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This page gives you a high-level comparison between Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Autopilot clusters and Standard clusters. The comparison includes important GKE features and the functional differences between these cluster modes.
This page is intended for the following people:
The following table provides a detailed comparison of the feature configuration in Autopilot and Standard clusters. Either you or GKE define these feature configurations for the entire cluster.
The table doesn't show every feature in GKE. If you want to know whether a feature that isn't in this table is supported in Autopilot or in Standard, check the documentation for that feature.
This table uses the following terminology:
The following table shows you important functional differences between GKE Autopilot and Standard clusters. Use this comparison to make a more informed choice of mode.
Functionality Autopilot clusters Standard clusters Third-party monitoring tools Deploy a third-party monitoring tool provided by Google Cloud partners, or any third-party tool that doesn't require elevated access on the node. Deploy any third-party monitoring tool regardless of the level of node access. Expose applications externally Use aLoadBalancer Service. This provisions an ephemeral external IP address for you. If you already have a static IP address that you want to use, specify it in the loadBalancerIP field. Autopilot doesn't support the externalIps field, which doesn't use Google Cloud load balancing. Use a LoadBalancer Service. This provisions an ephemeral external IP address for you. If you already have a static IP address that you want to use, specify it in the loadBalancerIP field. You can also use the externalIps field in the Service manifest, although we don't recommend this approach. Pod bursting
Pods can burst into unused burstable capacity if your resource limits are greater than your resource requests, or if you don't set resource limits. The burstable capacity depends on whether the Pod requests specific hardware. For more information, see Configure Pod bursting in GKE.
Pods can burst into unused node capacity if your resource limits are greater than your resource requests.
In Standard, you pay for node capacity regardless of whether Pods use the resources. Don't rely on Pod bursting. Evaluate and set adequate resource requests and limits for your workloads. Google Cloud Marketplace applications You can't install apps from Cloud Marketplace. You can install apps from Cloud Marketplace. Built-in security constraints In Autopilot mode, GKE enforces the GKE Autopilot security measures. GKE does automatically enforce security constraints for Standard clusters. Long-running fault-intolerant Pods You can protect fault-intolerant Pods such as game servers from eviction caused by node auto-upgrades or scale-downs for up to 7 days. For details, see Extend the run time of Autopilot Pods. You can't protect fault-intolerant Pods from eviction caused by node auto-upgrades. You can protect those Pods from scale-down eviction indefinitely, but you continue to pay for the underutilized nodes on which the Pods run. What's nextExcept as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-08-12 UTC.
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