-dns, Prometheus). GKE is the most feature-complete out of the box: Config Sync, Anthos Service Mesh, Binary Authorization, GKE Backup, and Cloud Logging all arrive first-party. AKS sits in the middle, with managed add-ons for monitoring, GitOps (Flux), KEDA, and Azure Policy. Assemble-from-best-of-breed teams lean EKS; teams that want a curated experience lean GKE.
Upgrades and long-term support
EKS supports each version about 14 months, with expensive extended support beyond that. GKE supports roughly 14 months on the Regular channel, auto-upgrades by default, and tends to ship new Kubernetes versions first. AKS offers Long-Term Support of up to 2 years per version on the Premium tier, which matters if compliance or legacy dependencies keep you from upgrading often.
So which one?
- Already on AWS: EKS, with Karpenter from day one.
- Already on Azure: AKS, especially with Entra ID and Microsoft 365 in the picture.
- Starting fresh, or you want the least node management: GKE, often Autopilot.
What to avoid
- Don't switch clouds for Kubernetes. Migrating IAM, networking, CI/CD, and monitoring from AWS to GCP for a marginally better autoscaler erases any savings.
- Don't run multi-cloud Kubernetes unless you genuinely must. The complexity is real and the tooling is immature. Pick one cloud and run it well.
- Don't assume Autopilot is always cheaper. For large, predictable workloads, GKE Standard with committed-use discounts often wins.
What to do next
If you are choosing a cloud for the first time, a Cloud Infrastructure Assessment looks at your workload profile and recommends the right provider and cluster architecture before you commit. If you already know your cloud and just need Kubernetes set up properly, that is exactly the kind of build we do, on EKS, GKE, or AKS.