Your startup doesn’t need Kubernetes.
There. I said it.
I keep seeing the same pattern. Small teams, early-stage startups, sometimes just 3-5 engineers. They’re choosing Kubernetes because it’s “production-ready”. Because it’s what “serious companies” use.
They’re solving the wrong problem.
Here’s how to choose infrastructure based on what you actually need.
The Real Question
Before comparing platforms, answer this: What’s your biggest constraint?
Time? Money? Expertise?
Your constraint determines your choice. Not what Google uses. Not what’s on job postings.
Push-to-Deploy Platforms
What they are: You push code, it runs. No servers. No containers. No YAML files.
Examples: DigitalOcean App Platform, Render, Railway, Fly.io, Heroku
Choose this when:
- You don’t have a DevOps person
- You need to ship features, not manage infrastructure
- Your constraint is time, not money
- You have less than 10 services (if you have more, maybe you need to read this post about microservices)
The trade-offs:
- Costs more per compute unit (~2-3x VPS prices)
- Limited customization options
- Platform-specific configurations (but your code stays portable)
Real numbers: $50-200/month handles most early-stage startups
My take: This is where 90% of startups should be. DigitalOcean App Platform has the clearest pricing. Render has great developer experience.
Self-Hosted Application Platforms
What they are: Push-to-deploy experience on your own servers. Like Heroku, but you control the infrastructure.
Examples: Dokku, Dokploy, Coolify, Piku
Choose this when:
- Your constraint is money, not time
- You’re comfortable with basic Linux administration
- You need specific configurations (special networking, GPU access)
- You’re bootstrapped and need to minimize costs
The trade-offs:
- You manage the server (updates, backups, security)
- Initial setup takes 2-4 hours
- When it breaks at 2am, it’s on you
Real numbers: $20-60/month on a DigitalOcean Droplet
My take: Great for bootstrapped startups. Dokku is battle-tested. Dokploy has a nice UI. But remember: you’re now responsible for uptime.
Container Orchestration Platforms
What they are: Managed Kubernetes. Containers, pods, services, deployments. The full complexity.
Examples: Google GKE, AWS EKS, Azure AKS, DigitalOcean Kubernetes
Choose this when:
- You have actual multi-tenancy requirements (isolated customer environments)
- You run 20+ services that need complex orchestration
- You have dedicated DevOps/Platform engineers
- You need specific features: service mesh, advanced networking, custom schedulers
The trade-offs:
- Steep learning curve (expect 3-6 months to get comfortable)
- Requires dedicated expertise
- Debugging becomes significantly harder
- Minimum viable cluster costs more
Real numbers: $300-1000/month minimum (control plane + nodes)
My take: GKE is the best K8s experience. EKS if you’re already on AWS. But ask yourself: do you really need this? Or are you choosing complexity as a form of procrastination?
The Decision Framework
Stop thinking about stages. Think about constraints.
If your constraint is time:
→ Push-to-deploy platform. Ship features, not YAML.
If your constraint is money:
→ Self-hosted platform. Trade time for lower costs.
If your constraint is specific technical requirements:
→ Managed Kubernetes. But list those requirements. Be specific.
If your constraint is “we might need to scale”:
→ You’re solving the wrong problem. Use push-to-deploy.
Common Mistakes
The “Future Scale” Mistake
“We’ll need Kubernetes when we scale.”
Netflix ran on AWS EC2 for years. Basecamp still uses monolithic Rails. Stack Overflow runs on a handful of servers.
You’ll need Kubernetes when you need it. Not before.
The “Industry Standard” Mistake
“Everyone uses Kubernetes.”
Everyone talks about using Kubernetes. Most are running simple applications that would work fine on a $20 VPS.
The “Recruiting” Mistake
“Engineers want to work with Kubernetes.”
Good engineers want to ship products. They want impact. If someone won’t join because you use boring infrastructure, you dodged a bullet.
Real Examples
E-commerce startup:
- 5 engineers, B2C
- Push-to-deploy platform
- ~$150/month
- Handles thousands of daily users
B2B SaaS:
- 15 engineers
- Started with push-to-deploy
- Moved to managed K8s after 2 years
- Real multi-tenancy requirements drove the change
Analytics platform:
- 8 engineers
- Jumped straight to Kubernetes
- ~$1000/month infrastructure
- Realized too late that push-to-deploy + job queues would have worked
The Reality Check
Based on public information, successful companies kept infrastructure simple for years:
Airbnb: Ran on AWS EC2 for 10 years. No Kubernetes. Just servers running their app.
GitHub: They still deploy 20 times a day without container orchestration. Simple infrastructure, great engineering.
Shopify: Black Friday traffic (30TB/minute) runs without Kubernetes. They just scale horizontally on basic cloud services.
Stripe: Built their entire payment platform on standard AWS services. Started in 2011, and the approach hasn’t changed much.
Stack Overflow: One of the world’s busiest sites on a handful of servers. They’re not even using cloud.
They focused on product-market fit. Not infrastructure complexity.
My Recommendation
Default to push-to-deploy platforms. DigitalOcean App Platform if you want predictable pricing. Render if you want great developer experience.
Only move to self-hosted if you’re truly cost-constrained and have time.
Only move to Kubernetes if you have specific technical requirements that simpler platforms can’t meet. Write those requirements down. Be specific.
Your infrastructure should be boring. Boring is reliable. Boring is debuggable. Boring lets you focus on what matters.
Your customers don’t care if you use Kubernetes.
They care if your product works.
Wrestling with infrastructure decisions? I help startups choose the right level of complexity for their actual needs.