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Official-source provider dossier

Google Cloud GCE

Raw cloud infrastructure · CLI / unmanaged

Google Compute Engine provides general-purpose, compute-, memory-, storage- and accelerator-focused virtual machines on Google Cloud’s global network.

Published from$6.11USD / month
Raw cloud infrastructureHosting modelCLI / unmanagedManagementFrom $6.11Published entry priceNot benchmarkedReason documented below
Plans & pricing

Pick a real plan to inspect

3 official plans
vCPU2 shared
RAM1 GiB
Compute rate$0.008376428/hr
Disk / networkExcluded
Displayed monthly rate$6.11/mo
Billing basis730h estimate · us-central1
Estimated 12 months$73.32/yr
Official pricing note

$6.11/month is a 730-hour calculation from the official $0.008376428/hour e2-micro on-demand rate in Iowa (us-central1), compute only. Disk, network, public IPv4 and regional differences are excluded.

At a glance

What Google Cloud GCE offers

Verified September 4, 2026

Best for cloud-native and data workloads that benefit from Google’s network, APIs and broader GCP services.

Catalog basisE2 shared-core
BillingUsage based
Free tiere2-micro eligibleSelected US regions and limits
NetworkGoogle global backbone
Independent benchmarkNot yet publishedNo controlled HostingHunt test
Included capabilities

Features arranged by category

Official provider claims

Compute & scaling

  • Multiple instance families and sizes
  • Usage-based or hourly billing
  • API and console provisioning
  • Scaling options for changing demand

Security

  • Private networking and identity controls
  • Disk/image security options
  • Customer configures workload-level security
  • Compliance and availability vary by region/service

Cloud operations

  • Images, disks and network resources are selected separately
  • Monitoring and automation integrations
  • Snapshots and backups are separate resources
  • Stopping compute may not stop every attached-resource charge

Pricing model

  • Region and instance family affect price
  • Operating system licenses may add cost
  • Outbound transfer and public IP charges may apply
  • Calculator or live configuration is required for comparison
Platform coverage

Infrastructure & supported workloads

Infrastructure options
Google Compute EngineE2 / N / C machine familiesGlobal GCP regionsGPU / TPU optionsPersistent Disk / Hyperdisk
Applications and use cases
Cloud-native applicationsData workloadsKubernetesAI / MLEnterprise services
Decision guide

Strengths and considerations

Why it may fit
  • Large machine-family selection
  • Custom machine types
  • Global network
  • Strong GKE/data-service integration
Check before buying
  • Displayed estimate is us-central1 compute only
  • Disk and network are separate
  • Shared-core vCPU is not dedicated performance
  • Sustained-use and commitment discounts change effective price