· Cloud · 2 min read
Cloud Run or GKE? Picking the Right Compute Engine
Google Cloud offers two great ways to run containers. We break down when to use the simplicity of Serverless vs the power of Kubernetes.
You have containerised your application. Now, where do you put it on Google Cloud? The choice usually comes down to Cloud Run or GKE.
Cloud Run: The Developer’s Dream
Cloud Run is “Serverless Containers”. You give Google your Docker image, and they run it.
- Pros: Zero management. Scales to zero (costs nothing when no one is using it). extremely fast scale-up.
- Cons: Stateless only (you can’t attach a hard drive). Limited background processing time.
- Best For: API backends, Web frontends, webhooks, lightweight micrososervices.
GKE: The Platform Engineer’s Weapon
Google Kubernetes Engine is managed Kubernetes.
- Pros: Infinite control. You can use GPUs, persistent disks, custom networking, and run stateful databases. It’s the industry standard for orchestration.
- Cons: Complex. Even with the “Autopilot” mode, you need to understand pods, nodes, and ingress. There is usually a minimum cost to keep the control plane running.
- Best For: Complex microservice meshes, legacy apps that need persistence, heavy compute jobs (training AI).
The Decision Matrix
- Start with Cloud Run. It’s cheaper and simpler.
- Move to GKE only when you hit a specific limit (e.g. need to use a specific GPU, or need complex service-to-service networking).
Most companies we see are over-engineering by jumping straight to GKE.
Need help simplifying your cloud? We help you choose the right tool for the job. Audit your architecture.
