GCP vs AWS: Provider Comparison Guide

This guide provides a detailed technical comparison between GCP and AWS for Kubernetes deployments, helping you choose the right provider for your needs.

Quick Decision Matrix

Use Case	Recommended Provider	Reason
Learning/Testing	GCP or AWS (both work)	Choose based on familiarity
Cost-Conscious	GCP	Generally lower costs, simpler pricing
Enterprise/Scale	AWS	Larger ecosystem, more services
Google Workspace Integration	GCP	Native integration
Existing AWS Infrastructure	AWS	Leverage existing resources
Multi-Region Global	AWS	More regions, better global coverage
Startup/Small Team	GCP	Simpler, faster to get started

Core Infrastructure Comparison

Kubernetes Clusters

Feature	GCP (GKE)	AWS (EKS)
Service Name	Google Kubernetes Engine	Elastic Kubernetes Service
Control Plane	Fully managed, free	Managed, $0.10/hour
Networking Model	VPC-native (simpler)	CNI plugin (more flexible)
Node Management	Node pools	Node groups
Auto-scaling	Built-in cluster autoscaler	Cluster autoscaler addon
Upgrade Process	Rolling upgrades	Rolling updates
Private Clusters	Built-in private endpoint	Requires VPC endpoints
Workload Identity	Workload Identity (native)	IRSA (IAM Roles for Service Accounts)
Setup Complexity	Lower	Higher
Time to Deploy	~5-8 minutes	~10-15 minutes

Key Differences:

1. Networking:

   • GKE: VPC-native networking - pods get VPC IPs directly, simpler IP management
   • EKS: Uses CNI plugin (VPC CNI) - more complex but more flexible

2. Control Plane:

   • GKE: Free control plane
   • EKS: $0.10/hour (~$73/month) for control plane

3. Private Endpoints:

   • GKE: Built-in private endpoint option
   • EKS: Requires VPC endpoints or VPN for private access

Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

Feature	GCP VPC	AWS VPC
Subnet Types	Regional (span zones)	Zonal (per availability zone)
IP Ranges	CIDR blocks	CIDR blocks
Routing	Route tables	Route tables
NAT Gateway	Cloud NAT	NAT Gateway
Internet Gateway	Internet Gateway	Internet Gateway
Flow Logs	VPC Flow Logs	VPC Flow Logs
Private Google Access	✅ Built-in	❌ N/A (AWS equivalent: VPC endpoints)

Key Differences:

1. Subnet Design:

   • GCP: Subnets are regional (span multiple zones)
   • AWS: Subnets are zonal (one per availability zone)

2. Private Service Access:

   • GCP: Private Google Access enables private access to GCP services
   • AWS: VPC endpoints provide private access to AWS services

Container Registries

Feature	GCP Artifact Registry	AWS ECR
Service Name	Artifact Registry	Elastic Container Registry
Image Storage	Regional or multi-regional	Regional
Image Scanning	✅ Vulnerability scanning	✅ Vulnerability scanning
Lifecycle Policies	✅ Automatic cleanup	✅ Lifecycle policies
IAM Integration	✅ Service accounts	✅ IAM roles
Pricing	$0.10/GB/month	$0.10/GB/month
URL Format	REGION-docker.pkg.dev/PROJECT/REPO	ACCOUNT.dkr.ecr.REGION.amazonaws.com/REPO

Key Differences:

1. Regional vs Global:

   • GCP: Can be multi-regional for global access
   • AWS: Always regional (must replicate manually)

2. Authentication:

   • GCP: Service account keys or Workload Identity
   • AWS: IAM roles or access keys

Network Security

Feature	GCP Firewall Rules	AWS Security Groups
Scope	Network-level	Instance/ENI-level
Rule Type	Allow + Deny	Allow-only (implicit deny)
Targets	Tags, service accounts	Security groups, IPs
Priorities	✅ Priority-based	❌ No priorities
Stateful	✅ Stateful	✅ Stateful
Direction	Ingress + Egress	Ingress + Egress

Key Differences:

1. Rule Model:

   • GCP: Can explicitly deny traffic (deny-all rules)
   • AWS: Allow-only (implicit deny for unmatched traffic)

