Total Kubernetes Cost Estimator
Get a realistic estimate of your monthly cloud bill, including the hidden costs that often catch teams by surprise.
🖥️ Compute
💾 Storage & Network
Usually 1 per AZ
Monthly Estimate
Did you know? Network costs often account for 30% of a cluster's bill. ClusterCost helps you visualize exactly where that money is going.
How to Estimate Your EKS Cluster Cost
- Select Instance Type: Choose from common EC2 instance families. Use compute-optimized (c5) for CPU-intensive workloads, memory-optimized (r5) for caches/databases, or general-purpose (m5) for most apps.
- Set Node Count: How many workers? Remember to factor in a 20-30% overhead for DaemonSets (CNI, logging, monitoring).
- Enable EKS: Check this if using AWS managed Kubernetes. It adds $73/month for the control plane.
- Add Infrastructure: Enter your storage needs (EBS), number of load balancers, and NAT Gateways (typically 1 per AZ for HA).
- Review the Breakdown: See how costs are distributed across Compute, Storage, and Network.
Common Cluster Configurations
🚀 Startup
Dev/Staging, minimal HA
📈 Scale-Up
Production, HA setup
🏢 Enterprise
Multi-tenant, large scale
Understanding the Cost Breakdown
Compute
Typically 65-75% of your bill. This is your EC2 instances (worker nodes) plus the EKS control plane ($73/mo). Use Spot instances to save 60-70%.
Storage
Usually 5-10% of your bill. EBS GP3 volumes for Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs). Don't forget snapshots add ~20% to storage costs.
Network
Often 20-30% of your bill. Includes ALBs/NLBs, NAT Gateways, and cross-AZ traffic. The "silent budget killer." Use VPC Endpoints to reduce NAT costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an EKS cluster cost?
A small dev cluster (3× t3.medium) costs around $150/month. A production HA cluster (10× m5.xlarge) typically runs $1,200-1,600/month. Enterprise clusters (50+ nodes) can exceed $15,000/month.
What is included in this estimate?
This calculator includes: EC2 compute costs, EKS control plane ($73/mo), EBS storage (GP3), Load Balancers (ALB/NLB), NAT Gateways (hourly + processing), and data transfer fees. It does NOT include: observability costs (CloudWatch, Datadog), egress to the internet, or 3rd-party tools.
How accurate is this calculator?
Accuracy is typically within ±10% for steady-state workloads. Real costs vary based on: Spot instance availability, auto-scaling patterns, actual storage IOPS usage, and cross-AZ traffic. Use this as a baseline estimate, not an invoice prediction.
Should I use Spot or On-Demand instances?
Use Spot for stateless workloads (web apps, workers, batch jobs) to save 60-70%. Use On-Demand for stateful apps (databases, queues) and critical system components. A good mix is 70% Spot, 30% On-Demand.