Kubernetes
Practical
By Samson Tanimawo, PhD
Published Apr 15, 2026
4 min read
VPA vs HPA: When Each
Vertical and horizontal autoscaling. Different problems.
Live workflow · 3 working · 1 queuedLive
Signal · gather Working
Decide · pick action Working
Apply · with verify Working
Learn · update playbook Queued
HPA
Adds replicas. Stateless workloads.
Scales out; preserves cost control.
VPA
Adjusts requests/limits. Single-replica workloads.
Tight resource fit; less waste.
Hybrid
VPA for resource sizing; HPA for replica count.
Both together for full coverage.