Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

AWS Controllers for Kubernetes review

Free#21 of 29 in Infrastructure as Code Tools

A focused, open-source way to reconcile AWS resources through Kubernetes.

7.2/10Editor score
Visit AWS ACK
AWS Controllers for Kubernetes7.2 Visit AWS ACK

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

AWS Controllers for Kubernetes (ACK) is an open-source collection of Kubernetes controllers for managing AWS service resources from Kubernetes. It is designed for teams that want AWS resources represented as Kubernetes custom resources and defined through declarative YAML manifests. ACK controllers communicate with AWS service APIs to create, update, delete, and reconcile resources, and can run with Kubernetes clusters on Amazon EKS or elsewhere.

Its strongest fit is a Kubernetes-centered GitOps workflow. Continuous reconciliation keeps Kubernetes and AWS aligned, while drift detection addresses manual changes made in AWS. ACK also supports adopting existing AWS resources, cross-account resource management, multi-region resource management, and deletion policies that retain or delete AWS resources. The project integrates with the Kubernetes API, AWS service APIs, and AWS IAM/STS. Controllers can be installed independently, with separate release cycles, using Helm or raw Kubernetes manifests.

ACK is open source, so the project itself is not presented as a paid tiered product. AWS service usage and Kubernetes infrastructure costs are separate from the project. That makes ACK a focused choice for organizations already operating Kubernetes and wanting AWS resources managed through the same declarative model. It is less suitable for teams seeking a hosted infrastructure-as-code service, a multi-cloud tool, or an execution model that does not depend on self-hosted Kubernetes.

AWS Controllers for Kubernetes pros and cons

  • Where it wins
    • Declarative YAML manifests support GitOps and continuous reconciliation.
    • Detects drift, adopts existing resources, and supports deletion policies.
    • Supports cross-account and multi-region AWS resource management.
  • Where it doesn't
    • Requires a self-hosted Kubernetes cluster and execution model.
    • Supports AWS only rather than multiple cloud providers.
    • AWS usage and Kubernetes infrastructure costs remain separate.

AWS Controllers for Kubernetes fact sheet, pricing and score →

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Last updated · How we research and update