Top 10 Kubernetes SaaS Hosting Services for 2024

In the context of container orchestration platforms, Kubernetes’ scalability and easy deployment make it an increasingly popular choice for developers, and it takes the market’s top spot. Yet, as modern applications grow in complexity, manually overseeing Kubernetes clusters has become a formidable challenge.

Optimizing and running Kubernetes workloads isn’t exactly a walk in the park. 41% of businesses say they must reskill or hire new team members who are familiar with K8s before they can unlock the full potential and maximize productivity. Can Kubernetes SaaS hosting services make life easier?

What are SaaS Hosting Services?

SaaS (Software as a Service) hosting services are cloud-based solutions that provide access to software applications. In a SaaS model, users don’t need to install, maintain, or manage the software locally on their devices or servers. Instead, the software and associated data are stored and managed on servers operated by the service provider, often in data centers.

SaaS hosting services offer a range of applications and functionalities, spanning from productivity tools and collaboration software to more complex applications like customer relationship management (CRM) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Users can typically access these services through a web browser, paying for a subscription or usage-based model. 

Types of SaaS Hosting Services

Shared hosting

Affordable but less reliable and secure. Your software shares a server with other businesses, making it vulnerable to failures or hacks in their software.

Cloud hosting

More reliable and secure than shared hosting but comes at a higher cost. Your software resides on a network of servers, reducing the impact of a single server failure.

Dedicated hosting

The most reliable and secure, yet also the priciest. Your software has a dedicated server, giving you full control with isolation from other businesses’ software.

Benefits of SaaS Hosting Services

• Reduced costs and flexible payments: The subscription-based model eliminates upfront hardware expenses.
• Scalability: Vertical scalability with minimal costs allows for flexible service access.
• Accessibility: Web delivery enables you to access applications from any location with an internet-enabled device.
• Speed: Rapid deployment without the need for extensive IT infrastructure ensures quick access to applications.
• Enhanced developer experience: You can access applications from any device and location, improving the overall developer experience.

Key Features of SaaS Hosting Services

When choosing a SaaS hosting provider, consider the following:

• Customer support: Seek responsive and knowledgeable support teams for prompt issue resolution.
• Backups: Ensure robust backup mechanisms for data protection and recovery from unexpected events.
• Cost value: Assess upfront costs, considering performance, scalability, and additional features aligning with business needs.
• Security: Prioritize encryption, access controls, and monitoring for comprehensive data and application protection. As SaaS hosting services operate independently, you can implement SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) to mitigate security risks unique to SaaS architecture. 
• Integration capabilities: You can also choose a SaaS hosting solution that integrates with cloud security tools like CIEM vendors and WAF solutions to secure applications and services running in Kubernetes environments.
• Ease of use: Opt for an intuitive interface. This is crucial for efficient software management, especially for startups with limited technical resources. 

Top 10 Kubernetes SaaS Hosting Services

Let’s compare the top solutions to find the best SaaS hosting service for your Kubernetes-based application. 

1. Oracle Container Engine for Kubernetes

Oracle Container Engine for Kubernetes is a managed container orchestration platform that supports the resource utilization and auditing requirements of multi-cloud and multi-region environments.

Main Features:

• Seamless integration with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure developer tools.
• Robust security measures, including network isolation, IAM integration, and secure node communication.
• Horizontal scaling support for high-performance workloads.

Best For: Integration with the Oracle ecosystem. 

Price: Visit the Oracle Cloud Pricing page to compare prices.

Review: “OKE offers a user-friendly interface and simplified workflows for deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters.”

2. IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service

IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service is a managed container orchestration platform with enterprise-grade capabilities.

Main Features:

• Simplifies deployment and scaling of containerized applications through a fully managed platform.
• Seamlessly integrates into the IBM Cloud ecosystem.
• Leverages AI to provide insights and recommendations for optimizing performance and resource utilization.

Best For: Organizations using IBM Cloud products. 

Price: Start for free, then visit the IBM Cloud Pricing page for comparisons. 

Review: “Fully secure and easy to automate and monitor your apps.”

3. Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)

Google Kubernetes Engine is a containers-as-a-service platform that provides a fully managed and scalable environment for Kubernetes hosting.

Main Features:

• Seamless integration with Google Cloud services for a comprehensive ecosystem.
• Auto-scaling and automated operations.
• Emphasizes security with advanced controls, encryption, and compliance features.

Best For: Integration with the Google ecosystem. 

Price: Pay-as-you-go pricing model – details on the Google Cloud Pricing page.

Review: “GKE makes it incredibly easy to scale our containerized applications, whether we need to handle increased traffic or optimize resource usage during quieter periods.”

4. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

Azure Kubernetes Service from Microsoft is a comprehensive container orchestration service that simplifies the deployment, management, and scaling of containerized applications.

Main Features:

• Prioritizes security with Azure Policy, Azure AD integration, and compliance.
• Integrates with popular development tools, including Visual Studio Code and Azure DevOps.
• Dynamic scaling of the Kubernetes cluster based on application demand.
• Supports RBAC.

Best For: Organizations utilizing Azure DevOps and other Azure developer tools.

