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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Google Cloud Platform vs Pulumi

Google Cloud Platform logo

Google Cloud Platform

Cloud & Infrastructure

Trusted by millions of enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pulumi logo

Pulumi

Cloud & Infrastructure

Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • They diverge on capability: Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, Pulumi covers Multi-language support.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Google Cloud Platform and Pulumi differ
AttributeGoogle Cloud PlatformPulumi
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsWeb, Api, CliLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
Founded20082017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Pulumi

  • Multi-language support
  • Multi-cloud
  • State management
  • Secrets management
  • RBAC
  • Stacks
  • Automation API
  • Policy as Code

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • 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 Pulumi
  • Hosting Kubernetes workloads on GKE alongside BigQuery analyticsnot Pulumi

Pulumi

  • Defining cloud infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, C# or Java rather than a DSLnot Google Cloud Platform
  • Managing Pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storagenot Google Cloud Platform
  • Policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teamsnot 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

Pulumi

  • The free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • The Team plan is $40 per month base including 40 credits, and caps the organisation at 10 users
  • SAML/SSO, RBAC, audit logs and drift detection require the Enterprise plan at $400 per month base
  • The per-resource rate rises from $0.1825 per resource per month on Team to $0.365 on Enterprise, so upgrading raises the unit price as well as the base fee
  • Managed secrets are billed separately at $0.50 per secret per month on Team and $0.75 on Enterprise
  • Self-hosting, SCIM user sync, audit log export and 24x7 support are only in Business Critical, which is custom priced with no published rate
  • Team includes up to 500 resources and Enterprise up to 2,000, with everything beyond billed on demand as credits

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Cloud Platform

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

Pulumi

Free
  • Pulumi CommunityFree
    • Open source
    • Community support
    • Self-hosted
  • Pulumi Cloud$10/month
    • Hosted backend
    • Team collaboration
    • RBAC

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 Pulumi if

  • You need multi-language support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want multi-cloud.
Pulumi review

Questions people ask

Is Google Cloud Platform or Pulumi better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and Pulumi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Cloud Platform or Pulumi?
Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and Pulumi at Free.
Does Google Cloud Platform or Pulumi run on more platforms?
Google Cloud Platform runs on Web, Api, Cli. Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, 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 Pulumi is typically brought in for.
What can Google Cloud Platform do that Pulumi cannot?
Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage. Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management. Both handle Kubernetes, Cloud deployment.
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