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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
7.2
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (13th)
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 May 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Amazon EKS is 13.0%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kubernetes is 5.1%, down from 9.3% 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."
"Amazon EKS can be used to implement and create clusters."
"I like the scalability they're currently providing. Integration was very easy. It was a good experience."
"It is the best service because it has proper security packages."
"Overall Amazon EKS is a good solution in the industry. The solution can support multi tendencies, and network isolations are the key factors."
"The most valuable feature is the cluster engine."
"The solution has very good basic features."
"Amazon EKS allows upscaling and downscaling by reallocating resources."
"One of the most valuable features is the thickness of the cloud platform or on-prem file, which makes the solution straightforward to shift and scale. It works well with different types of deployment strategies and networks."
"Auto-scaling and self-healing features are very good."
"The most valuable features of Kubernetes have been autoscaling and its resilience mechanisms."
"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the scalability."
"I like that it has really boosted cloud-native development and stood the test of time. The underlying architecture allows one to scale as per the business KPIs much faster."
"The most valuable feature of Kubernetes is the integration with other solutions, such as Formative and Grafana."
"The ease of use if the solution is a very valuable aspect for us."
"Kubernetes is easy to use, maintain resources, and configure YAML efficiently."
 

Cons

"I would like to see the user interface improved because it is hard to find and not straightforward."
"Improvement is needed in reducing the complexity of using EKS."
"Amazon EKS is predominately public. However, the government has started to have a lot of interest in Kubernetes and is receiving more education on Kubernetes and Amazon EKS. If we can have the security of Amazon EKS align with the security that is set out by the government it would be much better."
"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."
"They should enhance the Jira integration."
"They should include some essential configuration features to it."
"The solution's graphical interface is not the best."
"The dashboard needs to be more user-friendly."
"The support could be faster at resolving issues."
"The initial setup of Kubernetes is difficult. However, if you are used to the flow then it is easier. The length of time it takes for the implementation depends on the project."
"It would be nice if they could make it easier for developers and infrastructure staff to automate some of the pieces that they have to do manually at the moment."
"There is a feature called Terraform and, based on the reviews I have read, it could be improved."
"It would be great if Kubernetes could handle a level of data backup."
"The plugins could be better. That is one pain point we had, and we had to get in with many other open standards, like Calico networking and more."
"There are features in Google Cloud or AWS that aren't in Azure. They need to implement a couple more tools in Azure."
"The price is something they need to improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is available at such a huge scale in the market since the resources that are offered under the tool are competitively priced and available at a much cheaper rate compared to other solutions."
"The solution is pricey. The tool's pricing is monthly."
"The solution is cheaper than one of its competitors."
"The solution is more expensive than other competitors and does not require a license."
"The tool's pricing is good."
"The price can be a problem for small-sized businesses."
"Amazon EKS is quite pricey, but the functionality it provides is worth it."
"Amazon EKS is very cost-effective."
"Kubernetes is open source and is an orchestration platform. It is a cost effective solution and its pricing depends on your company and how you use it"
"Kubernetes is free; it's open-source software."
"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."
"There are no licensing fees."
"Kubernetes is an open-source solution that can be free. We have some distribution with licenses, such OpenShift and Tucows in Amazon. They are billing services."
"In addition to Kubernetes, you have to pay for support."
"It's an affordable solution"
"Microsoft provides reasonable costs for Kubernetes."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
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?
The pricing structure is beneficial for large companies who pay for what they use, but it is not affordable for startups. Offering a free version could help small companies.
What needs improvement with Amazon EKS?
There is room for improvement in making Amazon EKS ( /products/amazon-eks-reviews ) less error-prone when writing on the YAML file. A UI could help generate config files, simplifying the process fo...
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: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.