Committed use discounts

This page describes how committed use discounts work with Cloud SQL.

What are Cloud SQL committed use discounts?

Committed use discounts (CUDs) for Cloud SQL provide deeply discounted prices in exchange for your commitment to continuously use database instances in a particular region for a one- or three-year term.

Cloud SQL CUDs are ideal for workloads with predictable resource needs. You commit to a consistent amount of usage, measured in cost per hour of equivalent on-demand spending, for a one- or three-year term. In exchange, you receive a discounted rate for Google Cloud SQL on the applicable usage your commitment covers.

You can purchase CUDs from any Cloud Billing account, and the discount applies to any eligible usage in projects that the Cloud Billing account pays for. When you purchase a Cloud SQL CUD, you pay the same commitment fee for the entirety of the commitment term, even if the price of applicable usage changes. You still receive the same discount percentage on applicable usage in the event of a price change. The commitment fee is billed monthly.

For more information about your bill, see Analyze the effectiveness of your spend-based committed use discounts.

What types of usage are Cloud SQL CUDs used for?

CUDs automatically apply to aggregate Cloud SQL instance usage in a region, giving you low, predictable costs, without the need to make any manual changes or updates yourself. This flexibility helps you achieve high utilization rates across your commitments, saving you time and money.

Cloud SQL CUDs apply to all Cloud SQL database instance CPU and memory usage in the region in which you have committed, except shared CPU machine types (such as db-f1-micro and db-g1-small). Cloud SQL CUDs apply to usage from all supported databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server). Cloud SQL CUDs do not apply to storage, backups, IP Addresses, outbound data transfer, or licensing.

Pricing

Cloud SQL CUDs give you a 25% discount off on-demand pricing for a one-year commitment and a 52% discount off on-demand pricing for a three-year commitment. This discount significantly reduces Cloud SQL costs. These discount percentages are the same in every region.

See committed use discount pricing for pricing details.

Purchase Cloud SQL CUDs

You can purchase a Cloud SQL CUD in the Google Cloud console billing page. Select the Commitments tab, then select the PURCHASE action at the top. After purchasing a CUD, the commitment is effective starting within the next hour. The discounts are automatically applied to eligible usage in the region you specified.

Before you purchase a commitment, read the Service Specific Terms regarding Committed Units.

To learn more, including how to purchase spend-based commitments, see Committed use discounts.

Example use case

Key points to keep in mind:

  • Cloud SQL CUDs apply only to vCPUs and memory.
  • Cloud SQL CUDs do not apply to storage, backups, IP Addresses, network egress, or licensing.
  • Cloud SQL CUDs apply to all instances in a given region.
  • Cloud SQL CUDs are measured in dollars per hourly on-demand commitment.

How to calculate an hourly on-demand commitment

When calculating the hourly rate for vCPUs and memory across all instances in the region where you want to benefit from a CUD, first consider whether it saves money for your situation. Any usage above that limit is charged at the regular on-demand price.

For example:

  • Assume you are running 100 instances in each of two different regions. The instances are using 2 high availability (HA) vCPUs with 7.5GB HA RAM, and are located in theoretical Region A and Region B. You're interested in buying a 1-year CUD.

From the pricing table, we can calculate the approximate total hourly commitment cost per region:

  • Region A

    • 100 * 2x HA vCPU * $0.0826 per vCPU per hour = ~$16.50 per hour
    • 100 * 7.5GB HA RAM * $0.0140 per GB per hour = ~$10.00 per hour
    • For a total of $26.50 per hour in committed use hourly pricing

  • Region B

    • 100 * 2x HA vCPU * $0.1156 per vCPU per hour = ~$21.00 per hour
    • 100 * 7.5GB HA RAM * $0.0735 per GB per hour = ~$14.00 per hour
    • For a total of $35.00 per hour in committed use hourly pricing

Calculating the monthly cost (730 hours in a month):

  • Region A

    • On-demand pricing = ($26.50 per hour * 730 hours) = $19,345 per month
    • After 25% 1-year CUD discount = $14,508 per month
    • For a total savings of $4,836 per month

  • Region B

    • On-demand pricing = ($35 per hour * 730 hours) = $25,550 per month
    • After 25% 1-year CUD discount = $19,162 per month
    • For a total savings of $6,387 per month

Once you make the commitment, you're charged that amount even if you decide to stop or scale down the actual number of vCPUs or RAM during the month.

Final recommendations

When making the decision on whether to purchase CUDs, keep in mind the following considerations:

  • Regions: Purchase CUDs for regions. If you're running in multiple regions, calculate and purchase CUDs in each region separately.
  • Projects: Determine the consistent baseline vCPU/RAM usage per project. Consider that production loads usually run 100% of the time, while development or staging environments are usually run more intermittently.
  • Instances: Cloud SQL instances are usually run 24/7, so it's common to buy CUDs for 100% consumption. If you have instances that are run only for bursts or shorter durations, exclude them from your calculations, and pay on-demand rates for those instances.
  • Machine types: CUDs are not tied to any machine type, but are just the total of vCPUs and amount of memory used in the region.

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