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AWS and Azure have both adopted Karpenter for intelligent node provisioning (AKS reached GA in early 2026), but GKE still relies on Cluster Autoscaler, Node Auto-Provisioning, and ComputeClasses — none of which deliver Karpenter's just-in-time, single-node optimization model. Google's choice appears deliberate: keeping GKE operationally distinct reduces cloud portability and lock-in risk. The post walks through the limitations of each GKE autoscaling layer, explains why Autopilot's constraints matter for production engineering teams, and introduces Cast AI as a third-party controller that brings continuous node consolidation, rightsizing, and Spot VM management to GKE clusters without replacing existing infrastructure.

Is There a Karpenter Equivalent on GKE?

What GKE Engineers Are Actually Working With

How Cast AI Brings Intelligent Autoscaling to GKE