Google Cloud Storage is designed to group objects into buckets. A bucket is a cloud-based container that can be assigned one of several storage tiers. Individual objects can also be assigned to a specific storage tier. Google Cloud Storage provides four tiers, and each offers different pricing and retrieval costs.
The main storage tiers in Google Cloud Storage are Standard Storage, Nearline Storage (for frequently accessed data), Coldline Storage (for cold data accessed once per year), and Archive Storage (for long-term archiving with the minimum duration starting at 365 days).
Google Cloud pricing for storage is affected by additional components, including network usage and operations carried out within the storage service. Retrieval and early deletion of data is also subject to fees in the three archival tiers (but not in the Standard Storage tier).
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Google Cloud Storage costs are largely determined by the storage tier you select for your data. Here are the tiers offered by Google Cloud Storage, from Standard Storage with the highest cost per GB-hour, to Archive Storage which has the lowest cost.
Standard Storage is suitable for frequently accessed data (“hot” data) and/or kept only for limited time periods.
When using Standard Storage in a single region, it is best to store data used by Compute Engine instances or Google Kubernetes Engine clusters running within the same region. Co-locating your resources optimizes the performance for in-depth data computations and could minimize network charges.
When employed in dual- or multi-region mode, you still receive maximum performance when using Google Cloud products, which are found in one of the related regions, yet you also receive the better availability derived from storing information in geographically distinct locations.
Standard Storage costs:
Nearline Storage is a low-budget, durable storage solution for retaining data that is not often accessed. Nearline Storage is a preferred choice over Standard Storage in situations where a 30-day minimum storage timeframe, slightly less availability, and charges for data access are admissible trade-offs for lower at-rest storage bills.
Nearline storage is suitable for data you wish to modify or read on an average of one time per month or less. For instance, if you wish to add more files to Cloud Storage on a continual basis, and plan on accessing those files one time per month for examination, Nearline Storage is a good option.
Nearline Storage costs:
Coldline Storage is a highly durable, low-cost service for storing data which is infrequently accessed. Coldline Storage is a superior option than Nearline Storage or Standard Storage in situations where a 90-day minimum storage time, a tiny bit less availability, and higher costs related to data access are admissible trade-offs for less at-rest storage charges.
Nearline Storage costs:
Archive Storage is Google’s lowest-cost storage service for data archiving disaster recovery and online backup. As opposed to the “coldest” storage solution provided by other Cloud suppliers, your data is accessible within milliseconds, rather than hours or days.
Similar to Coldline Storage and Nearline Storage, Archive Storage has moderately lower accessibility than Standard Storage. In addition, archive Storage has greater costs for information operations and access, and a 365-day minimum storage length. Archive Storage is suitable for data that you plan to retrieve less than one time per year.
Related content: read our blog post Making the Most of Google’s Storage Tiers for Backup
Nearline Storage costs:
The cost of data storage for each of the four data tiers is summarized in the following table.
Related content: read our blog post How to Add and Manage Lifecycle Rules in Google Cloud Storage Buckets
Cloud Storage supports some additional, legacy storage classes. These classes cannot be accessed via the Cloud Console. Unless you are already using one of these classes, Google recommends using Standard Storage.
Google Cloud Storage bills you according to the amount of data storage used, data transferred to and from cloud storage, data operations, and data retrieval (for archival tiers).
Data storage charges are computed according to sub-seconds for every object, and data storage rates are calculated according to the storage tier of every object, not the default storage tier assigned to the bucket that holds them.
Note that Coldline Storage, Archive Storage, and Nearline Storage data incurs additional charges if you change or delete it more frequently than allowed by the tier specifications.
As well as the data contained within your uploaded objects, these factors contribute to monthly storage usage:
Egress is data transferred from Cloud Storage in HTTP responses. Metadata or data read from a Cloud Storage bucket is a type of egress.
Ingress is data transferred from Cloud Storage in HTTP requests. Metadata or data written to a Cloud Storage bucket is a type of ingress.
Network usage billing apply for egress and can be categorized into the cases as follows:
Related content: read our blog post Hidden Google Cloud Network Transfer Costs and How to Avoid Them
Operation costs apply when you carry out operations within Cloud Storage. An operation is an activity that makes modifications to or gains access to details about resources, including objects and buckets in Cloud Storage.
Operations can be placed into one of three categories: free, Class A, and Class B. The storage class of an operation is decided according to the following factors:
This table summarizes data operation costs for each class:
Coldline Storage, Nearline Storage, and Archive Storage are meant for storing data that is not regularly accessed. Therefore, there are more costs connected to retrieving metadata or data stored in these classes, and you are also charged for minimum storage durations.
This table summarizes data retrieval costs for the different tiers:
|
Data Tier |
Retrieval Cost/GB |
|
Standard Storage |
No cost |
|
Nearline Storage |
$0.01 |
|
Coldline Storage |
$0.02 |
|
Archive Storage |
$0.05 |
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