What is the “GCP” fee structure? Introducing free tier conditions and fee calculation tools

1. What is Google Cloud Platform (GCP)?

GCP is an abbreviation for Google Cloud Platform , a cloud service provided by ” Google “, which is famous for operating Google Search, Google Map, and YouTube . The same infrastructure that Google uses to provide those services can be used for a variety of purposes, both corporate and individual.

Not only can we easily provide stable Web services using Google’s infrastructure, but we also have a full range of services related to machine learning, which can be used for research purposes.

2. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) pricing

2.1 Initial cost

The initial cost of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is free , that is, the contract fee is 0 yen. Compared to setting up and operating a server on-premises, it is very easy to get started because it does not require capital investment. At the same time, you can save physical labor such as server installation and network installation, and labor costs.

2.2 Monthly charge

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a pay-as -you-go system, not a monthly fee system . If you use it, you will be charged as much as you use it. Therefore, if you do not use it often, you can reduce the charge, but you need to be careful not to overuse it, such as setting a budget alert .

2.3 Cancellation fee

With Google Cloud Platform (GCP), not only the contract fee but also the cancellation cost is 0 yen . The point is that if you choose to disable the service, billing will stop and you will not be charged any more.

2.4 Payment method

There are two payment methods on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). They are ” credit card payment ” and ” invoice payment “, but if you want to use “invoice payment”, you need to ” contract with a GCP partner company ” instead of a direct contract with Google . If you want to use “invoice payment” at a corporation, it is recommended to make a contract through a partner company.

3. What is GCP’s pricing tool?

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides a convenient calculation tool ” Google Cloud Pricing Calculator ” that can simulate actual usage charges . You can roughly estimate the cost by simply entering the required items of the tool published on the Web.

See also: Google Cloud Pricing Calculator

3.1 How to use

4. Accurate estimate of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) usage fees

In order to make a more accurate estimate of the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) usage fee, it is necessary to define the requirements and create a system configuration diagram (architecture diagram) . The icon set for creating this architecture diagram is officially distributed by Google, so it is recommended to use it if you do not have an icon decided by the company etc.

On this page, more than 50 types of architectural diagram samples are distributed according to various business patterns. It’s editable, so if you’re not used to it, it’s a good idea to look for something similar and start by modifying it.

Reference: Solution icon for architecture diagram | Google Cloud

5. GCP budget management method

No matter how well you calculate, there are cases where the pay-as-you-go system makes it unexpectedly expensive in actual operation. You can use a service called ” BigQuery ” provided by Google officials .

By enabling “Billing Export” of GCP and loading it with this BigQuery, you will be able to do “usage charges for each project” and “analysis of billing items that require usage costs” with BigQuery.

A query is a statement for operating a database. Actually, it is operated using SQL statements .

5.1 BigQuery pricing

The use of BigQuery is an on-demand fee that will be charged according to the amount when the free limit is exceeded. Furthermore, if you use a lot every month, unlike GCP, there is also a flat rate here .

BigQuery’s free tier capacity and various charges are summarized in the table.

■ For on-demand charges (pay-as-you-go)

For on-demand charges, the charge is determined by the number of bytes actually processed (read bytes).

■ For a flat rate

Users who subscribe to a flat-rate plan will be assigned a dedicated query processing capacity (BigQuery slot). There is no additional charge for using this dedicated slot, no matter how much you use it.
A BigQuery slot is a virtual CPU used to execute queries. Instead of using one slot to execute one query, multiple slots are automatically used depending on its size and complexity.

See: Slots / BigQuery Document Guide | Google Cloud

The flat rate per 100 slots is as follows.
If you make an annual contract, the monthly fee will be a little better.

Source: BigQuery Pricing | Google Cloud

6. About GCP free tier

The following free tiers are set on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

• Free credit up to $ 300 in 12 months
• Always Free

Especially for Always Free, there is a limit to the ability that can be used, but there is an advantage that it can be used for free forever.

For example, if you use the Google Compute Engine (GCE) calculated in the previous section, you can use ” f1-micro instance ” for free. This has a low capacity setting of 0.2 CPU cores (vCPUs) and 600MB of memory, but it is free and safe to use when using it for small projects such as learning, testing purposes, personal development, etc. There is an advantage.

If you would like to know more about GCP’s free tier, please see the following article.

Explanation of what you can do with the free frame of GCP (Google Cloud Platform)

7. Summary

How was the GCP fee structure and calculation method? It is necessary to fully understand the pay-as-you-go system before you start using it so that you will not be surprised when you receive an unexpectedly high bill. However, once you get used to it, it is a very convenient service, so please try using it even from the free tier.