Google Kubernetes Engine vs k0s

Google Kubernetes Engine is a managed environment for running containerized applications. It manages the Kubernetes control-plane life cycle for each cluster, from creation to deletion. Teams using Autopilot can hand node provisioning, scaling, scheduling and infrastructure management to Google, while users who prefer can manage nodes themselves. Autopilot also includes automatic capacity right-sizing and per-pod pricing. GKE supports GPU and TPU workloads and connects with AI Hypercomputer for machine-learning and high-performance computing. The product page states that clusters can reach 65,000 nodes. Security features include visibility into configuration issues and risks, agentless scanning for critical vulnerabilities, workload isolation through GKE Sandbox and hardware-based encryption for data in use with Confidential GKE Nodes. Fleets and Teams help organize clusters and workloads across teams. It also supports conformant attached Kubernetes clusters and says applications can run unmodified on on-premises hardware or in public cloud. Windows Server node images and containers are unavailable in Autopilot. A free tier and trial are listed, with a $9/mo starting price.

k0s is a free, self-hosted Kubernetes distribution for deploying workloads across public and private clouds, on-premises systems, bare metal, edge locations, and IoT environments. It comes as a single binary and needs no host operating-system components beyond the kernel. The project describes it as CNCF-certified Kubernetes and lists support for x86-64, ARM64, ARMv7, and RISC-V. Installation options include single-node, multi-node, air-gapped, and Docker methods. The k0sctl tool supports cluster lifecycle tasks such as upgrades and backup and restore. Kube-Router is the default networking option; custom CNI plugins are supported, with Calico listed as a preconfigured alternative. Datastore choices include etcd, SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. Listed security features include kube-bench, RBAC, network policies, control plane isolation, and OpenID provider support. Minimum requirements are 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM. The project aims to keep the base versatile by limiting bundled add-ons such as ingress, service meshes, and storage. Mirantis offers support services and subscriptions.