Methodology & data sources
Transparency is the core of our E-E-A-T. This page documents exactly where each price comes from, when it was captured, and the formulas behind every derived figure.
Snapshot date
All prices on this site are a dated snapshot (snapshot captured June 2026, i.e. as of June 2026). Managed-Kubernetes pricing changes frequently and varies by region, instance type, currency and discounts. Prices change frequently — verify on the vendor's pricing page before purchasing. We do not fabricate figures: where a value could not be verified on the vendor's page, it is omitted.
Per-provider sources
Each provider's figures are taken from its own published pricing page:
| Provider | Control plane (snapshot) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon EKS | $0.10/hr | Amazon Web Services pricing |
| Google GKE | $0.10/hr | Google Cloud pricing |
| Azure AKS | Free | Microsoft Azure pricing |
| DigitalOcean DOKS | Free | DigitalOcean pricing |
| Akamai LKE | Free | Akamai (Linode) pricing |
| OVHcloud MKS | Free | OVHcloud pricing |
| Scaleway Kapsule | Free | Scaleway pricing |
| Civo Kubernetes | Free | Civo pricing |
| Vultr VKE | Free | Vultr pricing |
| Oracle OKE | Free | Oracle Cloud pricing |
| IBM Cloud Kubernetes | Varies | IBM Cloud pricing |
| Hetzner (self-managed) | Free | Hetzner Cloud pricing |
Data sources (summary)
| Source | Refresh cadence | License / nature |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon EKS pricing | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| Google GKE pricing | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| Azure AKS pricing | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| DigitalOcean Kubernetes pricing | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| Akamai/Linode LKE | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| Civo pricing | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| Vultr Kubernetes Engine | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| Oracle OKE pricing | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| OVHcloud Managed Kubernetes | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
| Scaleway Kapsule | none | Vendor pricing page (snapshot) |
How we derive figures
- Estimated monthly control-plane fee = published hourly fee × 730 hours (an industry-standard "hours per month" constant). Providers with a free control plane are $0; those that don't bill a flat hourly fee are shown as "varies".
- Calculator total = control-plane fee + (number of nodes × price per node) + (number of load balancers × price per load balancer). It runs entirely in your browser; we don't store inputs.
- "Cheapest" ranking = estimated monthly control-plane fee + one representative cheapest worker node — a like-for-like floor for a minimal cluster.
- "Free control plane" list = providers whose standard/basic control plane carries no per-cluster fee (note: some, like Azure AKS free tier and Oracle basic clusters, omit a financially-backed SLA on the free tier).
What's excluded
Our headline comparisons and the calculator focus on the control plane and worker nodes. They do not include data egress, persistent storage (volumes), NAT gateways, support plans, per-second billing nuances, committed-use/reserved discounts, or regional price differences — all of which can materially change your real bill. For hyperscalers especially, egress and load balancers can dominate.
Limitations & accuracy
Figures are estimates for general information and may lag the underlying source or contain errors. This is an informational comparison, not a quote or financial advice. Always verify against the primary source before relying on it. See our disclaimer.
Last updated: 2026-06-20