Price: Multiple pricing plans, including pay-as-you-go. Find details on the website.

Review: “Azure has custom-made monitoring to monitor Kubernetes cluster health and nodes monitoring.”

5. Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) is a Containers-as-a-Service (CaaS) solution from AWS. It seamlessly integrates with other AWS services, offering a comprehensive platform for deploying and managing containerized applications. Read our recent guide to get starting with creating Kubeconfig files for AWS EKS clusters. 

Main Features:

• Integrates with AWS IAM for secure authentication and authorization.
• Automatically scales applications and ensures high availability across zones.
• Seamless integration with various AWS services for a comprehensive environment.

Best For: AWS IAM integration.

Price: See the Amazon EKS Pricing page for detailed info.

Review: “Using Amazon EKS you have very less to worry about underlying infrastructure, so you can focus more on getting your features & services deployed.”

6. RedHat OpenShift Kubernetes Engine

Red Hat OpenShift Kubernetes Engine is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) Kubernetes hosting solution.

Main Features:

• Comprehensive Kubernetes distribution with additional tools for orchestration.
• Facilitates collaboration between development and operations teams.
• Supports CI/CD workflows.

Best For: Built-in developer productivity tools. 

Price: For detailed pricing information, visit the Red Hat OpenShift Pricing page.

Review: “It provides you with a centralized environment to orchestrate or scale up your applications.”

7. VMWare Tanzu Kubernetes Grid

VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid is a Kubernetes runtime that simplifies the deployment and management of Kubernetes clusters. It offers a consistent and secure environment across various infrastructures, making it an ideal choice for multi-cloud deployments.

Main Features:

• Automated deployment and lifecycle management.
• Multi-cloud and multi-cluster Kubernetes management.
• Security features and compliance measures for data protection.

Best For: Compliance guidance features. 

Price: By inquiry. 

Review: “The user-friendly setup, centralized control, and integration with other products have boosted our operational efficacy.”

8. DigitalOcean Kubernetes

DigitalOcean Kubernetes is a managed Kubernetes service designed for simplicity and scalability. Its unique selling point is its user-friendly approach, making Kubernetes accessible to developers of all skill levels.

Main Features:

• Fully managed Kubernetes service for easy deployment and scaling.
• Designed to be user-friendly.
• Allows easy scaling of applications based on demand.
• Provides built-in monitoring and logging tools for enhanced visibility.

Best For: Novice Kubernetes users. 

Price: Offers four pricing plans that range from $12 to $163 per month per node. 

Review: “We use DigitalOcean Kubernetes to manage all of our public-facing API and async job worker deployments for a SaaS application.”

9. Platform9

Platform9 is an open distributed cloud service that provides public cloud on the infrastructure of your choice, powered by Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies.

Main Features:

• Cluster deployment in five minutes or less. 
• Includes 24/7 remote monitoring and proactive issue resolution. 
• Supports serverless mode for automatic scaling and cost savings.

Best For: Organizations requiring multi-cloud support.

Price: By inquiry. 

Review: “Extremely easy to deploy, manage, monitor, and automate with built-in WebUI tools and others such as Argo CD and Ansible.”

10. Control Plane

With so many options for Kubernetes SaaS providers, what’s the best choice? 

Providing the best and most unique features on the market with a highly experienced, professional, and dedicated team, Control Plane manages your Kubernetes workloads and provides an Internal Developer Platform (IDP) that easily integrates with a CI/CD pipeline setup.

Main Features:

• Controlled provisioning and auto-scaling to avoid overpaying for unused resources, and thoughtfully designed pricing to ensure you save on costs.
• Built-in observability, security, compliance, and a best-in-class DevOps stack to enable rapid time-to-market.
• Seamless developer self-service, resulting in greater productivity and freedom to innovate.
• Zero need for any prior knowledge of Kubernetes and its associated cloud-native software technologies.
• Ultra-low latency with triple-redundant health monitoring and intelligent geo-routing that routes requests to the nearest healthy workload/cluster.
• Natively multi-cloud and multi-region capable. Thinking about setting up a multi-region environment? Check out our recent blog on the difference between AWS Regions vs. Availability Zones. 

Best For: Organizations looking to save costs, reduce latency, and deliver 99.999% (“five-nines”) of availability.

Price: Control Plane’s pricing plan is pretty simple–only pay for actual usage. Use our pricing estimator to calculate pricing based on estimated use.

Review: “Cloud cost is always a consideration, but the indirect costs were our real concern – the cost of redoing work and having key developers spend 20% of their time on DevOps. Control Plane allows us to optimize both direct and indirect cloud costs.” 

Navigating and Simplifying Kubernetes Workload Optimization

With the immense popularity of container orchestration, Kubernetes SaaS hosting services are essential for developers seeking simplicity and efficiency. As complex applications grow, these services streamline container management, providing scalability, reliability, and robust security. 

Control Plane seamlessly integrates into your CI/CD pipeline to simplify the complexities of Kubernetes orchestration. You can focus on innovation and business success while Control Plane optimizes and runs K8s workloads in the background. Ready to transform your Kubernetes experience and attain cloud-native maturity rapidly with empowered DevOps workflows? Explore Control Plane today.