How it works
Google Cloud offers Compute Engine virtual machines, Cloud Run for containers that scale to zero, Cloud Run functions, Google Kubernetes Engine (Kubernetes began at Google), Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL, Firestore, BigQuery for analytics and Vertex AI for Gemini and other models. Firebase projects are Google Cloud projects underneath, so the two share billing and permissions.
Cloud Run is a common way in for app developers: hand it a container image and it serves HTTPS, scales with traffic and bills for the time spent handling requests. Google has regions in Mumbai and Delhi. Like the other big clouds it rewards expertise, and IAM roles, networking and quotas take time to learn.
Google Cloud pros and cons
Pros
- Cloud Run makes containers nearly as easy as serverless functions
- Strong data and AI tools: BigQuery, Vertex AI and Gemini
- An always-free tier covers a small VM, some storage and Cloud Run
- Same account and billing as Firebase
Cons
- Fewer services and third-party guides than AWS
- Google has retired products before, which makes some teams cautious
- IAM and project setup are confusing at first
When to use Google Cloud
Pick it when
- Firebase apps that outgrow Firebase alone
- Containerised backends on Cloud Run
- Analytics and AI work built on BigQuery or Gemini
Skip it when
- A small static site that a frontend cloud would host for free
Google Cloud pricing
Pay as you go
Pay per use. New customers get $300 of credit for 90 days, and an always-free tier includes one e2-micro VM (in some US regions), 5 GB of storage and 2 million Cloud Run requests a month.
Google Cloud pricing page (opens in a new tab)Approximate, checked September 2026.What the other tools cost
Google Cloud vs the alternatives
Related terms
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