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Government · head to head

Google Cloud for Government vs Semperis

Google Cloud for Government logo

Google Cloud for Government

Government

Innovation Cloud for Government

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Semperis logo

Semperis

Cybersecurity

Identity threat detection and Active Directory forest recovery for AD, Entra ID and Okta, from a privately held US vendor.

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Google Cloud for Government has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Google Cloud for Government the free tier gives new customers $300 in credits, and the 20+ always-free products are capped by monthly usage limits; Semperis scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Cloud for Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Cloud for Government and Semperis actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Cloud for Government and Semperis differ
AttributeGoogle Cloud for GovernmentSemperis
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cli, SdkWeb
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Google Cloud for Government

  • FedRAMP High Authorized
  • Data Analytics
  • Machine Learning
  • Kubernetes
  • Assured Workloads
  • Workspace
  • Chronicle
  • Third-party Tools

Only in Semperis

  • Active Directory Forest Recovery
  • Malware-free restore
  • Replication-stream monitoring
  • Automated rollback
  • Attack indicator scoring
  • Entra ID and Okta coverage
  • Purple Knight
  • Forest Druid

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Google Cloud for Government

  • Running public sector workloads on Google Cloud compute and storagenot Semperis
  • Data analytics and AI for government agenciesnot Semperis
  • Migrating agency applications off on-premises infrastructurenot Semperis

Semperis

  • An organisation that cannot answer an auditor or insurer asking how long it would take to rebuild Active Directory after a destructive attacknot Google Cloud for Government
  • Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot Google Cloud for Government
  • Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot Google Cloud for Government
  • Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot Google Cloud for Government

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Google Cloud for Government

  • The free tier gives new customers $300 in credits, and the 20+ always-free products are capped by monthly usage limits
  • Pricing is pay as you go and varies by product and usage, so there is no single published rate for the platform
  • Committed use discounts of up to 57% require pre-paying for resources rather than being available on demand
  • Organizations are directed to request a quote rather than being given a published organizational price

Semperis

  • Scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • The licence buys tooling, not a proven runbook: forest recovery is only worth what your last rehearsal demonstrated, and a plan that has never been executed end to end in a lab is an untested assumption regardless of what was purchased.
  • It overlaps with backup and directory management products from Quest, Veeam, Commvault and others, so the buyer must argue internally why a dedicated product is needed alongside a backup contract that already claims to protect Active Directory.
  • Running Directory Services Protector well requires someone who understands AD internals, replication metadata and Tier 0 attack paths, and without that person the alerts on privileged changes are either ignored or auto-reverted in ways that break legitimate administration.
  • Licensing is driven by identity object counts, so directories carrying years of stale user accounts and service principals pay for objects that should have been deleted, and the cleanup project that would reduce the bill is the one nobody has time for.

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Cloud for Government

Free
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Compute Engine
    • Cloud Storage
    • BigQuery

Semperis

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Google Cloud for Government if

  • You need fedramp high authorized.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cli, Sdk.
  • You also want data analytics.
Google Cloud for Government review

Choose Semperis if

  • You need active directory forest recovery.
  • You also want malware-free restore.
Semperis review

Questions people ask

Is Google Cloud for Government or Semperis better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud for Government starts at Free and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Cloud for Government or Semperis?
Google Cloud for Government has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Google Cloud for Government and On request for Semperis.
Does Google Cloud for Government or Semperis run on more platforms?
Google Cloud for Government runs on Web, Cli, Sdk. Semperis runs on Web.
Can I use Google Cloud for Government for free?
Yes. Google Cloud for Government has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Semperis starts at On request.
What is Google Cloud for Government best used for?
Google Cloud for Government is most often used for running public sector workloads on google cloud compute and storage, data analytics and ai for government agencies, migrating agency applications off on-premises infrastructure. Of those, running public sector workloads on google cloud compute and storage and data analytics and ai for government agencies are not what Semperis is typically brought in for.
What can Google Cloud for Government do that Semperis cannot?
Google Cloud for Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Kubernetes. Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Semperis: Does this replace my backups?

No. It replaces the Active Directory recovery procedure specifically. You still need backups for everything else, and the point of Semperis is that a generic system-state backup of a domain controller is a poor way to recover a forest because it restores the operating system along with whatever compromised it.

Semperis: Is it useful if we are cloud-only on Entra ID?

Partly. Directory Services Protector covers Entra ID and Okta for change tracking and posture, but the forest recovery product, which is the strongest reason to buy, applies to on-premises Active Directory. A genuinely cloud-only organisation should weigh it against Microsoft's own tooling.

Semperis: Are Purple Knight and Forest Druid really free?

Yes, both are free downloads with no licence requirement, and they are widely used by organisations that are not Semperis customers. They are also, transparently, the top of the sales funnel.

Semperis: How long does forest recovery actually take?

The honest answer is whatever your rehearsal took. The vendor's case is hours instead of days, and automation genuinely removes most manual steps, but the number that matters for your board is the one from a test in your own environment.

Semperis: Does it require agents on domain controllers?

It collects directory changes from the AD replication stream, which is what lets it see changes that bypass the security log. Deployment details vary by product and version, so confirm the exact architecture against your domain controller change-control rules.

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