Key Takeaways
- ✓GKE holds 40% of the managed market, EKS 30%, AKS 20% (Atmosly 2025)
- ✓'Managed setup: 10-30 min vs self-hosted: 2-8 hours'
- ✓Automatic managed control plane vs manual for self-hosted
Managed Kubernetes refers to a cloud offering where the provider (AWS, Azure, Google) manages the control plane, updates, and high availability. Self-hosted Kubernetes means your team installs, maintains, and secures the entire cluster on your own servers or VMs.
TL;DR: Summary Comparison
| Criterion | EKS (AWS) | AKS (Azure) | GKE (Google) | Self-Hosted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market share | 30% () | Variable | ||
| Control plane cost | ~$73/month | Free | Free (Standard) | Infrastructure + personnel |
| Initial setup time | 15-30 min | 10-20 min | 10-15 min | 2-8 hours |
| Control plane maintenance | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic | Manual |
| Network flexibility | High (native VPC) | Medium | Very high | Total |
| On-premise compliance | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ (except Anthos) | ✅ |
This architectural skill is at the heart of the LFS458 Kubernetes Administration training.
Key takeaway: 82% of container users run Kubernetes in production (CNCF Annual Survey 2025). The choice between managed and self-hosted depends on your regulatory constraints, internal expertise, and total cost of ownership.
What Exactly Is Managed Kubernetes?
Managed Kubernetes is a cloud service where the provider handles the control plane: etcd, kube-apiserver, kube-scheduler, and kube-controller-manager. You only manage the worker nodes and your workloads.
GKE (Google Kubernetes Engine) holds 40% market share with 3 million customers (). Google, the original creator of Kubernetes, offers the most native integration with upstream features.
EKS (Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service) represents 30% of the market with 2 million customers (). Its deep integration with the AWS ecosystem (IAM, VPC, ALB) appeals to enterprises already committed to this platform.
AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) covers 20% of the market with 1.5 million customers (). Microsoft offers a free control plane and native Azure AD integration.
What Is Self-Hosted Kubernetes?
Self-hosted Kubernetes refers to an installation where your team controls the entire infrastructure. You install the cluster with tools like kubeadm, kops, or k3s, then manage updates, high availability, and security.
IT teams spend an average of 34 working days per year resolving Kubernetes issues (). This figure increases significantly with self-hosting, where control plane troubleshooting adds to application incidents.
To master installation and administration of a self-hosted cluster, consult our complete kubeadm installation guide.
Total Cost of Ownership Comparison
Direct Control Plane Costs
| Service | Control plane cost | Per-node cost (e.g., m5.large) |
|---|---|---|
| EKS | $73/month/cluster | ~$70/month |
| AKS | $0 | ~$65/month (Standard_D2s_v3) |
| GKE Standard | $0 | ~$67/month (e2-standard-2) |
| GKE Autopilot | Included in vCPU | ~$0.04/vCPU/hour |
| Self-hosted | $0 | Server cost + personnel |
Hidden Costs of Self-Hosting
Salary cost: a DevOps Engineer in Paris earns on average 56,000 EUR/year (Glassdoor France). If this person dedicates 30% of their time to Kubernetes maintenance, that represents approximately 16,800 EUR/year.
Control plane infrastructure: minimum 3 etcd nodes for high availability, approximately ~$200/month additional.
Training and certification: the LFS458 Kubernetes Administration training (4 days) prepares your teams to manage a production cluster, reducing the risk of costly errors.
Key takeaway: The total cost of ownership of a self-hosted cluster often exceeds that of a managed service for teams of fewer than 50 developers. Calculate maintenance time before choosing.
Security Comparison
Managed Services Security
AKS clusters experience their first attack within 18 minutes of creation. For EKS, this delay reaches 28 minutes (Wiz Kubernetes Security Report 2025).
These statistics highlight the importance of:
- Enabling network policies from deployment
- Configuring RBAC immediately
- Disabling public access to the API server
For deeper coverage of these aspects, consult our article on Kubernetes RBAC and cluster security best practices.
