Amazon EKS pricing
Amazon Web Services · managed Kubernetes · snapshot captured June 2026
Amazon EKS has a control-plane fee of $0.10/cluster/hour (about $73/month). $0.10 per cluster/hour for standard Kubernetes support (~$73/month). Extended support for older versions is $0.60/cluster/hour. You then pay for worker nodes (EC2 t3.medium on-demand ~ $0.0416/hour (~$30/month) per node; you pay normal EC2 rates, or use EKS Auto Mode (adds a $0.02–$0.07/hr management fee per instance) or Fargate.) plus load balancers and egress. Its representative cheapest node is about $30/month, and it runs in 30+ aws regions worldwide.
Source: Amazon Web Services pricing. Data as of June 2026.
Amazon EKS pricing at a glance
| Cost factor | Amazon EKS |
|---|---|
| Control-plane fee | $0.10 per cluster/hour for standard Kubernetes support (~$73/month). Extended support for older versions is $0.60/cluster/hour. |
| Est. control-plane cost / month | ~$73/mo |
| Worker node example | EC2 t3.medium on-demand ~ $0.0416/hour (~$30/month) per node; you pay normal EC2 rates, or use EKS Auto Mode (adds a $0.02–$0.07/hr management fee per instance) or Fargate. |
| Load balancer | AWS Network/Application Load Balancer billed separately (from ~$16–$22/month plus LCU usage). |
| Egress | Standard AWS data-transfer egress applies (first 100 GB/month free, then ~$0.09/GB). |
| Free tier | No free control plane. AWS Free Tier covers some EC2/EBS for 12 months but not the EKS control-plane fee. |
| Regions | 30+ AWS regions worldwide. |
| SLA | 99.95% control-plane SLA. |
Source: Amazon Web Services pricing page. Data as of June 2026.
Source: Amazon Web Services pricing. Snapshot captured June 2026 — Kubernetes pricing changes frequently; verify before purchasing.
What drives the cost on Amazon EKS
A managed-Kubernetes bill has three main parts: the control plane (~$73/mo here), the worker nodes (where most of your spend goes), and networking (load balancers and egress). For Amazon EKS: EC2 t3.medium on-demand ~ $0.0416/hour (~$30/month) per node; you pay normal EC2 rates, or use EKS Auto Mode (adds a $0.02–$0.07/hr management fee per instance) or Fargate. Load balancers: AWS Network/Application Load Balancer billed separately (from ~$16–$22/month plus LCU usage). Egress: Standard AWS data-transfer egress applies (first 100 GB/month free, then ~$0.09/GB).
Cost pros & cons
Where Amazon EKS saves money
- Deep AWS integration (IAM, VPC, ALB, Fargate)
- Largest ecosystem and region coverage
- EKS Auto Mode automates node management
Watch-outs
- Control plane is never free ($0.10/hr)
- Costs add up fast with NAT gateways, load balancers and cross-AZ traffic
- Extended-support surcharge is steep at $0.60/hr
Amazon EKS vs other providers
How Amazon EKS's control-plane and node costs compare with similar providers:
| Provider | Control plane | Est. control-plane/mo | Cheapest node/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon EKS (this provider) | $0.10/hr | ~$73/mo | $30/mo |
| Google GKE | $0.10/hr | ~$73/mo | $24/mo |
| IBM Cloud Kubernetes | Varies | Varies | $60/mo |
| Azure AKS | Free | Free | $30/mo |
| DigitalOcean DOKS | Free | Free | $12/mo |
| Akamai LKE | Free | Free | $12/mo |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Amazon EKS cost?
Amazon EKS has a control-plane fee of $0.10/cluster/hour (about $73/month). $0.10 per cluster/hour for standard Kubernetes support (~$73/month). Extended support for older versions is $0.60/cluster/hour. On top of that you pay for worker nodes (EC2 t3.medium on-demand ~ $0.0416/hour (~$30/month) per node; you pay normal EC2 rates, or use EKS Auto Mode (adds a $0.02–$0.07/hr management fee per instance) or Fargate.), load balancers and egress. Snapshot captured June 2026 — verify on the vendor's pricing page.
Is the Amazon EKS control plane free?
No — Amazon EKS charges for the control plane. $0.10 per cluster/hour for standard Kubernetes support (~$73/month). Extended support for older versions is $0.60/cluster/hour.
What do Amazon EKS worker nodes cost?
EC2 t3.medium on-demand ~ $0.0416/hour (~$30/month) per node; you pay normal EC2 rates, or use EKS Auto Mode (adds a $0.02–$0.07/hr management fee per instance) or Fargate. Node pricing is the largest part of most clusters' bills, so the choice of instance size and count usually matters more than the control-plane fee. Snapshot captured June 2026.
What hidden costs should I watch for with Amazon EKS?
Beyond nodes and the control plane, the common extras are load balancers (AWS Network/Application Load Balancer billed separately (from ~$16–$22/month plus LCU usage).) and data egress (Standard AWS data-transfer egress applies (first 100 GB/month free, then ~$0.09/GB).). NAT gateways, storage volumes and support plans can also add up. Always model your real workload — the calculator gives a quick estimate.
Keep exploring
Source & accuracy
Figures are a dated snapshot from Amazon Web Services's pricing page (snapshot captured June 2026). Estimated monthly control-plane cost is the hourly fee × 730 hours (see methodology). Managed-Kubernetes pricing is volatile and varies by region, instance type and discounts — verify current prices on the vendor's page before purchasing. This is an informational comparison, not a quote.
Last updated: 2026-06-20