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

Google Kubernetes Engine vs VMware Tanzu Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 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
Ranking in Container Management
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Tanzu Platform
Ranking in Container Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Build Automation (13th), PaaS Clouds (12th), Cloud Management (24th), Development Platforms (3rd), Service Mesh (7th), Agile and DevOps Services (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

Immánuel Fodor - PeerSpot reviewer
The auto-scaling feature ensures that we only use resources when needed
The most valuable aspect of Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is its managed nature, which significantly reduces the burden on our platform team. Features like auto-scaling are highly beneficial for both handling traffic spikes and optimizing costs. Furthermore, Google's promise of good SLA availability, with the service being available in different locations, adds to its robustness.
DarshanChaudhari - PeerSpot reviewer
Empowers seamless connectivity and integration through APIs while offering robust auto-scaling
I am involved in IT services and we provide a solution to customers. We work with VMware, Nutanix, OpenShift, and Microsoft Hyper-V The Tanzu platform is highly available, scalable, and flexible. It offers native services for autoscaling and integrations through APIs, allowing seamless…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Before using this solution, it was a lot of manual tasks and a lot of people participated in the process."
"Google Kubernetes Engine's most valuable features are microservices and its acquisition rate, which is very useful for scaling perspective."
"We hardly have a breakdown. It's been very stable."
"The initial setup is very easy. We can create our cluster using the command line, or using our console."
"The features are typical Kubernetes, but Google One offers a better GUI-based deployment. It's more sophisticated and integrates well with other services, providing a better customer experience."
"I am impressed with the product's output scaling."
"I rate Google Kubernetes Engine a ten out of ten."
"The deployment of the cluster is very easy."
"Tanzu Mission Control has quite a set of rich features when compared to OpenShift."
"VMware Tanzu Mission Control has many valuable features, such as ease of use and customization."
"We never experienced any problems with scalability."
"The most valuable feature of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is the management functionality of the cluster life cycle. Additionally, the solution integrates well with other vendors, such as Velero for backups and Sonobuoy for compliance. Additionally, it works well in multi-cluster environments."
"The Day 2 operations support is the most vital feature"
"Tanzu is easy to upgrade and scale, whether we're talking about horizontal or vertical scaling. It is as smooth as possible without any downtime. The platform maintenance, upgrading, and operations part is very smooth."
"Defining security metrics has proven beneficial for customers in maintaining a safe environment."
"The Tanzu platform is highly available, scalable, and flexible."
 

Cons

"The console for this solution could be improved because it is very limited."
"One of the things I missed a bit is the visibility and availability of solutions. If I compare it to a different solution, it is a bit behind."
"The management UI could be improved. When looking at the web interface, it feels kind of slow due to the many features involved."
"The pricing could be more competitive. It should be cheaper."
"The primary area for improvement would be the complexity involved when working with Google Kubernetes Engine, especially when using Terraform."
"I would like to see the ability to create multiple notebook configurations."
"The monitoring part requires some serious improvements in Google Kubernetes Engine, as it does not have very good monitoring consoles."
"Google Kubernetes Engine's cost should be improved because it is high."
"Another area of improvement is pricing."
"The solution's initial setup process was complex...The solution could benefit from improved customization and visibility for its users."
"Customers have noticed a considerable price increase after VMware's acquisition by Broadcom."
"The solution is currently focused on VMware infrastructure and I would like to see more options made available."
"Tanzu could provide more granular control over whatever networking is being done on the containers. I would also like to see a slightly more detailed view of application-level tracing. I'm referring to the connections between different microservices. If they added a service-matching feature, that would be helpful for the customers to build or be more effective."
"Addressing the high upfront costs could improve the product. Implementing a subscription-based model with tiered service options could make it more accessible to a broader range of customers."
"LYNX is a managed cluster solution that takes care of specific details within a cluster, such as sequences or services. I haven't seen this feature in Tanzu Mission Control."
"Having a unified dashboard to manage all infrastructure, whether it involves additional IT infrastructure or modern apps, would be highly advantageous"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten. The tool costs around 3000 dollars per month. There are no additional costs apart from these."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"Its pricing is good. They bill us only per user. That's nice."
"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."
"I would rate Kubernetes' pricing four out of five."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
"We are planning to use external support, and hire a commercial partner for it."
"The price for Google Kubernetes Engine could be lower - I'd rate its pricing at three out of five."
"The price of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is greater than that of Red Hat's competitor solution"
"The solution is bundled in with Cloud Foundry so the pricing is not independent."
"The license for VMware Tanzu Application Service is expensive. The license should be cheaper."
"The product is not expensive, but it is not cheap."
"Since we were at a large data center, the price might not have been a concern for us."
"One of our Spanish customers told us that VMware Tanzu Service Mesh is a very expensive product for their data center."
"VMware Tanzu Mission Control is cheaper than Red Hat OpenShift."
"The licensing cost is expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Container Management solutions are best for your needs.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
13%
Retailer
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Kubernetes Engine?
The on-demand nodes are quite expensive, so we now use spot machines.
What needs improvement with Google Kubernetes Engine?
Gemini could be more integrated with Google Kubernetes Engine ( /products/google-kubernetes-engine-reviews ). For example, it would be helpful if I could easily find log information in a particular...
Which is better - OpenShift Container Platform or VMware Tanzu Mission Control?
Red Hat Openshift is ideal for organizations using microservices and cloud environments. I like that the platform is auto-scalable, which saves overhead time for developers. I think Openshift can b...
What do you like most about VMware Tanzu Mission Control?
It definitely gives the end customer a good overview and perspective of running applications in terms of overall workload footprint. TMC provides a very detailed description of your cloud-native ap...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Tanzu Mission Control?
The price of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is greater than that of Red Hat's competitor solution. I would rate the pricing of VMware Tanzu Mission Control as four out of ten.
 

Also Known As

GKE
Tanzu Application Catalog, Application Platform, Application Service, Hub, Mission Control, Service Mesh, Build Service, Concourse for VMware Tanzu
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Philips Lighting, Alpha Vertex, GroupBy, BQ
Verizon, Cerner, Zipcar, Avarteq
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Kubernetes Engine vs. VMware Tanzu Platform and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.