A managed Kubernetes service runs the control plane, upgrades and node lifecycle, so your team operates applications instead of the cluster.
Managed Kubernetes is a service where a provider runs the control plane for you. EKS, GKE and AKS run certified, conformant upstream Kubernetes.
Self-managed Kubernetes gives full control but makes upgrades, certificates, etcd backups and HA your job. Managed services run the control plane for a fee.
On EKS, GKE and AKS the control plane costs $0 to $0.10 per cluster-hour (about $73 a month), rising to $0.60 on extended support. Nodes cost far more.
Compare managed Kubernetes services on conformance, SLA scope, version support and fees, node model, where nodes can run, data residency, pricing and exit cost.
Kubernetes is overkill for one or two stateless services on one cloud. It pays off with many services, stateful parts, several environments or portability.
Use ECS for AWS-only container workloads with no orchestration fee. Use EKS when you need the Kubernetes API, its ecosystem or portability beyond AWS.
A managed Kubernetes SLA covers Kubernetes API availability, usually 99.5% to 99.95% a month, paid out as service credits. Nodes and workloads are not covered.
Create a managed Kubernetes cluster in minutes. Every new account gets €200 in credit, so you can explore the full platform with no charge until it's used or expires.