LearnGlossary

What is AWS Graviton? Graviton instances explained

Updated 2 November 2026 · Published by Zoorik

AWS Graviton is a family of Arm-based processors that Amazon builds for Amazon Web Services (AWS). Graviton instances are the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance types that run on them.

AWS Graviton processors, from Graviton to Graviton5

Every Graviton processor is a 64-bit Arm (arm64) chip. Graviton5, the fifth generation, has been generally available on EC2 since June 2026.

Graviton on EC2 and EKS

In an EC2 instance type name, a g after the generation number means AWS Graviton, as in m7g.large or c7gn.xlarge. On the general purpose Graviton types, Linux is the only operating system AWS lists.

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) offers Arm versions of its EKS-optimized Amazon Machine Images (AMIs), built on Amazon Linux. Apps on Arm nodes must be compiled for Arm. Each DaemonSet must also be able to run on every architecture in your cluster.

One cluster can run Arm and x86 node groups side by side. In that case, AWS suggests multi-architecture images, plus node selectors so each pod lands where its image runs. A selector can use kubernetes.io/arch, the label that names each node’s architecture, such as arm64 or amd64.

A multi-architecture image runs on both node groups. A node selector keeps an amd64-only image on amd64 nodes. Illustration of one EKS cluster, an outer box labelled EKS cluster that holds two node groups side by side. The left group, Arm node group, reads Graviton, such as m7g.large, and its node label kubernetes.io/arch: arm64. The right group, x86 node group, reads Intel, such as m7i.large, and its node label kubernetes.io/arch: amd64. Above the cluster are two apps. App A has a multi-architecture image with arm64 and amd64 builds. One arrow from it, labelled arm64 build, goes to the Arm node group, and a second, labelled amd64 build, goes to the x86 node group. App B has an amd64-only image and a node selector, kubernetes.io/arch: amd64. One arrow from it, labelled amd64 only, goes to the x86 node group, and none goes to the Arm node group. A multi-architecture image runs on both node groups. A node selector keeps an amd64-only image on amd64 nodes. App Amulti-architecture imagearm64 and amd64 buildsApp Bamd64-only imagenode selectorkubernetes.io/arch: amd64EKS clusterArm node groupGraviton, such as m7g.largekubernetes.io/arch: arm64x86 node groupIntel, such as m7i.largekubernetes.io/arch: amd64arm64 buildamd64 buildamd64 only
Illustration: an image with arm64 and amd64 builds runs on either node group. A node selector keeps an amd64-only image on amd64 nodes.

A managed node group can’t change its instance type in place, so moving to Graviton usually means a new node group. See how to change an EKS node group instance type.

Why AWS Graviton matters for your cloud cost

  • AWS says Graviton instances deliver up to 40% better price-performance than equivalent x86 instances (November 2026). That figure is price-performance, not price.
  • Compare On-Demand prices for sizes with the same virtual CPUs (vCPUs) and memory, such as m7g.large and Intel-based m7i.large, in your Region. Prices change.
  • Coral rebalances CPU and memory requests on AKS and EKS to match real use. It drains spare nodes so your autoscaler can remove them.

Read next: How to choose EKS instance types

Sources: Amazon Web Services, “Now available: Amazon EC2 M9g and M9gd instances powered by new AWS Graviton5 processors” (opens in a new tab) (AWS News Blog); Amazon Web Services, “Graviton instances” (opens in a new tab) (AWS whitepaper); Amazon Web Services, “Specifications for Amazon EC2 general purpose instances” (opens in a new tab); Amazon Web Services, “Amazon EC2 instance type naming conventions” (opens in a new tab); Amazon Web Services, “Create nodes with optimized Amazon Linux AMIs” (opens in a new tab) (Amazon EKS User Guide); Kubernetes, “Well-Known Labels, Annotations and Taints” (opens in a new tab); Amazon Web Services, “Graviton instance migration” (opens in a new tab) (AWS Prescriptive Guidance); Amazon Web Services, “Amazon EC2 On-Demand Pricing” (opens in a new tab).

Find your own number

One line in your cloud console. One PDF report with your estimated saving at list price.

Estimate your saving
Talk to the builders

Thirty minutes with the people who build Coral.

Book a demo (opens in a new tab)

Or write to founders@zoorik.com