Software · head to head
Google Cloud Platform vs Nomad
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; Nomad nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
- They diverge on capability: Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, Nomad covers Container orchestration.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Google Cloud Platform and Nomad actually diverge.
| Attribute | Google Cloud Platform | Nomad |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | open-source |
| Platforms | Web, Api, Cli | Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud |
| Founded | 2008 | 2015 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Nomad
- Container orchestration
- Job scheduling
- Multi-cloud support
- Auto-scaling
- Service discovery
- Rolling deployments
- Monitoring integration
- High availability
Both cover
- Terraform
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- 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 Nomad
- Hosting Kubernetes workloads on GKE alongside BigQuery analyticsnot Nomad
Nomad
- Scheduling containers, binaries, Java and VM workloads on the same clusternot Google Cloud Platform
- Running an orchestrator with a single binary and no external dependenciesnot Google Cloud Platform
- Batch and edge workload scheduling across multiple datacentresnot 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
Nomad
- Nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
- The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Nomad to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions
- Each version converts to MPL 2.0 only four years after that version is published
- Resource quotas, Sentinel policies and audit logging sit in a Governance and Policy add-on module that is separate from the Enterprise base platform package
- Multi-region deployments, multiple Vault namespaces and Nomad Autopilot advanced server management require Nomad Enterprise
Pricing, plan by plan
Google Cloud Platform
Free- Free TierFree
- Compute Engine 744 hours/month
- Cloud Storage 5GB
- Cloud SQL 250MB storage
Nomad
Free- Open SourceFree
- Workload orchestration
- Multi-cloud
- Flexible scheduling
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 Nomad if
- You need container orchestration.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
- You also want job scheduling.
Questions people ask
- Is Google Cloud Platform or Nomad better?
- Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and Nomad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Google Cloud Platform or Nomad?
- Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and Nomad at Free.
- Does Google Cloud Platform or Nomad run on more platforms?
- Google Cloud Platform runs on Web, Api, Cli. Nomad runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
- 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 Nomad is typically brought in for.
- What can Google Cloud Platform do that Nomad cannot?
- Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage. Nomad covers Container orchestration, Job scheduling, Multi-cloud support, Auto-scaling. Both handle Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, Encryption.