Azure Container Apps vs. AKS: Choosing the Right Container Platform

Azure Container Apps - A serverless container service that handles infrastructure for you

AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) - A managed Kubernetes service giving you full control of the orchestration

When to Choose Azure Container Apps

I moved a client's web API from App Service to Container Apps last year. Here's why it worked well:

• You want simplicity

  • We deployed our first container in minutes

  • No clusters to manage

  • No nodes to worry about

• Your app fits these patterns

  • Microservices

  • API endpoints

  • Background jobs

  • Event-driven functions

• You need these built-in features

  • Auto-scaling based on HTTP traffic or events

  • Revision management (blue/green deployments)

  • Split traffic between versions

  • Built-in Dapr support for microservices

• Your scale needs are moderate

  • Works great for apps with variable load

  • Can scale to zero when not in use (saving money)

  • Handles most SMB workloads well

• Your budget is limited

  • Pay only for what you use

  • No cost for idle capacity

  • No cluster management overhead

When to Choose AKS

Enterprise clients typically choose AKS. Here's why:

• You need full control

  • Access to all Kubernetes features

  • Control over node selection and sizing

  • Custom network policies

  • Advanced security controls

• Your workloads are complex

  • Stateful applications

  • Custom storage requirements

  • Need for specialized hardware (GPU)

  • Complex networking requirements

• You require specific features

  • Custom schedulers

  • Specific Kubernetes add-ons

  • Windows containers

  • Special resource limits or quotas

• Your scale needs are large

  • Enterprise-grade scalability

  • Very high throughput requirements

  • Many interconnected services

  • Multi-region deployments

• Your team has Kubernetes expertise

  • Already using Kubernetes elsewhere

  • Staff comfortable with kubectl

  • CI/CD pipelines built for Kubernetes

Direct Comparison: Key Differences

Management Overhead

Container Apps:

• Azure manages the infrastructure

• No nodes to maintain

• No cluster to upgrade

• Less control, less to break

AKS:

• You control cluster settings

• You handle node pools

• You manage upgrades

• More control, more responsibility

Scaling Capabilities

Container Apps:

• Auto-scales based on HTTP requests

• Scales to zero (pay nothing when idle)

• Upper limits on container resources

AKS:

• Custom scaling with HPA and KEDA

• Minimum node count (always pay something)

• Scale limited only by your Azure quota

Developer Experience

Container Apps:

• Push container images and go

• Less to learn

• Managed revisions for versioning

• Built-in CI/CD with GitHub Actions

AKS:

• Full Kubernetes API

• Steeper learning curve

• More powerful tools

• Many deployment options

Cost Structure

Container Apps:

• Pay per second of vCPU and memory

• No cost when scaled to zero

• No infrastructure costs

AKS:

• Pay for VM nodes 24/7

• Node pools always running

• Control over VM sizes and costs

Making Your Decision

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you need to scale to zero?

• How much Kubernetes expertise do you have?

• Do you need advanced networking or security features?

• What's your budget for infrastructure?

• How complex are your container workloads?

My Personal Take

When clients ask me to choose, I start with Container Apps by default. I only move to AKS when specific needs push us in that direction.

Container Apps gives you 80% of what most apps need with 20% of the complexity. AKS gives you 100% control with 100% of the complexity.