AKS Cost Optimization: The Real Fixes Under the Hood – NAP, VPA, Spot, and Commitments

AKS cost optimization requires coordinated changes across workload requests, node provisioning, hardware selection, and capacity commitments rather than a single configuration adjustment. The text recommends using Node Auto Provisioning, now generally available on AKS and built on Karpenter, to select and consolidate nodes based on pending pod requirements, while retaining Cluster Autoscaler for specialized or more disruption-sensitive workloads. Vertical Pod Autoscaler can align pod requests with actual consumption, although automated VPA should not use CPU- or memory-based HPA signals because it can create scaling feedback loops. Spot VMs can reduce costs substantially for fault-tolerant workloads when paired with eviction-aware configurations and on-demand fallback capacity, while GPU sharing, time-slicing, or partitioning can reduce underused dedicated GPU infrastructure. Reserved Instances and Savings Plans should be purchased only after rightsizing and consolidation establish the true baseline, and ARM-based nodes may offer additional price-performance benefits for compatible workloads. Examples involving Caudalie and Mercedes-Benz.io illustrate that automated scaling and rightsizing can lower provisioned capacity and reliability issues even in mature production environments, with the recommended approach emphasizing measured, incremental changes rather than broad infrastructure overhauls.

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