Cloud Storage pricing

This document discusses pricing for Cloud Storage. For Google Drive, which offers simple online storage for your personal files, see Google Drive pricing.

If you pay in a currency other than USD, the prices listed in your currency on Cloud Platform SKUs apply.

To learn about key Cloud Storage concepts such as buckets and objects, see Key Terms.

Pricing overview

Cloud Storage pricing is based on the following components:

  • Data storage: the amount of data stored in your buckets. Storage rates vary depending on the storage class of your data and location of your buckets.
  • Network usage: the amount of data read from or moved between your buckets.
  • Operations usage: the actions you take in Cloud Storage, such as listing the objects in your buckets.
  • Retrieval and early deletion fees: applicable for data stored in the Nearline Storage, Coldline Storage, and Archive Storage classes.

For example, suppose you have the following storage usage pattern for my-bucket in a given month:

Pricing Category Type of Usage Amount
Data storage Standard Storage in a region 50 GB (the average amount of data in your bucket over the course of the month)
Network Egress to the Americas and EMEA 1 GB
Operations Class A operations (object adds, bucket and object listings) 10,000 operations
Operations Class B operations (object gets, retrieving bucket and object metadata) 50,000 operations

Your bill for the month for my-bucket is calculated as follows:

Pricing Category Calculation Cost
Data Storage 50 GB Standard Storage * $0.020 per GB $1.00
Network 1 GB egress * $0.12 per GB $0.12
Operations 10,000 Class A operations * $0.05 per 10,000 operations $0.05
Operations 50,000 Class B operations * $0.004 per 10,000 operations $0.02
Total $1.19

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Pricing tables

The pricing tables below show what charges apply when using Cloud Storage.

For an example scenario that shows usage and charges, see the Detailed Pricing Example. For the Google Cloud pricing calculator, see the Calculator page.

Data storage

At-rest costs per location:

Note that Custom metadata counts toward your monthly storage usage. For example, for the custom metadata NAME:VALUE, Cloud Storage counts each character in NAME and VALUE as a byte stored with the object.

Network

Egress represents data sent from Cloud Storage in HTTP responses. Data or metadata read from a Cloud Storage bucket is an example of egress.

Ingress represents data sent to Cloud Storage in HTTP requests. Data or metadata written to a Cloud Storage bucket is an example of ingress.

Network usage charges apply for egress and are divided into the following cases:

Network egress within Google Cloud

Network egress within Google Cloud applies when you move or copy data from one Cloud Storage bucket to another or when another Google Cloud service accesses data in your Cloud Storage bucket.

Case Examples Rate
Data moves within the same location.
  • US-EAST1 to US-EAST1
  • EU to EU
 Free
Data moves from a Cloud Storage bucket located in a dual-region to a different Google Cloud service located in one of the regions that make up the dual-region.
  • Accessing data in an NAM4 bucket with an US-CENTRAL1 GKE instance.
 Free
Data moves from a Cloud Storage bucket located in a region to a different Google Cloud service located in a multi-region, and both locations are on the same continent.
  • Reading data in a US-EAST1 bucket to create a US BigQuery dataset.
 Free
Data moves from a Cloud Storage bucket located in a multi-region to a different Google Cloud service located in a region, and both locations are on the same continent.
  • Accessing data in an EU bucket with an EU-WEST1 GKE instance.
 Free
Data moves between different locations on the same continent (assuming none of the above free cases apply)
  • US-EAST1 to NORTHAMERICA-NORTHEAST1
  • A NAM4 bucket to a US-EAST1 bucket
  • A US-CENTRAL1 bucket to a US bucket
 $0.01/GB
Data moves between different continents and neither is Australia.
  • US to ASIA
  • EU-WEST1 to SOUTHAMERICA-EAST1
 See the "Egress to Worldwide destinations" column of the General network usage table.
Data moves between different continents and one is Australia.
  • US to AUSTRALIA-SOUTHEAST1
  • AUSTRALIA-SOUTHEAST1 to EU-WEST1
 See the "Egress to Australia destinations" column of the General network usage table.

If you pay in a currency other than USD, the prices listed in your currency on Cloud Platform SKUs apply.

Specialty network services

If you have chosen to use certain Google Cloud network products, egress pricing is based on their pricing tables:

General network usage

General network usage applies for any data read from your Cloud Storage bucket that does not fall into one of the above categories or the Always Free usage limits.

Monthly Usage Egress to Worldwide Destinations (excluding Asia & Australia)
(per GB)		 Egress to Asia Destinations (excluding China, but including Hong Kong)
(per GB)		 Egress to China Destinations (excluding Hong Kong)
(per GB)		 Egress to Australia Destinations
(per GB)		 Ingress
0-1 TB $0.12 $0.12 $0.23 $0.19 Free
1-10 TB $0.11 $0.11 $0.22 $0.18 Free
10+ TB $0.08 $0.08 $0.20 $0.15 Free

If you pay in a currency other than USD, the prices listed in your currency on Cloud Platform SKUs apply.

You can view your current usage in the billing details for your project.

Operations

Operation charges apply when you perform operations within Cloud Storage. An operation is an action that makes changes to or retrieves information about buckets and objects in Cloud Storage.

