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Google Kubernetes Engine vs Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 1, 2025

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

Google Kubernetes Engine
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Container Management (10th)
Nutanix Kubernetes Engine N...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Parthasarathy T - PeerSpot reviewer
Managed solutions enable efficient handling of web applications and migration projects
Google Kubernetes Engine can be improved by enabling the in-place upgrade of the machine type of an existing node pool since I currently need to destroy and recreate it. There is no feature present where I can upgrade directly, and having more than 1,000 to 2,000 workloads in one node pool makes changing the node pool name difficult for all those workloads. I choose eight out of ten mainly because of the node pool upgrade challenge I mentioned, but also because of the existence of Anthos service mesh, which is the ingress controller available only for the enterprise Kubernetes Engine. It would be beneficial if it could be offered in the normal Kubernetes Engine with any limitations.
Prasanthraj PN - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers efficient deployment and management with easy resource allocation, yet faces challenges in integration and compatibility
Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE offers easy and fast deployment, management, stability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. The resource allocation is very simple. If we need to expand the memory, storage space, or processor core, it is very easy to manage through our central control. These features are what stand out the most.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Regarding deployment in the cloud platform, it is simple because there are pre-configured configurations."
"It's easy to manage and deploy. It's the best."
"I highly recommend it to others due to its comprehensive features and cost-effectiveness for various company sizes."
"The initial setup was very easy because it's like a Google platform as a service. It's just one button to set it up. The deployment took only a few minutes."
"The scalability is the best feature."
"The most beneficial feature is the ability to separate each project and manage permissions more effectively."
"The initial setup process is simpler and more user-friendly than other cloud providers."
"The solution simplified deployment, making it more automated. Previously, Docker required manual configuration, often done by developers on their computers. However, with Google Kubernetes Engine, automation extends to configuration, deployment, scalability, and viability, primarily originating from Docker rather than Kubernetes. Its most valuable feature is the ease of configuration."
"The solution is embedded in the hypervisor and there are no deployment costs."
"We can do a lot of provisioning."
"My experience with Nutanix's technical support is excellent."
"The product integrates well with our infrastructure."
"We can add some add-ons and plugins to the product if we need to."
"The platform is valuable due to its ease of use and quick deployment capabilities."
"Nutanix is very stable and reliable, based on my experience with many customers, including large banks and telcos."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"The network configuration has to be simplified."
"The product's stability is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"There is room for improvement in this solution. For example, auto-scaling can be complex. We expect it to be easier to set up and manage, even for our customers."
"The management UI could be improved."
"The product could be cheaper."
"The management UI could be improved. When looking at the web interface, it feels kind of slow due to the many features involved."
"Log observability could be made easier so someone from high school can use it without having technological expertise."
"Google Kubernetes Engine is less stable in some highly complex deployments with many nodes."
"The product lacks some virtualization capabilities, making it an area for improvement where the solution can focus on providing users with more virtualization capabilities related to disk systems."
"We need a backup of production clusters."
"I would like to have more nodes for availability and storage."
"GUI lacks sufficient information to help with understanding the installation and process."
"It's mostly for lab purposes; we haven't seen a lot of traction in the market from enterprise customers yet."
"Nutanix has limitations compared to VMware, particularly in testing and industry tie-ups with different OEMs. Deploying virtual machines, especially for industrial automation, can be challenging due to compatibility issues."
"NKE could benefit from additional features that support more advanced Kubernetes functionalities and configurations."
"In the next release, I would like to have automatic dynamic scaling, both upscaling and downscaling."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price. The product is competitively priced."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
"Initially, Google Kubernetes Engine was a little bit cheaper, but now its prices have been increased compared to the pricing model and the features that are made available by its competitors."
"The product is a little bit expensive."
"Currently, it costs around $1000 per month which sorted our deployment. So once we get more clients, having a huge suffix, costs can go up."
"Its pricing is good. They bill us only per user. That's nice."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"Pricing is a bit expensive compared to some other products, but it's acceptable."
"I rate NKE's pricing a six out of ten."
"I rate the product price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"While deploying Kubernetes clusters on Nutanix is cost-effective, there may be additional costs for remote branch offices where Kubernetes is less common."
"The product's licenses are included in the software version deployed in our data center."
"The platform is averagely priced. I rate the pricing as four out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
9%
Retailer
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Kubernetes Engine?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Google Kubernetes Engine is straightforward, as I previously indicated. The need for humans is reduced with GCP since there is no need for ...
What needs improvement with Google Kubernetes Engine?
Google Kubernetes Engine can be improved by enabling the in-place upgrade of the machine type of an existing node pool since I currently need to destroy and recreate it. There is no feature present...
What do you like most about Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
The most valuable features of the Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (NKE) are its simplicity and efficiency during the initial cluster creation phase.
What needs improvement with Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
In terms of features, I cannot comment technically, but the real value is the consolidated out-of-the-box solution that Nutanix offers. Nutanix has built great branding and a lot of credibility and...
What is your primary use case for Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
I have experience with OpenShift, Kubernetes, and Nutanix, as we are one of the largest Nutanix resellers in the Middle East. We handle Kubernetes on the cloud as well, so we manage most of the Kub...
 

Also Known As

GKE
Nutanix Karbon
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Philips Lighting, Alpha Vertex, GroupBy, BQ
JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, SAIC Volkswagen
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Broadcom and others in Container Management. Updated: September 2025.
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