2. Scope:

   • GCP: Network-level (applies to all matching instances)
   • AWS: Instance-level (each instance can have multiple security groups)

3. Priorities:

   • GCP: Rules have priorities (lower number = higher priority)
   • AWS: No priorities (all rules evaluated)

Database Services

Feature	GCP Cloud SQL	AWS RDS
Proxy Service	Cloud SQL Proxy (Kubernetes pod)	RDS Proxy (managed service)
Connection Pooling	❌ No (use PgBouncer)	✅ Built-in
Failover	✅ Automatic	✅ Automatic
IAM Auth	✅ Supported	✅ Supported
Secrets Rotation	❌ Manual	✅ Automatic (with RDS Proxy)
Cost	Included	~$15/month for proxy
Deployment	Kubernetes pod	Managed service

Key Differences:

1. Proxy Deployment:

   • GCP: Cloud SQL Proxy runs as Kubernetes pod
   • AWS: RDS Proxy is fully managed service

2. Connection Pooling:

   • GCP: No built-in pooling (use external pooler)
   • AWS: Built-in connection pooling

3. Secrets Management:

   • GCP: Manual credential management
   • AWS: Automatic rotation with Secrets Manager

Feature Parity Matrix

Core Infrastructure

Feature	GCP	AWS	Notes
Managed Kubernetes	✅ GKE	✅ EKS	Both fully managed
VPC Networking	✅ VPC	✅ VPC	Similar concepts
Container Registry	✅ Artifact Registry	✅ ECR	Both support scanning
Private Clusters	✅ Built-in	✅ Via VPC endpoints	GCP simpler
Workload Identity	✅ Workload Identity	✅ IRSA	Different implementations
Auto-scaling	✅ Built-in	✅ Addon	Both support
Node Pools/Groups	✅ Node Pools	✅ Node Groups	Similar concepts

Network Security

Feature	GCP	AWS	Notes
Firewall Rules	✅ Firewall Rules	✅ Security Groups	Different models
Network Policies	✅ Kubernetes Network Policies	✅ Kubernetes Network Policies	Same (Kubernetes)
Private Service Access	✅ Private Google Access	✅ VPC Endpoints	Different implementations
Load Balancers	✅ GCP Load Balancer	✅ ELB/ALB/NLB	Both support internal

Database Integration

Feature	GCP	AWS	Notes
Managed Database	✅ Cloud SQL	✅ RDS	Both PostgreSQL/MySQL
Database Proxy	✅ Cloud SQL Proxy	✅ RDS Proxy	Different deployment models
Connection Pooling	❌ External	✅ Built-in	AWS advantage
IAM Authentication	✅ Supported	✅ Supported	Both support

Cost Comparison

Resource	GCP	AWS	Notes
Control Plane	Free	$0.10/hour (~$73/month)	GCP advantage
Node (e2-medium/t3.medium)	~$0.10/hour	~$0.05-0.10/hour	Similar
NAT Gateway	~$0.045/hour	~$0.045/hour	Similar
Load Balancer	~$0.025/hour	~$0.025/hour	Similar
Container Registry	$0.10/GB/month	$0.10/GB/month	Same
Database (db-f1-micro/db.t3.micro)	~$0.02/hour	~$0.02/hour	Similar
Database Proxy	Free (pod)	~$0.02/hour	GCP advantage

Typical Lab Costs (per day, destroyed quickly):

• GCP: $5-10/day
• AWS: $8-15/day (includes control plane cost)

Technical Deep Dive

Networking Architecture

GCP (VPC-Native)

GKE Pod
   │
   │ (VPC-native IP)
   ▼
GCP VPC
   │
   │ (direct routing)
   ▼
Internet / GCP Services

Characteristics:

• Pods get VPC IPs directly
• No overlay network
• Simpler IP management
• Better performance (no encapsulation)

AWS (CNI Plugin)

EKS Pod
   │
   │ (CNI plugin)
   ▼
ENI (Elastic Network Interface)
   │
   │ (VPC routing)
   ▼
AWS VPC
   │
   │
   ▼
Internet / AWS Services

Characteristics:

• Pods use ENIs (secondary IPs)
• More flexible IP management
• Can use custom CNI plugins
• More complex configuration