Operations are divided into three categories: Class A, Class B, and free. Billing rates are per 10,000 operations. See below for a breakdown of which operations fall into each class.

Storage Class1 Class A operations
(per 10,000 operations)		 Class B operations
(per 10,000 operations)		 Free operations
Standard Storage $0.05 $0.004 Free
Nearline Storage and Durable Reduced Availability (DRA) Storage $0.10 $0.01 Free
Coldline Storage $0.10 $0.05 Free
Archive Storage $0.50 $0.50 Free

If you pay in a currency other than USD, the prices listed in your currency on Cloud Platform SKUs apply.

1 The storage class for an operation is determined by the following considerations:

  • When listing buckets in a project, the Class A Standard Storage rate always applies.

  • When an operation applies to a bucket, such as listing the objects in a bucket, the default storage class set for that bucket determines the operation cost.

  • When an operation applies to an object, the storage class of that object determines the operation cost.

  • When changing the storage class of an object, either yourself or with Object Lifecycle Management, the Class A rate associated with the object's destination storage class applies. For example, changing 1,000 objects from Standard Storage to Coldline Storage counts as 1,000 Class A operations and is billed at the Class A operations rate for Coldline Storage.

Operations that fall into each class

The following table lists the operations that fall into each class. If you access Cloud Storage through the Google Cloud Console or one of the Cloud Storage client libraries, applicable operations are in the JSON API row. If you access Cloud Storage through gsutil, JSON API operations are used by default, but you may have configured gsutil to go through the XML API instead.

API or Feature Class A Operations Class B Operations Free Operations
JSON API storage.*.insert1
storage.*.patch
storage.*.update
storage.*.setIamPolicy
storage.buckets.list
storage.buckets.lockRetentionPolicy
storage.notifications.delete
storage.objects.compose
storage.objects.copy
storage.objects.list
storage.objects.rewrite
storage.objects.watchAll
storage.projects.hmacKeys.create
storage.projects.hmacKeys.list
storage.*AccessControls.delete
 storage.*.get
storage.*.getIamPolicy
storage.*.testIamPermissions
storage.*AccessControls.list
storage.notifications.list
Each object change notification2
 storage.channels.stop
storage.buckets.delete
storage.objects.delete
storage.projects.hmacKeys.delete
XML API GET Service
GET Bucket (when listing objects in a bucket)
PUT
POST
 GET Bucket (when retrieving bucket configuration)
GET Object
HEAD
 DELETE
Object Lifecycle Management SetStorageClass Delete

1 Simple, multipart, and resumable uploads with the JSON API are each considered one Class A operation.

2 Applies specifically to Object Change Notifications. For Pub/Sub notifications, see Pub/Sub pricing.

Retrieval and early deletion

Because Nearline Storage, Coldline Storage, and Archive Storage are intended for storing infrequently accessed data, there are additional costs associated with retrieving data or metadata stored in these classes, as well as minimum storage durations that you are charged for.

  • A retrieval cost applies when you read, copy, or rewrite data or metadata that is stored using one of these storage classes. This cost is in addition to any network charges associated with reading the data.

  • A minimum storage duration applies to data stored using one of these storage classes. You can delete the object before it has been stored for this duration, but at the time of deletion you are charged as if the object was stored for the minimum duration. In buckets that use Object Versioning, these charges apply when an object version is removed from the bucket, not when it becomes noncurrent. Early deletion charges are billed through early delete SKUs.

Standard Storage Nearline Storage Coldline Storage Archive Storage
Data retrieval $0 per GB $0.01 per GB $0.02 per GB $0.05 per GB
Minimum storage duration None 30 days 90 days 365 days

If you pay in a currency other than USD, the prices listed in your currency on Cloud Platform SKUs apply.

For example, suppose you store 1,000 GB of Coldline Storage data in the US multi-region. If you add the data on day 1 and then remove it on day 60, you are charged $14 ($0.007/GB/mo. * 1,000 GB * 2 mo.) for storage from day 1 to 60, and then $7 ($0.007/GB/mo. * 1,000 GB * 1 mo.) for 30 days of early deletion from day 61 to 90.

Replacing and moving objects

Keep in mind the following when you replace an object or move an object within your buckets:

  • When you replace an existing object before it's reached its minimum storage duration, early deletion charges apply because the action deletes the existing object.

    For example, if you create a Nearline Storage object and 10 days later you rewrite it in order to change its storage class to Standard Storage, this action is considered an early deletion. You are charged for the remaining 20 days of storage, and charges for storing the new Standard Storage version of the object begin as soon as the action occurs.

  • When you move an object before it's reached its minimum storage duration, early deletion charges apply because the original object is deleted in the move. If your move also replaces an existing object at the destination of the move, there may be additional early deletion charges for deleting that object.

  • For both replaces and moves, if the source object is subject to data retrieval charges, such charges apply, because the source object must be read in order to use it in the action.

Pricing notes

  • Storage and network usage are calculated in binary gigabytes (GB), where 1GB is 230 bytes. This unit of measurement is also known as a gibibyte (GiB). Similarly, 1TB is 240 bytes, i.e. 1024 GBs.

