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Google Cloud Platform vs Portworx

Google Cloud Platform logo

Google Cloud Platform

Cloud

Trusted by millions of enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Portworx logo

Portworx

Cloud

Kubernetes-native storage and data services, priced by the node hour

From
$0.33/node hour
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Google Cloud Platform has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Google Cloud Platform the $300 Free Trial credit expires 90 days from signup, whichever comes first with spending it; Portworx bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, Portworx covers Container-native volumes.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Cloud Platform and Portworx actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Cloud Platform and Portworx differ
AttributeGoogle Cloud PlatformPortworx
Starting priceFree$0.33/node hour
Pricing modelusage-basedPer node hour
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Api, CliLinux
Founded2008Unknown

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

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 Portworx

  • Container-native volumes
  • Failure domain placement
  • Volume encryption
  • Database automation
  • Disaster recovery
  • Autopilot capacity management
  • Hardware independence

What people use each for

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

Google Cloud Platform

  • Cloud infrastructure and computing servicesnot Portworx
  • Machine learning and data analyticsnot Portworx
  • Enterprise application hostingnot Portworx

Portworx

  • Running a production PostgreSQL or Cassandra cluster on Kubernetes and needing the data to survive node lossnot Google Cloud Platform
  • A platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal Kubernetes platformnot Google Cloud Platform
  • Failing over stateful applications between clusters in different regions as a disaster recovery positionnot Google Cloud Platform
  • An OpenShift estate where the built-in storage option does not meet the availability requirement for stateful setsnot 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

Portworx

  • Bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • A 1,000 node hour monthly minimum applies, which means small or intermittent clusters pay for capacity they do not consume.
  • Replicating volumes across nodes consumes real capacity and network bandwidth, so the underlying infrastructure cost rises alongside the licence in a way the node hour rate does not show.
  • Pure Storage ownership means roadmap priorities are set by an array vendor, and buyers should confirm that hardware independence remains contractual rather than assumed.
  • Operating it well requires Kubernetes storage expertise, and teams that adopted Kubernetes to simplify operations often find they have added a distributed storage system to run.

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Cloud Platform

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • Compute Engine 744 hours/month
    • Cloud Storage 5GB
    • Cloud SQL 250MB storage

Portworx

$0.33/node hour
  • Portworx Enterprise on virtual machine nodes$0.33/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Replicated persistent volumes
    • Encryption and disaster recovery
  • Portworx Enterprise on bare metal nodes$1.11/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Same capabilities on bare metal clusters
    • Higher rate reflects node density

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.
Google Cloud Platform review

Choose Portworx if

  • You need container-native volumes.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want failure domain placement.
Portworx review

Questions people ask

Is Google Cloud Platform or Portworx better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and Portworx at $0.33/node hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Cloud Platform or Portworx?
Google Cloud Platform has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Google Cloud Platform and $0.33/node hour for Portworx.
Does Google Cloud Platform or Portworx run on more platforms?
Google Cloud Platform runs on Web, Api, Cli. Portworx runs on Linux.
Can I use Google Cloud Platform for free?
Yes. Google Cloud Platform has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Portworx starts at $0.33/node hour.
What is Google Cloud Platform best used for?
Google Cloud Platform is most often used for cloud infrastructure and computing services, machine learning and data analytics, enterprise application hosting. Of those, cloud infrastructure and computing services and machine learning and data analytics are not what Portworx is typically brought in for.
What can Google Cloud Platform do that Portworx cannot?
Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage. Portworx covers Container-native volumes, Failure domain placement, Volume encryption, Database automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Google Cloud Platform: What is Google Cloud Platform's pricing model?

Google Cloud uses usage-based pay-as-you-go pricing with options for committed use discounts at 1-year or 3-year terms, which can reduce costs by 25-70%. Pricing varies by region, service, and usage volume.

Source
Portworx: Is Portworx tied to Pure Storage hardware?

No. It runs on any Kubernetes distribution over any underlying storage, though Pure has owned it since 2020 and sets the roadmap.

Google Cloud Platform: Does Google Cloud offer a free tier?

Yes, Google Cloud offers an always-free tier with generous free allowances for development, plus $300 in free credits for new customers during their first 90 days.

Source
Portworx: What does a real cluster cost?

At 0.33 USD per virtual node hour, twenty nodes running continuously is roughly 4,800 USD a month. Bare metal at 1.11 USD per node hour is around 16,000 USD for the same node count.

Google Cloud Platform: How do committed use discounts work?

Users can commit to 1-year or 3-year usage of specific services to receive discounts of 25-70% compared to on-demand pricing. These discounts apply to compute, storage, and other services.

Source
Portworx: Is backup included?

No. Portworx Backup is a separately priced product covering Kubernetes application backup.

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