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Government · head to head

Google Cloud for Government vs Very Good Security

Google Cloud for Government logo

Google Cloud for Government

Government

Innovation Cloud for Government

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Very Good Security logo

Very Good Security

Cybersecurity

Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope

From
$1000/month
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; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Cloud for Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Cloud for Government and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Cloud for Government and Very Good Security differ
AttributeGoogle Cloud for GovernmentVery Good Security
Starting priceFree$1000/month
Pricing modelusage-basedPer month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cli, SdkWeb, API
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 Very Good Security

  • Aliasing proxy
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Network tokenisation
  • Processor optionality
  • Card issuing data
  • Vault and access controls
  • Data residency options
  • Compliance artefacts

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

Very Good Security

  • A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot Google Cloud for Government
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot Google Cloud for Government
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot Google Cloud for Government
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot 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

Very Good Security

  • VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
  • Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
  • Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
  • Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Cloud for Government

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

Very Good Security

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • Aliasing proxy
    • Vault storage
    • PCI scope reduction
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Network tokenisation
    • Multiple processors
    • Data residency options
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom vault architecture
    • Dedicated support and SLA
    • Contractual compliance coverage

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 Very Good Security if

  • You need aliasing proxy.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want pci scope reduction.
Very Good Security review

Questions people ask

Is Google Cloud for Government or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud for Government starts at Free and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Cloud for Government or Very Good Security?
Google Cloud for Government has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Google Cloud for Government and $1000/month for Very Good Security.
Does Google Cloud for Government or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
Google Cloud for Government runs on Web, Cli, Sdk. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
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. Very Good Security starts at $1000/month.
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 Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can Google Cloud for Government do that Very Good Security cannot?
Google Cloud for Government covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Kubernetes. Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Very Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?

No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.

Very Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.

Very Good Security: What does it cost?

Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.

Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?

No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.

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