Self-Hosted Security
With self-hosting, you have total control over:
- TLS certificates and their rotation
- etcd configuration and encryption
- Physical network isolation
- Regulatory compliance (data on national soil)
| Security aspect | Managed | Self-hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Control plane patching | Automatic | Manual |
| Audit logs | ✅ (paid on some) | ✅ |
| Network policies | ✅ | ✅ |
| Physical isolation | ❌ | ✅ |
| On-premise compliance | ❌ | ✅ |
Performance and Scalability Comparison
Managed Services Scalability
GKE Autopilot and EKS with Karpenter enable automatic node scaling without manual intervention. These solutions excel for variable workloads.
70% of organizations use Helm to deploy their Kubernetes applications (Orca Security 2025). Managed services natively integrate these tools.
Self-Hosted Scalability
Self-hosting offers total control over:
- CNI choice (Calico, Cilium, Flannel)
- Scheduler policy configuration
- Network performance optimization
71% of Fortune 100 companies run Kubernetes in production (CNCF Project Journey Report). Many combine managed clusters for standard workloads and self-hosted clusters for cases requiring maximum control.
Key takeaway: For workloads requiring predictable performance and fine control, self-hosting remains relevant. For elastic scaling, managed services excel.
Maintenance and Updates Comparison
Managed Services Maintenance
| Action | EKS | AKS | GKE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor update | Semi-auto | Auto (configurable) | Auto |
| Major update | Manual | Manual | Auto (Autopilot) |
| Certificate rotation | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| etcd backup | Managed | Managed | Managed |
Self-Hosted Maintenance
With self-hosting, you must plan:
- Quarterly cluster updates
- Certificate rotation (annual minimum)
- Daily etcd backups
- Control plane monitoring
Consult our monitoring tools comparison to choose the right observability stack.
When to Choose Managed Kubernetes?
Choose EKS if:
- Your infrastructure is primarily on AWS
- You already use IAM for access management
- You need native integration with ALB, EBS, EFS
Choose AKS if:
- Your company uses Azure AD and Microsoft 365
- Control plane cost is a decisive criterion
- You deploy .NET or Windows container workloads
Choose GKE if:
- You want the most native Kubernetes experience
- Autopilot and transparent scaling interest you
- You use BigQuery, Pub/Sub, or other Google services
According to Chris Aniszczyk, CTO of the CNCF: "Kubernetes is no longer experimental but foundational. Soon, it will be essential to AI as well." Managed services accelerate this adoption.
When to Choose Self-Hosted Kubernetes?
Self-hosting is suitable if:
- Your data must remain on national soil (regulations)
- You have experienced Kubernetes teams (CKA certified)
- Your workloads require fine control over networking and storage
- You operate in air-gapped environments
The LFS458 system administrator training prepares your teams for this responsibility.
Decision Tree for Your Enterprise
Regulated data requiring on-premise hosting?
├── YES → Self-hosted or Anthos/OpenShift on-premise
└── NO → What is your primary cloud?
├── AWS → EKS
├── Azure → AKS
├── GCP → GKE
└── Multi-cloud → GKE (Anthos) or self-hosted
Additional questions to ask yourself:
- How many people on the team master Kubernetes administration?
- What is your training budget to obtain CKA certifications?
- Do you need 24/7 support for the control plane?
Testimonials and Experience Feedback
A CTO interviewed in the Spectro Cloud State of Kubernetes 2025 explains: "Just given the capabilities that exist with Kubernetes, and the company's desire to consume more AI tools, we will use Kubernetes more in future."
For teams in transition, our complete Kubernetes Training guide presents all available learning paths.
Take Action: Train Your Teams
Whether you choose a managed service or self-hosting, Kubernetes expertise remains essential. According to : "Don't let your knowledge remain theoretical. Set up a real Kubernetes environment to solidify your skills."
Recommended training based on your choice:. For further learning, consult our Kubernetes Application Development training.
| Context | Recommended training |
|---|---|
| EKS/AKS/GKE Administration | LFS458 Kubernetes Administration (4 days, prepares for CKA) |
| Development on managed Kubernetes | LFD459 Kubernetes for Developers (3 days, prepares for CKAD) |
| Self-hosting with security concerns | LFS460 Kubernetes Security (4 days, prepares for CKS) |
| Kubernetes Discovery | Kubernetes Fundamentals (1 day) |
Contact our advisors to identify the training suited to your context and explore OPCO funding possibilities.