Authentication Models

GCP: Workload Identity

# Service Account Annotation
annotations:
  iam.gke.io/gcp-service-account: "service-account@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com"

How it works:

1. GKE service account annotated with GCP service account
2. Pod uses GKE service account
3. GKE automatically exchanges identity
4. Pod authenticates as GCP service account

AWS: IRSA (IAM Roles for Service Accounts)

# Service Account Annotation
annotations:
  eks.amazonaws.com/role-arn: "arn:aws:iam::ACCOUNT:role/ROLE-NAME"

How it works:

1. Service account annotated with IAM role ARN
2. Pod uses service account
3. AWS SDK automatically assumes role
4. Pod authenticates as IAM role

Key Difference:

• GCP: Identity exchange happens automatically
• AWS: Requires AWS SDK in pod (automatic with SDK)

Private Cluster Access

GCP: Private Endpoint

resource "google_container_cluster" "private" {
  private_cluster_config {
    enable_private_endpoint = true
    enable_private_nodes   = true
  }
}

Access Methods:

• Bastion host (SSH)
• VPN
• Cloud Shell
• Authorized networks

AWS: VPC Endpoints

resource "aws_vpc_endpoint" "eks" {
  vpc_id              = var.vpc_id
  service_name        = "com.amazonaws.REGION.eks"
  vpc_endpoint_type   = "Interface"
  subnet_ids          = var.private_subnet_ids
}

Access Methods:

• VPC endpoints (private)
• VPN
• Systems Manager Session Manager
• Bastion host (SSH)

Migration Considerations

GCP → AWS Migration

Key Challenges:

1. Networking Model: VPC-native → CNI plugin
2. Authentication: Workload Identity → IRSA
3. Firewall Rules: Network-level → Instance-level
4. Database Proxy: Pod-based → Managed service
5. Control Plane Cost: Free → $0.10/hour

Migration Steps:

1. Create equivalent VPC structure
2. Deploy EKS cluster
3. Update authentication (Workload Identity → IRSA)
4. Migrate firewall rules to security groups
5. Update database connectivity (Cloud SQL Proxy → RDS Proxy)
6. Test and validate

AWS → GCP Migration

Key Challenges:

1. Networking Model: CNI plugin → VPC-native
2. Authentication: IRSA → Workload Identity
3. Security Groups: Instance-level → Network-level
4. Database Proxy: Managed service → Pod-based
5. Control Plane: $0.10/hour → Free

Migration Steps:

1. Create equivalent VPC structure
2. Deploy GKE cluster
3. Update authentication (IRSA → Workload Identity)
4. Migrate security groups to firewall rules
5. Update database connectivity (RDS Proxy → Cloud SQL Proxy)
6. Test and validate

When to Choose Each Provider

Choose GCP If:

✅ You want:

• Lower costs (free control plane)
• Simpler networking (VPC-native)
• Faster setup
• Built-in private clusters
• Google Workspace integration
• Cost-conscious deployments

✅ Your team:

• Already uses GCP
• Prefers simpler architectures
• Values cost optimization
• Needs quick deployments

Choose AWS If:

✅ You want:

• Larger ecosystem
• More regions globally
• Enterprise features
• Connection pooling (RDS Proxy)
• Automatic secrets rotation
• Existing AWS infrastructure

✅ Your team:

• Already uses AWS
• Needs enterprise-scale features
• Requires global coverage
• Values managed services

Best Practices by Provider

GCP Best Practices

1. Use VPC-native networking - Leverage GCP's simpler model
2. Enable Workload Identity - Secure, automatic authentication
3. Use Private Google Access - For GCP service connectivity
4. Regional subnets - Take advantage of regional design
5. Cloud SQL Proxy - For secure database connectivity

AWS Best Practices

1. Use VPC CNI - Standard networking model
2. Enable IRSA - For pod-level IAM authentication
3. Use VPC Endpoints - For private AWS service access
4. RDS Proxy - For connection pooling and failover
5. Security Groups - Instance-level security

Additional Resources

• GCP Documentation
• AWS Documentation
• GKE Best Practices
• EKS Best Practices
• Multi-Cloud Considerations