Azure AKS pricing
Microsoft Azure · managed Kubernetes · snapshot captured June 2026
Azure AKS has a free control plane. Free tier control plane is $0/cluster/hour (no financially-backed SLA). The Standard tier adds an Uptime SLA for $0.10/cluster/hour (~$73/month); the Premium tier (with long-term support) is $0.60/cluster/hour. You then pay for worker nodes (You pay normal Azure VM rates for node pools (e.g. Standard_B2s ~ $0.0416/hour, ~$30/month per node).) plus load balancers and egress. Its representative cheapest node is about $30/month, and it runs in 60+ azure regions worldwide. This is one of the providers with a free control plane.
Source: Microsoft Azure pricing. Data as of June 2026.
Azure AKS pricing at a glance
| Cost factor | Azure AKS |
|---|---|
| Control-plane fee | Free tier control plane is $0/cluster/hour (no financially-backed SLA). The Standard tier adds an Uptime SLA for $0.10/cluster/hour (~$73/month); the Premium tier (with long-term support) is $0.60/cluster/hour. |
| Est. control-plane cost / month | Free |
| Worker node example | You pay normal Azure VM rates for node pools (e.g. Standard_B2s ~ $0.0416/hour, ~$30/month per node). |
| Load balancer | Azure Standard Load Balancer billed separately. |
| Egress | Standard Azure bandwidth egress applies (first 100 GB/month free). |
| Free tier | Free tier control plane at $0 (best-effort 99.5% availability, no SLA). You still pay for VM nodes, storage and networking. |
| Regions | 60+ Azure regions worldwide. |
| SLA | 99.95%/99.9% Kubernetes API SLA on Standard/Premium tiers (with/without availability zones). |
Source: Microsoft Azure pricing page. Data as of June 2026.
Source: Microsoft Azure pricing. Snapshot captured June 2026 — Kubernetes pricing changes frequently; verify before purchasing.
What drives the cost on Azure AKS
A managed-Kubernetes bill has three main parts: the control plane (free here), the worker nodes (where most of your spend goes), and networking (load balancers and egress). For Azure AKS: You pay normal Azure VM rates for node pools (e.g. Standard_B2s ~ $0.0416/hour, ~$30/month per node). Load balancers: Azure Standard Load Balancer billed separately. Egress: Standard Azure bandwidth egress applies (first 100 GB/month free).
Cost pros & cons
Where Azure AKS saves money
- Free control-plane tier for dev/test
- Deepest region footprint
- Premium tier offers 2-year long-term-support Kubernetes versions
Watch-outs
- Production SLA costs $0.10/hr (Standard tier)
- Premium/LTS tier is pricey at $0.60/hr
- VM, disk and networking costs are extra
Azure AKS vs other providers
How Azure AKS's control-plane and node costs compare with similar providers:
| Provider | Control plane | Est. control-plane/mo | Cheapest node/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure AKS (this provider) | Free | Free | $30/mo |
| DigitalOcean DOKS | Free | Free | $12/mo |
| Akamai LKE | Free | Free | $12/mo |
| OVHcloud MKS | Free | Free | $20/mo |
| Scaleway Kapsule | Free | Free | $7/mo |
| Civo Kubernetes | Free | Free | $10/mo |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Azure AKS cost?
Azure AKS has a free control plane. Free tier control plane is $0/cluster/hour (no financially-backed SLA). The Standard tier adds an Uptime SLA for $0.10/cluster/hour (~$73/month); the Premium tier (with long-term support) is $0.60/cluster/hour. On top of that you pay for worker nodes (You pay normal Azure VM rates for node pools (e.g. Standard_B2s ~ $0.0416/hour, ~$30/month per node).), load balancers and egress. Snapshot captured June 2026 — verify on the vendor's pricing page.
Is the Azure AKS control plane free?
Yes — Azure AKS's standard/basic control plane is free; you pay only for worker nodes and resources. Free tier control plane is $0/cluster/hour (no financially-backed SLA). The Standard tier adds an Uptime SLA for $0.10/cluster/hour (~$73/month); the Premium tier (with long-term support) is $0.60/cluster/hour.
What do Azure AKS worker nodes cost?
You pay normal Azure VM rates for node pools (e.g. Standard_B2s ~ $0.0416/hour, ~$30/month per node). 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 Azure AKS?
Beyond nodes and the control plane, the common extras are load balancers (Azure Standard Load Balancer billed separately.) and data egress (Standard Azure bandwidth egress applies (first 100 GB/month free).). 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 Microsoft Azure'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