n2-standard-8 as a GKE node
8 vCPU32 GiBx86_64Google Cloud us-central1N2 Standard 8
Where the n2-standard-8 goes
Default GKE setup: GKE ≤ 1.36.
CPU7.71 of 8 vCPU left for your pods
Memory28.05 GiB of 32 GiB left for your pods
your podsDaemonSets (200m, 300 MiB assumed)kubelet reservedeviction
110max pods per node
$283.58on demand / month · $0.3885/h
$161.59spot / month (varies)
n2-standard-8 GKE max pods and allocatable memory — quick answers
- How many pods can a n2-standard-8 run as a node with GKE ≤ 1.36? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 3745 MiB of memory and 90m CPU, leaving 28.34 GiB and 7.91 vCPU for pods.
- How many pods can a n2-standard-8 run as a node with GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS)? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 2250 MiB of memory and 90m CPU, leaving 29.80 GiB and 7.91 vCPU for pods.
- How many 500m / 1 GiB pods fit? 15 per node after DaemonSets; 1 nodes for 10 replicas, about $283.58/month on demand.
What kubelet reserves on n2-standard-8
| Setup | Max pods | kube-reserved CPU | Memory reserved + eviction | Allocatable CPU | Allocatable memory | Memory usable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKE ≤ 1.36 tiered memory reservation | 110 | 90m | 3645 Mi + 100 Mi | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 88.6% |
| GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS) 15 MiB × max pods + 500 MiB, CPU capped at 1 vCPU | 110 | 90m | 2150 Mi + 100 Mi | 7.91 | 29.80 GiB | 93.1% |
How these numbers are computed: reservation formulas. Check a live node with kubectl describe node → Allocatable.
How many pods fit on one n2-standard-8
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 | 77 | 77 | $3.68 |
| 250m / 256 Mi | 30 | 30 | $9.45 |
| 250m / 512 Mi | 30 | 30 | $9.45 |
| 500m / 512 Mi | 15 | 15 | $18.91 |
| 500m / 1024 Mi | 15 | 15 | $18.91 |
| 1000m / 1024 Mi | 7 | 7 | $40.51 |
| 1000m / 2048 Mi | 7 | 7 | $40.51 |
| 2000m / 4096 Mi | 3 | 3 | $94.53 |
| 4000m / 8192 Mi | 1 | 1 | $283.58 |
Similar GKE node types
| Type | vCPU | GiB | Alloc CPU | Alloc memory | Max pods | $/month | $ per alloc GiB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| e2-standard-8 | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 110 | $195.67 | $6.90 |
| n4a-standard-8 | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 110 | $224.84 | $7.93 |
| t2a-standard-8 | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 110 | $224.84 | $7.93 |
| n2d-standard-8 | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 110 | $246.72 | $8.70 |
| t2d-standard-8 | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 110 | $246.72 | $8.70 |
| n4d-standard-8 | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 110 | $247.32 | $8.73 |
| c4a-standard-8 | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 110 | $262.22 | $9.25 |
| n4-standard-8 | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 28.34 GiB | 110 | $264.84 | $9.34 |
Closest match on other clouds
| Type | vCPU | GiB | Alloc CPU | Alloc memory | Max pods | $/month | $ per alloc GiB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| t4g.2xlarge | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 31.03 GiB | 58 | $196.22 | $6.32 |
| d8psv6 | 8 | 32 | 7.82 | 26.97 GiB | 250 | $205.13 | $7.61 |
| t3a.2xlarge | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 31.03 GiB | 58 | $219.58 | $7.08 |
| m6g.2xlarge | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 31.03 GiB | 58 | $224.84 | $7.25 |
| d8psv5 | 8 | 32 | 7.82 | 26.97 GiB | 250 | $224.84 | $8.34 |
| m7g.2xlarge | 8 | 32 | 7.91 | 31.03 GiB | 58 | $238.27 | $7.68 |