The cost of cloud services varies widely depending on the provider, the specific services used (compute, storage, etc.), the amount of resources consumed, and the pricing model. The best way to get an accurate estimate is to use the official pricing calculators provided by the major vendors.
Common pricing factors
Cloud providers generally operate on a “pay-as-you-go” model, where you are billed for your actual usage rather than for a large upfront investment. Several factors determine the final cost:
Compute: Pricing is often determined by the type of virtual machine instance (CPU, RAM) and how long it runs. Oracle, Amazon (AWS), Google (GCP), and Microsoft Azure have different rates for comparable virtual machines.
Cloud service packages, delivered at scale
Storage: Costs depend on the amount of data stored (typically priced per gigabyte per month), the type of storage, and how frequently you access the data.
Hot vs. Cold Storage: Frequently accessed data costs more to store than data stored for long-term archiving.
Example: In Google Cloud, standard storage can be $0.020 per GB per month, while archive storage can be as low as $0.0012 per GB per month.
Data Transfer: Fees can apply when moving data out of the cloud provider’s network (egress). Transferring data into the cloud (ingress) is often free.
Managed Services: Cloud providers offer many specialized services for databases, analytics, and more, each with its own pricing structure.
Pricing models: Providers offer discounts for predictable usage.
On-Demand: Pay for what you use, with no long-term commitment.
Reserved Instances/Savings Plans: Commit to using a service for a 1-year or 3-year term for a significant discount.
Spot Instances: Use spare cloud capacity at a large discount, though instances can be reclaimed by the provider.
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