n2-standard-2 as a GKE node
2 vCPU8 GiBx86_64Google Cloud us-central1N2 Standard 2
Where the n2-standard-2 goes
Default GKE setup: GKE ≤ 1.36.
CPU1.73 of 2 vCPU left for your pods
Memory5.81 GiB of 8 GiB left for your pods
your podsDaemonSets (200m, 300 MiB assumed)kubelet reservedeviction
110max pods per node
$70.90on demand / month · $0.0971/h
$40.40spot / month (varies)
n2-standard-2 GKE max pods and allocatable memory — quick answers
- How many pods can a n2-standard-2 run as a node with GKE ≤ 1.36? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 1943 MiB of memory and 70m CPU, leaving 6.10 GiB and 1.93 vCPU for pods.
- How many pods can a n2-standard-2 run as a node with GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS)? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 1943 MiB of memory and 70m CPU, leaving 6.10 GiB and 1.93 vCPU for pods.
- How many 500m / 1 GiB pods fit? 3 per node after DaemonSets; 4 nodes for 10 replicas, about $283.58/month on demand.
What kubelet reserves on n2-standard-2
| Setup | Max pods | kube-reserved CPU | Memory reserved + eviction | Allocatable CPU | Allocatable memory | Memory usable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKE ≤ 1.36 tiered memory reservation | 110 | 70m | 1843 Mi + 100 Mi | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 76.3% |
| GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS) 15 MiB × max pods + 500 MiB, CPU capped at 1 vCPU | 110 | 70m | 1843 Mi + 100 Mi | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 76.3% |
How these numbers are computed: reservation formulas. Check a live node with kubectl describe node → Allocatable.
How many pods fit on one n2-standard-2
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 | 17 | 17 | $4.17 |
| 250m / 256 Mi | 6 | 6 | $11.82 |
| 250m / 512 Mi | 6 | 6 | $11.82 |
| 500m / 512 Mi | 3 | 3 | $23.63 |
| 500m / 1024 Mi | 3 | 3 | $23.63 |
| 1000m / 1024 Mi | 1 | 1 | $70.90 |
| 1000m / 2048 Mi | 1 | 1 | $70.90 |
| 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-standard-2 | 2 | 8 | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $48.92 | $8.02 |
| n4a-standard-2 | 2 | 8 | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $56.21 | $9.21 |
| t2a-standard-2 | 2 | 8 | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $56.21 | $9.21 |
| n2d-standard-2 | 2 | 8 | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $61.68 | $10.11 |
| t2d-standard-2 | 2 | 8 | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $61.68 | $10.11 |
| n4d-standard-2 | 2 | 8 | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $61.83 | $10.13 |
| c4a-standard-2 | 2 | 8 | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $65.55 | $10.74 |
| n4-standard-2 | 2 | 8 | 1.93 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $66.21 | $10.85 |