Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Google Cloud Platform vs Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Google Cloud Platform
Cloud & Infrastructure
Trusted by millions of enterprises
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Cloud & Infrastructure
Run code without thinking about servers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Google Cloud Platform the $300 Free Trial credit expires 90 days from signup, whichever comes first with spending it; Lambda (AWS Serverless) billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
- They diverge on capability: Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Google Cloud Platform and Lambda (AWS Serverless) actually diverge.
| Attribute | Google Cloud Platform | Lambda (AWS Serverless) |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api, Cli | Web, Api |
| Founded | 2008 | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).
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 Platform
- Compute Engine
- App Engine
- Cloud Run
- Cloud Storage
- Cloud SQL
- BigQuery
- Dataflow
- Cloud Pub/Sub
Only in Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Function-as-a-Service
- Event-driven execution
- Auto-scaling
- Pay-per-use
- Multiple languages
- Concurrency limits
- Dead Letter Queues
- Environment variables
Both cover
- Encryption
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Google Cloud Platform
- Running compute, storage and managed data services on Google's cloudnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Hosting Kubernetes workloads on GKE alongside BigQuery analyticsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Event-driven functions without managing serversnot Google Cloud Platform
- API backends behind API Gatewaynot Google Cloud Platform
- Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot Google Cloud Platform
- Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot Google Cloud Platform
- Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot Google Cloud Platform
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Google Cloud Platform
- The $300 Free Trial credit expires 90 days from signup, whichever comes first with spending it
- Free Tier Compute Engine is limited to one non-preemptible e2-micro instance per month and only in the us-west1, us-central1 or us-east1 regions
- Free Tier Compute Engine includes only 30 GB-months of standard persistent disk and 1 GB of outbound North America data transfer per month
- Free Tier Cloud Storage covers 5 GB-months of regional storage in US regions only, 5,000 Class A and 50,000 Class B operations per month
- Free Tier outbound data transfer allowances exclude destinations in China and Australia
- Compute Engine resources are governed by allocation quotas that require a quota increase request to exceed
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
- Provisioned concurrency, used to avoid cold starts, is charged separately at $0.0000041667 per GB-second whether or not the function runs
- Ephemeral storage beyond the included 512 MB is metered
- Lambda@Edge costs $0.60 per million requests, three times the standard request rate
- VPC use and cross-region data transfer carry EC2 charges on top
Pricing, plan by plan
Google Cloud Platform
Free- Free TierFree
- Compute Engine 744 hours/month
- Cloud Storage 5GB
- Cloud SQL 250MB storage
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Free- Free TierFree
- 1M free requests/month
- 400,000 GB-seconds/month
- Always free
Which should you pick?
Choose Google Cloud Platform if
- You need compute engine.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Cli.
- You also want app engine.
Choose Lambda (AWS Serverless) if
- You need function-as-a-service.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want event-driven execution.
Questions people ask
- Is Google Cloud Platform or Lambda (AWS Serverless) better?
- Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and Lambda (AWS Serverless) at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Google Cloud Platform or Lambda (AWS Serverless)?
- Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and Lambda (AWS Serverless) at Free.
- Does Google Cloud Platform or Lambda (AWS Serverless) run on more platforms?
- Google Cloud Platform runs on Web, Api, Cli. Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api.
- Can I use Google Cloud Platform for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Google Cloud Platform best used for?
- Google Cloud Platform is most often used for running compute, storage and managed data services on google's cloud, hosting kubernetes workloads on gke alongside bigquery analytics. Of those, running compute, storage and managed data services on google's cloud and hosting kubernetes workloads on gke alongside bigquery analytics are not what Lambda (AWS Serverless) is typically brought in for.
- What can Google Cloud Platform do that Lambda (AWS Serverless) cannot?
- Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage. Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. Both handle Encryption, Cloud deployment.