e2-small as a GKE node
2 vCPU2 GiBx86_64Google Cloud us-central1E2 Small
Where the e2-small goes
Default GKE setup: GKE ≤ 1.36.
CPU0.74 of 2 vCPU left for your pods
Memory1.11 GiB of 2 GiB left for your pods
your podsDaemonSets (200m, 300 MiB assumed)kubelet reservedeviction
110max pods per node
$36.11on demand / month · $0.0495/h
$21.67spot / month (varies)
e2-small GKE max pods and allocatable memory — quick answers
- How many pods can a e2-small run as a node with GKE ≤ 1.36? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 612 MiB of memory and 1060m CPU, leaving 1.40 GiB and 0.94 vCPU for pods.
- How many pods can a e2-small run as a node with GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS)? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 612 MiB of memory and 1060m CPU, leaving 1.40 GiB and 0.94 vCPU for pods.
- How many 500m / 1 GiB pods fit? 1 per node after DaemonSets; 10 nodes for 10 replicas, about $361.13/month on demand.
What kubelet reserves on e2-small
| Setup | Max pods | kube-reserved CPU | Memory reserved + eviction | Allocatable CPU | Allocatable memory | Memory usable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKE ≤ 1.36 tiered memory reservation | 110 | 1060m | 512 Mi + 100 Mi | 0.94 | 1.40 GiB | 70.1% |
| GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS) 15 MiB × max pods + 500 MiB, CPU capped at 1 vCPU | 110 | 1060m | 512 Mi + 100 Mi | 0.94 | 1.40 GiB | 70.1% |
How these numbers are computed: reservation formulas. Check a live node with kubectl describe node → Allocatable.
How many pods fit on one e2-small
Assumes DaemonSets (CNI, kube-proxy, log and metrics agents) request 200m CPU, 300 Mi and 3 pods per node. Try your own numbers in the node calculator.
| Pod requests (CPU / memory) | GKE ≤ 1.36 | GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS) | $ per pod / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100m / 128 Mi | 7 | 7 | $5.16 |
| 250m / 256 Mi | 2 | 2 | $18.06 |
| 250m / 512 Mi | 2 | 2 | $18.06 |
| 500m / 512 Mi | 1 | 1 | $36.11 |
| 500m / 1024 Mi | 1 | 1 | $36.11 |
| 1000m / 1024 Mi | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1000m / 2048 Mi | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000m / 4096 Mi | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4000m / 8192 Mi | 0 | 0 | — |
Similar GKE node types
| Type | vCPU | GiB | Alloc CPU | Alloc memory | Max pods | $/month | $ per alloc GiB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| e2-highcpu-2 | 2 | 2 | 1.93 | 1.40 GiB | 110 | $36.11 | $25.75 |
| n2d-highcpu-2 | 2 | 2 | 1.93 | 1.40 GiB | 110 | $45.53 | $32.47 |
| n2-highcpu-2 | 2 | 2 | 1.93 | 1.40 GiB | 110 | $52.34 | $37.32 |
| n1-highcpu-2 | 2 | 1.7998 | 1.93 | 1.25 GiB | 110 | $51.72 | $41.30 |
| c4d-highcpu-2 | 2 | 3 | 1.93 | 2.15 GiB | 110 | $55.97 | $26.00 |
| n4a-highcpu-1 | 1 | 2 | 0.94 | 1.40 GiB | 110 | $23.71 | $16.91 |
| c4a-highcpu-1 | 1 | 2 | 0.94 | 1.40 GiB | 110 | $27.65 | $19.72 |
| e2-micro | 2 | 1 | 0.94 | 0.65 GiB | 110 | $33.98 | $52.09 |