EKS Pricing Explained: Understanding the Variables Impacting Kubernetes Costs

Introduction

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) is a fully managed Kubernetes service that enables organizations to run containerized applications efficiently on AWS. It simplifies Kubernetes deployment by handling the control plane’s provisioning, scalability, and security, allowing teams to focus on their applications rather than infrastructure management.

However, while EKS provides operational efficiency and seamless integration with AWS services, its cost structure can be complex. Organizations often face challenges in estimating and optimizing expenses due to multiple pricing components, including control plane charges, worker node costs, networking fees, data transfer, and additional services such as logging, monitoring, and storage.

This blog aims to break down AWS EKS pricing, providing a clear understanding of its cost components.

Note: All pricing examples in this blog are based on rates in the us-east-1 (N. Virginia) Region.

Amazon EKS Control Plane pricing

Amazon EKS charges a fee on a per cluster per hour basis for managing your Kubernetes control plane. This fee covers the highly available API servers and associated infrastructure that handle key functions such as scheduling, scaling, and security.

Kubernetes Version Support Lifecycle and Pricing

‍When you create an EKS cluster, it automatically runs on a Kubernetes version that is under standard support. Standard support is provided for the first 14 months after a Kubernetes version is released in EKS.

If your cluster upgrade policy has extended support enabled, the cluster will automatically transition into the extended support period at the end of the standard support period, incurring a higher fee:

• Standard Kubernetes Version Support:
• Pricing: $0.10 per cluster per hour

(Applicable during the first 14 months after a Kubernetes version is released in EKS.)

• Extended Kubernetes Version Support:
• Pricing: $0.60 per cluster per hour

(Automatically applies for the 12 months following the standard support period if extended support is enabled and you do not upgrade.)

Staying up-to-date with your Kubernetes version keeps your cluster under standard support and avoids the higher costs associated with extended support.

Amazon EKS Worker nodes pricing

Worker nodes in an Amazon EKS cluster run your containerized applications. The cost for these nodes depends on how they are provisioned—either as Amazon EC2 instances or using AWS Fargate. Importantly, the worker node pricing is separate from the EKS control plane fee.

EC2-based Worker Nodes

When you use Amazon EC2 for your worker nodes, you pay for the underlying compute, storage, and networking resources. Key cost factors include:

• Instance Costs:
  • Instance Type and Size: Pricing varies by the instance’s specifications (vCPUs, memory, GPU, etc.) and the AWS Region.
  • Billing: Charges are calculated per second, with a minimum billing duration of 60 seconds.
• Pricing Models:
  • On-Demand Instances: Pay for compute capacity by the hour or second without long-term commitment.
  • Reserved Instances (RIs): Commit for 1 or 3 years for potential savings of up to 75% compared to On-Demand rates.
  • Savings Plans: A flexible pricing model that offers lower prices in exchange for a commitment to a consistent amount of usage.
  • Spot Instances: Purchase unused capacity at up to 90% off On-Demand pricing, though these instances can be interrupted if capacity is needed elsewhere.

Related: For a deeper dive into how Amazon EC2 is priced, see our EC2 pricing blog post

Fargate-based Worker Nodes Pricing

AWS Fargate removes the need to manage EC2 instances. You pay only for the vCPU and memory resources used by your containers:

• Fargate Pricing
  • vCPU: $0.04048 per vCPU per hour
  • Memory: $0.004445 per GB per hour
  • Billed per second (with a 1-minute minimum).

Want more details? Check out our Fargate pricing blog post for an in-depth breakdown.

Additional Cost Components

Regardless of whether you use EC2-based or Fargate-based worker nodes, there are other factors that can affect your overall EKS costs.

1. Storage

Amazon EKS integrates with multiple storage services to meet different performance and capacity needs, such as:

• Amazon EBS
• Amazon EFS
• Amazon FSx for Lustre
• Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP
• Amazon FSx for OpenZFS
• Amazon File Cache
• Amazon S3 (via Mountpoint for Amazon S3 CSI driver)

Each service has its own pricing model (e.g., per GB-month charges, performance tiers). For the most current details, see the AWS Storage Services pricing pages.

2. Data Transfer

Data transfer fees apply based on where data is moving:

• Within the same Availability Zone (AZ): Free
• Between different AZs in the same Region: ~$0.01 per GB
• Between AWS Regions: ~$0.02 per GB
• Internet Egress: Starts at around $0.09 per GB (varies by Region)

Amazon EKS Auto Mode Pricing

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) Auto Mode fully automates the management of Kubernetes clusters on AWS by handling essential infrastructure components such as compute, storage, and networking. This automation allows organizations to focus on developing and deploying applications rather than on cluster operations.

When EKS Auto Mode is enabled, additional charges apply based on the duration and type of the Amazon EC2 instances that EKS Auto Mode launches and manages. These charges are billed per second, with a one-minute minimum, and are in addition to the underlying Amazon EC2 instance costs. While you can use any EC2 instance purchase option—On Demand, one- or three-year Reserved Instances, Compute Savings Plans, or Spot Instances—the EKS Auto Mode charges are independent of your chosen purchase model.

Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes pricing

Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes let you extend your Kubernetes clusters to on-premises and edge environments, so you can manage workloads consistently no matter where they run. With Hybrid Nodes, you’re billed per vCPU-hour based on the resources each node reports to Kubernetes, and charges start as soon as a node joins your cluster and end the moment it’s removed.

To help keep costs predictable, EKS Hybrid Nodes use pricing tiers that apply to your total monthly vCPU-hour usage in the same AWS Region, per account. If you use AWS Organizations with consolidated billing, these tiers roll up across all member accounts in that Region. Keep in mind that if you’re using Amazon EC2 instances for your hybrid infrastructure, the Hybrid Nodes fee also applies. This setup gives you a flexible way to scale Kubernetes across different environments while maintaining clear visibility into your costs.

Pricing Table

• First 576,000 monthly vCPU-hours - $0.020 per vCPU per hour
• Next 576,000 monthly vCPU-hours - $0.014 per vCPU per hour
• Next 4,608,000 monthly vCPU-hours - $0.010 per vCPU per hour
• Next 5,760,000 monthly vCPU-hours - $0.008 per vCPU per hour
• Over 11,520,000 monthly vCPU-hours - $0.006 per vCPU per hour

Amazon EKS Pricing on AWS Outposts

AWS Outposts is a fully managed service that brings AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools directly to your on-premises data center or co-location facility. By deploying Outposts, you can run AWS services like Amazon EKS and Amazon EC2 on the same hardware you already manage, all while enjoying a consistent AWS experience across both on-premises and cloud environments.

When it comes to pricing, the cost of running Amazon EKS on AWS Outposts depends on the Outpost configuration you’ve purchased. Essentially, you pay for the Outpost capacity you’ve ordered—regardless of how you choose to use it. For more details on Outposts pricing, check out the official AWS Outposts pricing documentation.

Real-Life Examples

These scenarios provide illustrative monthly cost breakdowns for running Amazon EKS in different environments. Actual costs will vary based on usage patterns, AWS Region, and the services you choose.

Scenario 1: Medium-Sized Production Cluster

• Control Plane:
  • Approx. $72/month (billed at $0.10 per hour for 30 days).
• 5 EC2 Worker Nodes
  • Instance Type: m5.large (2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM)
  • Cost: $0.096/hour per node
  • Monthly Calculation: $0.096 * 24 * 30 * 5 ≈ $345/month
• Storage (500GB EBS)
  • Rate: $0.10 per GB per month
  • Monthly Cost: 500 GB * $0.10 = $50/month
• Load Balancer (ALB)
  • Rate: $0.0225 per hour
  • Monthly Calculation: $0.0225 * 24 * 30 ≈ $16/month
• Data Transfer (10TB between AZs)
  • Rate: $0.01 per GB
  • Monthly Cost: 10,000 GB * $0.01 = $100/month

Estimated Monthly Cost: $583/month.

Scenario 2: Large Enterprise Cluster with Fargate

• Control Plane
  • Approx. $72/month (billed at $0.10 per hour for 30 days).
• Fargate Usage (10 Tasks, 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM, running 100 hours per month)
  • CPU: 10 tasks * 1 vCPU * 100 hours * $0.04048 = $40.48
  • Memory: 10 tasks * 2 GB * 100 hours * $0.004445 = $8.89
  • Combined Fargate: $49.37/month
• Storage (1 TB on Amazon EBS)
  • Rate: $0.10 per GB per month
  • Monthly Cost: 1,000 GB * $0.10 = $100/month
• Load Balancer (2 ALBs)
  • Rate: $0.0225 per hour each
  • Monthly Calculation: 2 * $16 (approx.) = $32/month
• Data Transfer (50 TB across AZs)
  • Rate:  $0.01 per GB
  • Monthly Cost: 50,000 GB * $0.01 = $500/month

Estimated Total: $753/month

Simplify EKS Cost Management with CloudChipr

Cloudchipr is your comprehensive platform for managing and optimizing costs in your AWS EKS environment. With real-time visibility into cluster usage, a Commitments feature to track and analyze Savings Plans and Reserved Instances, and proactive budget and anomaly detection, Cloudchipr helps ensure you only pay for the resources you need. The user-friendly dashboard simplifies identifying inefficiencies, while the Automations feature can detect and remove orphan EBS volumes or unattached Elastic IPs—further streamlining your workflows. Stay in control of your Kubernetes workloads and confidently optimize costs with Cloudchipr.

Try CloudChipr free for 14 days to experience how these features can streamline your EKS operations and enhance your AWS cost management strategy.

Conclusion

Amazon EKS provides a powerful, fully managed Kubernetes experience on AWS, but its pricing can be complex due to multiple components—control plane fees, worker nodes, storage, and data transfer. By understanding each cost factor, keeping your clusters updated, and choosing the right pricing models (such as Reserved Instances, Spot, or On-Demand), you can maintain a balance between performance and cost-effectiveness. Tools like CloudChipr further simplify this process by offering real-time cost insights, automated workflows, and anomaly detection, ensuring your EKS environment remains both efficient and budget-friendly.

Still deciding between EKS and ECS? Check out our EKS vs. ECS comparison to learn about their differences in features, cost, and operational complexity. And if you’re looking for a detailed breakdown of ECS costs, don’t miss our ECS pricing blog post.