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Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) vs SUSE Rancher comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Ranking in Container Security
20th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SUSE Rancher
Ranking in Container Security
33rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Container Security category, the mindshare of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Rancher is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)0.9%
SUSE Rancher0.5%
Other98.6%
Container Security
 

Featured Reviews

Daniel Wichinescki - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist | SRE | Cloud Public and Private at Parana Banco
Has supported production deployments and simplified permission management though could reduce monitoring costs
For Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), we only used it to orchestrate the Kubernetes pods. We didn't use the other features. We only used the environment to start our application. I utilized the automatic scaling capabilities. The integration with Azure Active Directory helped with the security of our applications. I think Amazon EKS is better. EKS is the best because there are many features to use for scaling and to control the environments.
reviewer2785698 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Solutions Engineer at a leisure / travel company with 501-1,000 employees
Centralized management has unified multi‑cluster operations across clouds and data centers
There are multiple areas where SUSE Rancher can improve. The most pressing issue that I found in SUSE Rancher is that it is a bit slow. Compared with Komodor, it is very slow. Maintenance is also very high, and we require regular maintenance. Non-experts in Kubernetes cannot handle this application. It is a bit less stable compared with other tools in the market. In most regions, there is scope for improvement. There is a lot of scope for improvement, and there are a lot of issues in the tool, such as addressing the errors, addressing the stability, and addressing the reliability. It is a very good tool, so that is why I gave it a nine. However, it is not a great tool to get a ten. It is a bit costly compared with other tools in the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It employs high availability."
"It is a stable solution."
"I don't have to furnish my own infrastructure in order to run containers or Kubernetes."
"The most valuable features of AKS are the full array of capabilities and robust security."
"It is easy to maintain the solution."
"The integration with Azure's security capabilities is very good. The Azure-managed identity and integration with the Azure application gateway for App Ingress are valuable features. Additionally, it is a very stable tool."
"The integration with Azure Active Directory helped with the security of our applications."
"We are not yet fully public cloud-native, however, Azure Kubernetes Service promises interesting scalability and flexibility for the future."
"Rancher Desktop provides support for Kubernetes setup on local machines."
"SUSE Rancher has positively impacted my organization as productivity is the main point, and the productivity has improved because the main project goal was to finish the project faster, which was particularly important since we have many applications."
"The most valuable features of SUSE Rancher include the user interface and the display features."
"SUSE Rancher is best used for large-scale applications such as ours; it manages very high-end infrastructure, and it has very good customer support, and it is very easy to understand in terms of usage."
"SUSE Rancher has made things easier for my team and organization by reducing errors, as I use it every day of the week, and it shows us issues through dashboards."
"SUSE Rancher is best used for large-scale applications such as ours; it manages very high-end infrastructure, has very good customer support, and is very easy to understand in terms of usage."
"SUSE Rancher has positively impacted my organization with increased efficiency in a 10x manner."
"Rancher Desktop provides support for Kubernetes setup on local machines."
 

Cons

"One improvement I'd like to see is a better user interface for developers, enabling easier operation without relying heavily on command lines."
"Sometimes, it fails to provide specific metrics."
"The application firewall is lacking some features and there is room for enhancement."
"The product needs to support a UI dashboard. I have to execute every single command to check the status of services which takes time."
"Its integration functions could be enhanced."
"The costs could be optimized in some way."
"The initial setup of AKS is complicated. The setup depends on the cluster, nodes, and lots of other things. There are also lots of extremely critical small devices. Moreover, you will have to pay them even while setting up the solution. It is not like you setup first and then pay for it."
"We would like to see the addition of a service report from the server for this solution, so that we can monitor the health of server operations."
"Some initial setup and configuration were required by the admin side for enabling security policies, which were not supported initially."
"I wish the container could be more lightweight so that anyone can test and verify SUSE Rancher Prime."
"There are a lot of issues in the tool, such as addressing the errors, addressing the stability, and addressing the reliability."
"Some initial setup and configuration were required by the admin side for enabling security policies, which were not supported initially."
"I have noticed that SUSE Rancher's GUI is slow because we have more than 1,000 pods, and when searching for a pod name, the page takes some time to load."
"Additional features for a paid solution should be included, such as more detailed insights, better graphics, and an improved user interface."
"There are a lot of issues in the tool, such as addressing the errors, addressing the stability, and addressing the reliability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I like the pricing and find it to be in the mid-range, and I would rate it as five out of ten."
"The solution does not cost much."
"The control plane is free and we only pay for the usage and time."
"Azure Kubernetes Service offers a pay-as-you-go licensing model."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"We are facing a significant challenge regarding OEM licensing. The issue arises from the fact that certain licenses required for our own purposes are not provided by Microsoft's licensing. Consequently, we are unsure about the most suitable mobile license provisioning model offered by third-party providers."
"The product follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model which is good for small enterprises. You need to pay only for the services that you use."
"The price of AKS is expensive. We pay approximately $10,000 monthly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Outsourcing Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)?
The platform's high scalability is one of its biggest advantages.
What needs improvement with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)?
I am not sure about areas that could be improved.
What is your primary use case for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)?
I use the product for the environments in the company, specifically for the environments in production, QA, and development. I used it in the finance industry at a bank. Now I have moved to another...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Rancher?
I do not know about the pricing, setup cost, and licensing information because another segment is responsible for this.
What needs improvement with SUSE Rancher?
I think SUSE Rancher can be improved, particularly because SUSE Manager, SUSE Rancher Manager, or SUSE Rancher Prime runs on containers. I wish the container could be more lightweight so that anyon...
What is your primary use case for SUSE Rancher?
My main use case for SUSE Rancher is managing multi-clusters, such as Kubernetes platform-based Kubernetes, GKE, AKS, and EKS. That was the main purpose. For managing those clusters with SUSE Ranch...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) vs. SUSE Rancher and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.