Container platforms & registries · AWS vs Google Cloud
AWS Fargate vs Cloud Run / GKE Autopilot
AWS Fargate maps to Cloud Run for serverless containers, and to GKE Autopilot for serverless Kubernetes Pods.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Service | AWS Fargate | Cloud Run GKE Autopilot |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available Generally available |
| What it is | Serverless compute for ECS tasks and EKS pods. Each task or pod gets its own isolated, right-sized environment (Linux x86/Arm and Windows Server on ECS). | Fully managed platform for running containers, functions, and source code as services, jobs, or worker pools, with request-based autoscaling and scale to zero. GKE mode where Google provisions and manages nodes, applies security defaults, and bills per Pod resource requests. |
| Pricing model | Per-second billing for requested vCPU, memory, and extra ephemeral storage (1-minute minimum). Fargate Spot and Compute Savings Plans discount it. | Request-based billing (default) charges vCPU-seconds and GiB-seconds while instances handle requests, plus a per-request fee; instance-based billing charges for the whole instance lifetime. A monthly free tier applies. |
| Docs | AWS Fargate docs | Cloud Run docs GKE Autopilot docs |
| Pricing page | AWS Fargate pricing | Cloud Run pricing GKE Autopilot pricing |
Key differences
- Fargate is a compute engine for ECS and EKS; Cloud Run is a complete platform with its own HTTPS endpoints and scale to zero.
- Autopilot is the closest match to EKS on Fargate.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- Per-second billing for requested vCPU, memory, and extra ephemeral storage (1-minute minimum). Fargate Spot and Compute Savings Plans discount it. AWS Fargate pricing →
- GCP
- Request-based billing (default) charges vCPU-seconds and GiB-seconds while instances handle requests, plus a per-request fee; instance-based billing charges for the whole instance lifetime. A monthly free tier applies. Cloud Run pricing → GKE Autopilot pricing →
And on Azure?
Partial match Azure's equivalent is Azure Container Instances, Azure Container Apps. AWS vs Azure comparison →
FAQ
What is the Google Cloud equivalent of AWS Fargate?
AWS Fargate maps to Cloud Run for serverless containers, and to GKE Autopilot for serverless Kubernetes Pods.
How does pricing compare between AWS Fargate and Cloud Run and GKE Autopilot?
AWS: Per-second billing for requested vCPU, memory, and extra ephemeral storage (1-minute minimum). Fargate Spot and Compute Savings Plans discount it. Google Cloud: Request-based billing (default) charges vCPU-seconds and GiB-seconds while instances handle requests, plus a per-request fee; instance-based billing charges for the whole instance lifetime. A monthly free tier applies. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
What is the Azure equivalent?
Azure Container Instances and Azure Container Apps (partial match). AWS Fargate maps to Azure Container Instances (single container groups and AKS virtual nodes) and to Azure Container Apps' Consumption profile.