Softwr

Government · head to head

Google Cloud for Government vs Teleport

Google Cloud for Government logo

Google Cloud for Government

Government

Innovation Cloud for Government

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

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; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Cloud for Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Teleport covers Short-lived certificates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Google Cloud for Government and Teleport differ
AttributeGoogle Cloud for GovernmentTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cli, SdkLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
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 Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

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 Teleport
  • Data analytics and AI for government agenciesnot Teleport
  • Migrating agency applications off on-premises infrastructurenot Teleport

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot Google Cloud for Government
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot Google Cloud for Government
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot Google Cloud for Government
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot 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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Cloud for Government

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

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 Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is Google Cloud for Government or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud for Government starts at Free and Teleport 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 Teleport?
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 Teleport.
Does Google Cloud for Government or Teleport run on more platforms?
Google Cloud for Government runs on Web, Cli, Sdk. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
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. Teleport 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 Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can Google Cloud for Government do that Teleport cannot?
Google Cloud for Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Kubernetes. Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

Share

Related pages

More on Google Cloud for Government

More on Teleport

Keep looking

Other head to heads