Overview
Google Cloud Storage is the object store behind much of Google Cloud: BigQuery, Vertex AI, Cloud Run and GKE all read from it directly. Buckets live in a single region, a dual-region pair or a multi-region (US, EU, Asia), and each object has a storage class: Standard, Nearline, Coldline or Archive. A newer zonal Rapid storage class targets high-performance workloads.
Standard storage in us-central1 costs about $0.020 per GB-month, with no minimum duration. Colder classes are cheaper to store but charge retrieval fees and bill a minimum of 30, 90 or 365 days if you delete early. Class A operations (writes, lists) cost $0.005 per 1,000 and Class B operations (reads) $0.0004 per 1,000 in a single region, and more in dual- and multi-regions.
Internet egress is priced at $0.12 per GiB for the first 10 TiB each month to most destinations, higher to Australia and China. Data moving to Google Cloud services in the same location is free, so the cost is mostly felt when serving files straight to users.
The Always Free tier gives 5 GB-months of Standard storage, 5,000 Class A and 50,000 Class B operations and 100 GB of egress a month, but only in three US regions. Autoclass can manage storage classes automatically, and soft delete, object versioning and retention locks protect data.
Pricing and plans
Free tier
Always Free: 5 GB-months of Standard storage, 5,000 Class A and 50,000 Class B operations, 100 GB egress from North America per month, in us-east1, us-west1 and us-central1 only
At the limit Not stated The vendor does not say what happens at the limit, or we have not found it yet.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (region) | $0.000027397/GiB-hour (about $0.020/GB-month) | us-central1; no minimum storage duration |
| Nearline | About $0.010/GB-month | 30-day minimum storage duration plus retrieval fee |
| Coldline | About $0.004/GB-month | 90-day minimum storage duration |
| Archive | About $0.0012/GB-month | 365-day minimum storage duration |
| Operations (Standard, region) | $0.005 per 1,000 Class A; $0.0004 per 1,000 Class B | Flat namespace; dual/multi-region Class A is $0.01 per 1,000 |
| Internet egress | $0.12/GiB | First 10 TiB/month to worldwide destinations except Asia/Australia pricing tiers; Australia $0.19, China $0.23 |
What it does
- Location choices
- Regional, dual-region (with optional turbo replication) and multi-region buckets across more than 40 regions.
- Storage classes
- Standard, Nearline, Coldline and Archive share one API and millisecond access, differing in price, retrieval fees and minimum duration.
- Autoclass
- Moves objects between classes by access pattern without early-deletion charges.
- Rapid storage and Rapid Cache
- Zonal high-performance buckets and an on-demand read cache for AI and analytics workloads.
- Soft delete and versioning
- Recover deleted or overwritten objects within a retention window.
- Google Cloud integration
- Free same-location transfer to BigQuery, GKE, Compute Engine and other Google Cloud services.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Always Free allowance for small US workloads
- Clear choice of regional, dual-region and multi-region placement
- Archive class at about $0.0012/GB-month for long-term data
- Direct integration with BigQuery and Vertex AI
Limitations
- Internet egress at $0.12/GiB is higher than AWS and Azure list prices
- Always Free applies only in us-east1, us-west1 and us-central1
- Nearline, Coldline and Archive bill 30, 90 and 365-day minimums on early deletion
- The native API is not S3; S3 tools work only through the XML API interoperability mode
Who it suits
Good for
- Apps and data pipelines on Google Cloud
- Analytics data read by BigQuery
- Long-term archives in the Archive class
Look elsewhere if
- Serving large public downloads straight to users
- Projects outside Google Cloud that want free egress
Alternatives to Google Cloud Storage
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uploadcare File upload, processing and CDN | $66/mo | Free tier | |
| Cloudinary Image and video media platform | $89/mo | Free tier | |
| SeaweedFS Self-hosted distributed storage | — | ||
| OVHcloud Object Storage EU object storage | Usage-based | ||
| Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage Flat-rate object storage | $7.99/mo | ||
| Amazon S3 Object storage (hyperscaler) | Usage-based |
Questions
How much does Google Cloud Storage cost per GB?
Standard storage in us-central1 is about $0.020 per GB-month; other locations and classes differ, with Archive around $0.0012.
Is there a free tier for Google Cloud Storage?
Yes. Always Free covers 5 GB-months of Standard storage, 5,000 Class A and 50,000 Class B operations and 100 GB of egress a month in three US regions.
How much is Google Cloud Storage egress?
$0.12 per GiB for the first 10 TiB a month to most destinations, $0.19 to Australia and $0.23 to China.
Is Google Cloud Storage S3 compatible?
Partly. Its XML API accepts HMAC keys and many S3 tools, but the main JSON API and client libraries are Google's own.
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