Kubernetes
Amazon EKS vs Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
The Azure equivalent of Amazon EKS is Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
Both are conformant managed Kubernetes services where the provider runs the control plane and you choose how nodes are managed.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Amazon EKS | Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | Managed Kubernetes control plane across three AZs. You choose the nodes, which can be managed node groups, self-managed nodes, Karpenter, Fargate, Auto Mode, or Hybrid Nodes. | Managed Kubernetes. Azure runs the control plane (Free, Standard, or Premium tier), and you run node pools (VM scale sets), including GPU pools for AI training and inference. The Automatic SKU manages nodes too. |
| Pricing model | A per-cluster hourly fee (standard or extended support), plus the EC2, Fargate, or Auto Mode compute. Auto Mode adds a per-instance management fee, and Hybrid Nodes are billed per vCPU. | Free tier has no control-plane fee. Standard and Premium tiers are billed per cluster-hour. Node VMs, disks, load balancers, and public IPs are billed separately. |
| Docs | Amazon EKS docs | Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) docs |
| Pricing page | Amazon EKS pricing | Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) pricing |
| Exams | SAA-C03 DOP-C02 SAP-C02 Retiring | AZ-104 AZ-305 AI-200 |
Key differences
- Control-plane pricing. EKS charges a per-cluster hourly fee (higher in extended support). AKS has a Free tier (no SLA, for under 10 nodes), a Standard tier (uptime SLA, up to 5,000 nodes), and a Premium tier (adds LTS).
- Nodes. EKS uses managed node groups, self-managed nodes, Karpenter, Fargate, Auto Mode, or Hybrid Nodes. AKS uses node pools backed by VM scale sets, node autoprovisioning (Karpenter-based), virtual nodes (ACI), or the Automatic SKU.
- Networking. The EKS default is the Amazon VPC CNI (pods get VPC IPs). AKS offers Azure CNI (VNet or overlay) and Azure CNI powered by Cilium. Kubenet is legacy.
- Identity. EKS authenticates users with IAM (access entries) and pods with Pod Identity or IRSA. AKS uses Microsoft Entra ID with Azure RBAC or Kubernetes RBAC, and Workload ID for pods.
- Add-ons. EKS add-ons (VPC CNI, CoreDNS, EBS CSI, and others) and EKS Capabilities (Argo CD, ACK, kro). AKS add-ons and extensions (Istio, KEDA, Flux, Argo CD, Dapr, App Routing, Container Insights).
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- A per-cluster hourly fee (standard or extended support), plus the EC2, Fargate, or Auto Mode compute. Auto Mode adds a per-instance management fee, and Hybrid Nodes are billed per vCPU. Amazon EKS pricing →
- Azure
- Free tier has no control-plane fee. Standard and Premium tiers are billed per cluster-hour. Node VMs, disks, load balancers, and public IPs are billed separately. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) pricing →
Certification exam mapping
| Exam | Provider | Level | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate SAA-C03 | AWS | Associate | current Italian version retires after Dec 31, 2026. |
| AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional DOP-C02 | AWS | Professional | current Korean version retires after Dec 31, 2026. |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional SAP-C02 | AWS | Professional | retiring Being updated to SAP-C03. Registration for SAP-C03 opens Oct 27, 2026. Last day to take SAP-C02 is Nov 16, 2026. |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure Administrator Associate AZ-104 | Azure | Associate | current |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 | Azure | Expert | current English version updated Apr 17, 2026. |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate AI-200 | Azure | Associate | current Back-end services, containers, and architecture for AI solutions on Azure. |
Relevance is based on each exam's published scope, not a line-by-line objective match. Check the official study guide.
FAQ
What is the Azure equivalent of Amazon EKS?
The Azure equivalent of Amazon EKS is Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). Both are conformant managed Kubernetes services where the provider runs the control plane and you choose how nodes are managed.
How does pricing compare between Amazon EKS and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)?
AWS: A per-cluster hourly fee (standard or extended support), plus the EC2, Fargate, or Auto Mode compute. Auto Mode adds a per-instance management fee, and Hybrid Nodes are billed per vCPU. Azure: Free tier has no control-plane fee. Standard and Premium tiers are billed per cluster-hour. Node VMs, disks, load balancers, and public IPs are billed separately. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
Which certification exams cover this topic?
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03); AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional (DOP-C02); AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C02) [retiring]; Microsoft Certified – Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104); Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305); Microsoft Certified – Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (AI-200).