KubePriceBook
Managed Kubernetes pricing, compared by provider — control-plane fees, node costs and free tiers.
KubePriceBook compares managed Kubernetes pricing across 12 providers. The big difference is the control-plane fee: hyperscalers like AWS EKS and Google GKE charge $0.10 per cluster per hour (about $73/month), while Azure AKS (free tier), DigitalOcean, Civo, Vultr, Oracle and others offer a free control plane — you pay only for worker nodes. On top of the control plane you pay for nodes (from ~$4–$30/node/month), load balancers and egress. Use the cost calculator to estimate your monthly bill.
Data as of June 2026.
Popular providers
Control plane: $0.10/hr · node from $30/mo
Google GKEControl plane: $0.10/hr · node from $24/mo
Azure AKSControl plane: Free · node from $30/mo
DigitalOcean DOKSControl plane: Free · node from $12/mo
Akamai LKEControl plane: Free · node from $12/mo
Civo KubernetesControl plane: Free · node from $10/mo
All providers by control-plane cost
| Provider | Control plane | Est. control-plane/mo | Cheapest node/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akamai LKE | Free | Free | $12/mo |
| Azure AKS | Free | Free | $30/mo |
| Civo Kubernetes | Free | Free | $10/mo |
| DigitalOcean DOKS | Free | Free | $12/mo |
| Hetzner (self-managed) | Free | Free | $4/mo |
| Oracle OKE | Free | Free | $30/mo |
| OVHcloud MKS | Free | Free | $20/mo |
| Scaleway Kapsule | Free | Free | $7/mo |
| Vultr VKE | Free | Free | $10/mo |
| Amazon EKS | $0.10/hr | ~$73/mo | $30/mo |
| Google GKE | $0.10/hr | ~$73/mo | $24/mo |
| IBM Cloud Kubernetes | Varies | Varies | $60/mo |
Source: Provider pricing pages. Data as of June 2026.
Pricing snapshot captured June 2026. Verify each figure on the vendor's pricing page before relying on it.
What you can look up
- Per-provider pricing — a page for every provider with the control-plane fee, node example, free tier, regions and cost pros/cons.
- Free control plane — which providers charge nothing for the control plane (a high-intent question).
- Cheapest managed Kubernetes — the overall cheapest options for a small cluster.
- Head-to-head comparisons — like EKS vs GKE, EKS vs AKS and DOKS vs LKE.
- Monthly cost estimate — the calculator adds control plane + nodes + load balancers.
Free control plane
Cheapest control plane
- Akamai LKE — Free
- Azure AKS — Free
- Civo Kubernetes — Free
- DigitalOcean DOKS — Free
- Hetzner (self-managed) — Free
- Oracle OKE — Free
Guides
A 2026 comparison of managed Kubernetes pricing: control-plane fees, worker-node costs and free tiers across AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS, DigitalOcean and more.
2026-06-20 Which managed Kubernetes has a free control plane?These managed Kubernetes providers charge nothing for the control plane: Azure AKS (free tier), DigitalOcean, Linode/Akamai, OVHcloud, Scaleway, Civo, Vultr and Oracle (basic).
2026-06-19 EKS vs GKE vs AKS: true cost breakdownEKS, GKE and AKS cost compared: the control-plane fee, worker-node pricing and the hidden extras (load balancers, egress) that decide your real Kubernetes bill.
2026-06-18 Cheapest way to run Kubernetes for a small teamThe cheapest way to run Kubernetes for a small team: free-control-plane providers with low node prices, with a sample sub-$30/month cluster and the trade-offs.
2026-06-17 Hidden costs of managed Kubernetes (load balancers, egress)The hidden costs of managed Kubernetes that aren't the control-plane fee: load balancers, data egress, NAT gateways, storage and cross-AZ traffic — and how to keep them down.
2026-06-16 Self-managed vs managed Kubernetes: cost comparedSelf-managed vs managed Kubernetes on cost: self-hosting on cheap servers avoids control-plane fees but adds operational labour. When each option is actually cheaper.
2026-06-15Where the data comes from
Every figure is a dated snapshot taken from each provider's own published pricing page — AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS, DigitalOcean, Akamai/Linode, Civo, Vultr, Oracle, OVHcloud and Scaleway. Kubernetes pricing changes frequently, so each page shows the snapshot captured June 2026 and links to the vendor's page. Monthly estimates are transparent calculations (hourly × 730 hours) — see our methodology. Always verify the current price with the provider before purchasing.
Last updated: 2026-06-20