Google kicked off its cloud journey with App Engine in 2008, quickly followed by Google Cloud Storage in 2010. Over the years, Google has built what we now know as the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), establishing itself as one of the top three global providers of cloud storage.
Among the hyperscalers, Google Cloud is recognized for its technical depth and ranks third in market share, trailing behind Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Its storage options are diverse, ranging from dedicated services like Cloud Storage to integrated solutions like BigQuery that offer storage as part of a broader service suite.
Let’s break down Google Cloud’s main storage offerings:
Cloud Storage
Cloud Storage is Google’s flagship object storage solution, featuring four tiers. Pricing depends on the selected tier and geographical locations. For instance, Standard storage targets fast-access data with a 99.9% service-level agreement (SLA) for single-region stores. Nearline storage fits data that’s accessed less frequently, recommended for backups and media. It has a slightly lower SLA of 99%. For long-term storage, Coldline and Archive are ideal, matching Nearline’s SLAs. As an example, in London, the costs are $0.023 per GB for Standard, $0.013 for Nearline, $0.007 for Coldline, and $0.0025 for Archive. Retrieval fees apply for all tiers except Standard.
Persistent Disk
Persistent Disk is aimed at virtual environments, functioning over HDDs or SSDs with varied performance levels tied to input/output operations. It includes features like snapshots and encryption. Pricing varies based on the virtual machine type, with premium images costing extra. For example, a Google f1-micro VM is $0.02 an hour while an n1-standard-8 is $0.11 an hour. The overall expense includes both the machine type and image fees.
Filestore
Filestore serves as Google’s managed file storage solution. It employs the Network File System and adapts based on user needs, offering HDDs or SSDs. This service connects seamlessly with on-premise systems and Google services. The tiers include Basic, Regional, Enterprise, and Zonal, the latter targeting high-performance needs. Prices vary widely, starting from $0.19 per GiB per month for Basic HDD to $0.55 for Regional and Enterprise tiers.
BigQuery, Cloud SQL, Firestore, and AlloyDB
In addition to storage, GCP features several integrated database and analytics products. Cloud SQL supports customizable storage for cloud-based relational databases, charging from $0.108/GB per month for HDD to $0.204/GB for SSDs. Firestore is a fully managed NoSQL database that boasts automatic scaling and offline capability. AlloyDB, compatible with PostgreSQL, includes cluster storage starting at $0.0004109/GB per hour. BigQuery operates differently; storage is automatically allocated as you upload data, with no payment for unused storage. Costs for BigQuery range from $0.02/GiB per month for active storage to $0.01/GiB for long-term storage, with the first 10GiB free each month.