  • Storage charges are prorated to the sub-second for each object (with the exception Nearline Storage, Coldline Storage, and Archive Storage data that is deleted or modified early, as described above). See Pricing examples, below for an example of prorated storage charges.

  • Network egress costs and retrieval fees are based on the amount of data accessed, not the size of the entire object. For example, if you request only the first 8 MB of a 100 MB Nearline Storage object or if the download connection is broken after 8 MB is served, the network egress cost and the retrieval fee are based on 8 MB.

  • Charges accrue daily, but Cloud Storage bills you only at the end of the billing period. You can view unbilled usage in your project's billing page in the Google Cloud Console.

  • Storage charges are based on the storage class of individual objects, not the default storage class set on the bucket that contains them.

  • For compressed objects that are transcoded during download, storage rates are based on the compressed size of the object. Egress rates are based on the uncompressed size of the object.

  • For buckets with Object Versioning enabled, each noncurrent version of an object is charged at the same rate as the live version of the object.

  • Cloud Storage also has the storage class Durable Reduced Availability (DRA) Storage; however, you should use Standard Storage in favor of DRA. Standard Storage has lower pricing for operations but otherwise has the same price structure. Standard Storage also provides better performance, particularly in terms of availability.

  • There are no extra costs for using the Storage Transfer Service; however, normal Cloud Storage and external provider costs apply when using the Storage Transfer Service. See Storage Transfer Service pricing for a list of potential costs.

Cloud Storage Always Free usage limits

As part of the Google Cloud Free Tier, Cloud Storage provides resources that are free to use up to specific limits. These usage limits are available both during and after the free trial period. If you are no longer in the free trial period, usage beyond these Always Free limits is charged according to the pricing tables above.

Resource Monthly Free Usage Limits1
Standard Storage 5 GB-months
Class A Operations 5,000
Class B Operations 50,000
Network Egress 1 GB from North America to each GCP egress destination (Australia and China excluded)

1Cloud Storage Always Free quotas apply to usage in US-WEST1, US-CENTRAL1, and US-EAST1 regions. Usage is aggregated across these 3 regions. Always Free is subject to change. Please see our FAQ for eligibility requirements and other restrictions.

To prevent getting billed for usage beyond the Always Free usage limits, you can set API request caps.

Pricing examples

Prorated storage example

This example demonstrates how Cloud Storage prorates the storage costs of your data.

Say you store a 15 GB object as Standard Storage in a multi-region for 12 hours. Cloud Storage treats this as 0.5 days of storage, or 1/60 of a month (assuming a 30-day month). This storage incurs a charge of:

$0.026(per GB per month) * 15(GB) * 1/60(months) = $0.0065

Detailed pricing example

The following example shows storage usage that includes multiple storage classes as well as bandwidth consumption that spans multiple tiers. For each storage class, the data storage amount is the average over the course of the month.

Suppose you have the following storage usage pattern in a given month:

Pricing Category Type of Usage Amount
Data storage Standard Storage in a multi-region 60 TB
Data storage Nearline Storage in a multi-region 100 TB
Network Egress to the Americas and EMEA 25 TB
Network Egress to the Asia-Pacific 25 TB
Network Ingress 30 TB
Operations Class A operations (object adds, bucket and object listings) on Standard Storage data 100,000 operations
Operations Class B operations (object gets, retrieving bucket and object metadata) on Standard Storage data 10,000,000 operations
Operations Class B operations (object gets, retrieving bucket and object metadata) on Nearline Storage data 1,000,000 operations
Retrieval Data retrieval (the Nearline Storage portion of your overall data egress) 10 TB

Your bill for the month is calculated as follows:

Pricing Category Calculation Cost
Data Storage 60 TB (61440 GB) Standard Storage * $0.026 per GB $1,597.44
Data Storage 100 TB (102400 GB) Nearline Storage * $0.010 per GB $1,024.00
Network 25 TB total egress to the Americas and EMEA:
(0-1 TB tier): 1TB (1024GB) egress * $0.12 per GB
(1-10 TB tier): 9TB (9216GB) egress * $0.11 per GB
(10+ TB tier): 15TB (15360GB) egress * $0.08 per GB
$122.88
$1,013.76
$1,228.80
Network 25 TB total egress to the Asia-Pacific:
(0-1 TB tier): 1TB (1024GB) egress * $0.12 per GB
(1-10 TB tier): 9TB (9216GB) egress * $0.11 per GB
(10+ TB tier): 15TB (15360GB) egress * $0.08 per GB
$122.88
$1,013.76
$1,228.80
Network Ingress is free $0.00
Operations 100,000 Class A operations * $0.05 per 10,000 operations $0.50
Operations 10,000,000 Class B operations * $0.004 per 10,000 operations $4.00
Operations 1,000,000 Class B operations * $0.01 per 10,000 operations $1.00
Retrieval 10 TB (10240 GB) data retrieval * 0.01 per GB $102.40
Total $7460.22

Usage Policies

The use of this service must adhere to the Cloud Storage Terms of Service and Program Policies, as well as Google's Privacy Policy.

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