CODEWITHSUNDEEP
mysqlgoogle-cloud-platformcloudgoogle-cloud-sql
Mr J
Mr J

Reputation: 2965

Are GCP CloudSQL instances billed by usage?

I'm starting a project where a CloudSQL instance would be a great fit however I've noticed they are twice the price for the same specification VM on GCP.

I've been told by several devops guys I work with that they are billed by usage only. Which would be perfect for me. However on their pricing page it states "Instance pricing for MySQL is charged for every second that the instance is running".

https://cloud.google.com/sql/pricing#2nd-gen-pricing

I also see several people around the web saying they are usage only.

Cloud SQL or VM Instance to host MySQL Database

Am I interpreting Googles pricing pages incorrectly?

Am I going to be billed for the instance being on or for its usage?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1359

Answers (2)

talkingtoaj
talkingtoaj

Reputation: 888

There are a lot of hidden configuration options that when modified can quickly halve your costs per option.

Practically speaking, GCP's SQL product only works by running 24/7, there is no time-based 'by usage' option, short of you manually stopping and restarting the compute engine.

There are a lot of tricks you can follow to lower costs, you can read many of them here: https://medium.com/@the-bumbling-developer/can-you-use-google-cloud-platform-gcp-cheaply-and-safely-86284e04b332

Upvotes: 0

guillaume blaquiere
guillaume blaquiere

Reputation: 75715

Billed by usage

All depend what you mean by USAGE. When you run a Cloud SQL instance, it's like a server (compute engine). Until you stop it, you will pay for it. It's not a pay-per-request pricing, as you can have with BigQuery.

With Cloud SQL, you will also pay the storage that you use. And the storage can grow automatically according with the usage. Be careful the storage can't be reduce!! even if you delete data in database!

Price is twice a similar Compute engine

True! A compute engine standard1-n1 is about $20 per month and a same config on Cloud SQL is about $45.

BUT, what about the price of the management of your own SQL instance?

  • You have to update/patch the OS
  • You have to update/patch the DB engine (MySQL or Postgres)
  • You have to manage the security/network access
  • You have to perform snapshots, ensure that the restoration works
  • You have to ensure the High Availability (people on call in case of server issue)
  • You have to tune the Database parameters
  • You have to watch to your storage and to increase it in case of needs
  • You have to set up manually your replicas

Is it worth twice the price? For me, yes. All depends of your skills and your opinion.

Upvotes: 5

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