Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Amazon EKS vs Kubernetes comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 13, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon EKS
Ranking in Container Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (19th)
Kubernetes
Ranking in Container Management
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Amazon EKS is 11.8%, down from 13.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kubernetes is 5.5%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management
 

Featured Reviews

Rock Wang - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing complex environments effortlessly while focusing on growth
The most beneficial aspect of Amazon EKS is that it helps manage the Kubernetes master node, so I don't need to maintain the master node, including tasks like upgrading. This allows me to focus on business code. If using services like Fargate, I only need to maintain my workload, simply uploading code that will be deployed to the Kubernetes cluster. This is especially beneficial for startup companies that lack the technical resources to manage the Kubernetes cluster. Furthermore, Amazon EKS allows me to utilize Kubernetes cluster-level expansion. If there’s insufficient resource on a machine, the cluster can automatically expand to add new nodes.
Venu Boddu - PeerSpot reviewer
Manage infrastructure automation and smooth application deployment with robust auto-scaling capabilities
Kubernetes is highly valuable for its node-based setup, which allows for the running of multiple pods. This feature is essential for infrastructure automation and application deployment. Kubernetes also offers rollback control and auto-scaling capabilities, which are crucial for maintaining an application's availability even if nodes or pods go down. Additionally, Kubernetes supports load balancing to distribute traffic efficiently across multiple pods.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"AWS EKS provides flexibility and scalability compared to on-premises Kubernetes."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The scalability has really helped us a lot in enhancing the customer experience and ensuring quick results."
"I like its auto-scale feature very much."
"The product helps us to configure the new environment."
"The most valuable feature is the cluster engine."
"The most valuable feature is the computing speed."
"It has always helped me. It is the repository where we store our images...The microservices appear to be well-made, and I don't have any comments on them as I don't see any flaws."
"Having fast storage classes is very important."
"The most valuable feature of Kubernetes is its support for load balancing."
"The most valuable feature of Kubernetes is automation. It is the best tool for automation."
"The most valuable feature of the platform is the ability to load some of the containers that were previously managed by humans."
"There are features that come out of the box with Kubernetes, with respect to scaling, reliability, etc. It's the leading container management platform. There are other competing ones, but this is the leading one. It has multiple instances of the application running. If one of them goes down, the other one automatically spins up."
"The autoscaling feature is the most valuable. Kubernetes itself is an orchestration tool. It automatically detects the load, and it automatically spins up the new Pod in the form of a new microservice deployment."
"The most valuable features of Kubernetes have been autoscaling and its resilience mechanisms."
"The scanning and support network."
 

Cons

"Amazon EKS needs to improve customer operations and technical support."
"The initial setup for Amazon EKS is not straightforward. Kubernetes is not an easy technology because there are many technologies in the cluster."
"I would like to see it a little more stable, more operational, and more convenient to develop."
"My first experience with Amazon EKS was difficult, and I would rate the initial setup as two because it was challenging without prior experience in microservices."
"Improvement is needed in reducing the complexity of using EKS. While services like EC2 are user-friendly, EKS and ECS present a steep learning curve with significant responsibilities."
"I am not impressed with the tool's Amazon console. It also needs to add security features."
"The main thing to improve with Amazon EKS is the price. However, these services can be very expensive. For example, in countries like Turkey, the cost is too high. That's why we offer our cloud solutions locally. We developed hybrid solutions, but their prices are still very high."
"The connectivity could be better."
"Currently has a very minimal UI for certain things."
"They should update Kubernetes more regularly."
"The lack of native support for billing and self-service capabilities is an area Kubernetes could improve. This requires the use of third-party integrations or managed services in order for customers to be able to deploy clusters on their own. It would be beneficial to have these features built-in into the Kubernetes platform."
"Kubernetes is a complex solution. The product needs to be more manageable and user-friendly."
"Although we face issues when migrating to new versions of Kubernetes, such as misunderstandings on using new features or integration with proxy services, these issues can be addressed with proper preparation."
"The support could be faster at resolving issues."
"The setup process could be improved as it's quite complex, especially for newbies."
"One feature I would actually like to see is the network monitoring part. When we talk about communities, it's mostly the computer side. But it does have some enhancements on the networking side which they have recently released. I would like to see more enhancement where we can monitor the networks of the Kubernetes cluster or the Kubernetes workloads."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is pricey. The tool's pricing is monthly."
"The solution is cheaper than one of its competitors."
"The product pricing depends on the specific requirements."
"Pricing is dependent upon instance type."
"The solution is quite costly and developers will start exploring other solutions or moving their workloads to other clouds if costs aren't reduced."
"Amazon EKS’s pricing is ok compared to its competitors."
"The price can be a problem for small-sized businesses."
"Amazon EKS has fair pricing. It's better in terms of pricing than other platforms."
"Pricing isn't a major concern for us. Since we resell Kubernetes services and focus on providing support, integration, and education, we don't usually have pricing issues. Our customers are more concerned with getting the right support and services than the cost. So, the value we provide is more important than the actual pricing. Pricing might change in the future, but it’s not a big issue for us right now."
"The solution itself is open-source, so there is no cost attached to it. However, it requires a virtual machine to operate, which does come at a cost; a choice of a pay as you go model, or a monthly charge via an enterprise agreement. There is a pricing calculator available, where organizations can determine the level and number of virtual machines required, and how much that will cost."
"There is a license to use Kubernetes."
"Microsoft provides reasonable costs for Kubernetes."
"Kubernetes is open source. But we have to manage Kubernetes as a team, and the overhead is a bit high. Compared with the platforms like Cloud Foundry, which has a much less operational overhead. Kubernetes, I have to manage the code, and I have to hire the developers. If someone has a product, a developer should know exactly what he's writing or high availability, and all those things may differ the costs."
"The solution is open source and has no fees."
"In addition to Kubernetes, you have to pay for support."
"Kubernetes is free; it's open-source software."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Container Management solutions are best for your needs.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon EKS?
The product's most valuable features are scalability, observability, and performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon EKS?
We are making a significant effort to transform our usage of Amazon EKS, which was previously rated as eight or nine in terms of cost. Now, it stands at six or seven due to optimizing our workload.
What needs improvement with Amazon EKS?
I am not the right person to ask what could be improved in Amazon EKS to make this tool better for the next release. A continuation of the managed pieces would be beneficial because there is no int...
What do you like most about Kubernetes?
There are many good features. I feel that the scale-out features, like replica sets, are very good. The number of running containers can be autoscaled.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kubernetes?
Since we use Kubernetes on-premises, the costs are related to our expertise and the personnel we hire.
What needs improvement with Kubernetes?
Although we face issues when migrating to new versions of Kubernetes, such as misunderstandings on using new features or integration with proxy services, these issues can be addressed with proper p...
 

Also Known As

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service
K8
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GoDaddy, Pearson, FICO, Intuit, Verizon, Honeywell, Logicworks, RetailMeNot, LogMeIn, Conde Nast, mercari, Trainline, Axway
China unicom, NetEase Cloud, Nav, AppDirect
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon EKS vs. Kubernetes and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.