--- title: "Google Cloud Compute Engine Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Google Cloud Compute Engine Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other VDI products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/253623/Google-Cloud-Compute-Engine/" page_type: "product" language: "en" --- # Google Cloud Compute Engine Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on September 16, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Google Cloud Compute Engine ## What is Google Cloud Compute Engine? Secure and customizable compute service that lets you create and run virtual machines on Google’s infrastructure. Compute Engine offers multiple virtual machine families to choose from, each suited for specific workloads and applications. ## What is Google Cloud Compute Engine used for? [Virtual Machine](https://www.capterra.com/virtual-machine-software/)[Cloud Management](https://www.capterra.com/cloud-management-software/)[Virtualization](https://www.capterra.com/virtualization-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 11 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive \- Neutral \- Negative \- Starting price $0.01 Usage Based, Per Month Free trial available Includes Free Version Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Google Cloud Compute Engine?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/google-compute-engine/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Google Cloud Compute Engine 4.1 (11) VS. [4.7 (381)](https://www.capterra.com/p/168192/Site24x7/reviews/) Starting Price $0.01 Usage Based, Per Month Starting Price $10 Flat Rate, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.4 (11) Ease Of Use 4.6 (2,330) Value For Money 4.1 (10) Value For Money 4.5 (1,807) Customer Service 4.0 (10) Customer Service 4.5 (1,747) ## Google Cloud Compute Engine alternatives Highest Rated [Google Cloud](https://www.capterra.com/p/268690/Google-Cloud-Platform/) [4.7 (2,330)](https://www.capterra.com/p/268690/Google-Cloud-Platform/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/268690/Google-Cloud-Platform/) [Datadog](https://www.capterra.com/p/135453/Datadog-Cloud-Monitoring/) [4.6 (368)](https://www.capterra.com/p/135453/Datadog-Cloud-Monitoring/reviews/) Starting price $15.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/135453/Datadog-Cloud-Monitoring/) [HPE GreenLake](https://www.capterra.com/p/208825/HPE-GreenLake/) [4.6 (7)](https://www.capterra.com/p/208825/HPE-GreenLake/#reviews) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 100% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/208825/HPE-GreenLake/) [Charon-SSP](https://www.capterra.com/p/10011647/Charon-SSP/) [0.0](https://www.capterra.com/p/10011647/Charon-SSP/#reviews) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 0% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/10011647/Charon-SSP/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/253623/Google-Cloud-Compute-Engine/alternatives/) ## FAQs about Google Cloud Compute Engine Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from Google Cloud Compute Engine? Google Cloud Compute Engine benefits cloud architects, IT consultants, engineers, and software development teams that need scalable virtual machines for application hosting, testing, and infrastructure design. Project managers and analytics leaders use it to support delivery timelines and data workloads, while business leaders rely on its flexibility to keep operations running efficiently. Answer based on 11 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is Google Cloud Compute Engine built for? Google Cloud Compute Engine is built mainly for small businesses, which make up 64% of reviewers, and for Information Technology and Services at 27%. It also serves midsize businesses at 27% and enterprises at 9%, with strong presence in Computer Software and Logistics and Supply Chain, each at 18%, often for virtual machines. Answer based on 11 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of Google Cloud Compute Engine? Google Cloud Compute Engine offers virtual machine hosting with virtualization, resource management, and virtual machine monitoring. It also includes load balancing for distributing traffic, configuration management for setting instance parameters, and data migration tools for moving workloads between environments. Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does Google Cloud Compute Engine integrate with? Google Cloud Compute Engine integrates with Amazon EC2, Google Cloud Storage, and Google Cloud Load Balancing, with ties to other Google Cloud services such as Google Kubernetes Engine. These connections cover compute comparison, object storage, and traffic management for applications running across multiple instances. Answer based on 3 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does Google Cloud Compute Engine offer? Google Cloud Compute Engine provides live online sessions, webinars, documentation, and videos to help teams get started. Live online sessions and webinars support guided instruction, while documentation offers written reference material and videos provide self-paced walkthroughs for learning core setup and product features. Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does Google Cloud Compute Engine offer? Google Cloud Compute Engine provides Email/Help Desk, FAQ/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support, and Chat. These channels give users several ways to find guidance and contact support, though no reviewer feedback is available here to describe response times, helpfulness, or common frustrations with the support experience. ## Features AI summary Based on 351 VDI reviews Not all virtualization software covers every feature buyers care about most. Here is what Capterra reviewers highlight as essential when choosing a solution: - **Load Balancing** (**56%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Server Monitoring** (**63%**) - **Backup and Recovery** (**54%**) Google Cloud Compute Engine supports **Load Balancing**, but it does not include **Server Monitoring** or **Backup and Recovery**. Instead, it offers **Virtual Machine Monitoring** (**57%**), which addresses part of the visibility buyers look for when managing infrastructure. This can help teams track VM health and performance while distributing workloads efficiently, helping businesses maintain availability and make day-to-day infrastructure management easier. Virtual Machine Monitoring 4.7 (9) 88.89% of 9 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track and manage virtual machines (VMs) running on physical host machines Configuration Management 4.3 (11) 81.82% of 11 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Identify component attributes like servers, hardware, software, and manage relationships across all services Data Migration 4.5 (8) 62.50% of 8 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Move from one database to another, or upgrade the version of database software being used Virtualization 4.2 (6) 100.00% of 6 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Create a virtual version of operating systems, storage devices, or computer network resources Resource Management 4.5 (2) 50.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Process of planning, scheduling and executing the optimal and effective use of human capital across projects Load Balancing Process of distributing a set of tasks over a set of resources, with the aim of making their overall processing more efficient Google Cloud Compute Engine 6 features ### All Features - Configuration Management: Identify component attributes like servers, hardware, software, and manage relationships across all services - Data Migration: Move from one database to another, or upgrade the version of database software being used - Load Balancing: Process of distributing a set of tasks over a set of resources, with the aim of making their overall processing more efficient - Resource Management: Process of planning, scheduling and executing the optimal and effective use of human capital across projects - Virtual Machine Monitoring: Track and manage virtual machines (VMs) running on physical host machines - Virtualization: Create a virtual version of operating systems, storage devices, or computer network resources --- Features 4.8 (11) 4.8 Based on 11 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.1 (10) Free Trial Free Version [View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/253623/Google-Cloud-Compute-Engine/pricing/) Basic $0.01 Usage Based,Per Month Value for money 4.1 (10) 4.1 Based on 10 reviews ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.0 (10) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.0 (10) 4.0 Based on 10 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.1 Based on 11 reviews Filter by rating 5(4) 4(6) 3(0) 2(0) 1(1) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent MA Muhammad A. Technical Project Manager Logistics and Supply Chain ### "Reliable, scalable infrastructure with a real learning curve on cost optimization" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 23, 2026 Overall, Google Cloud Compute Engine has been a solid, reliable foundation for running a logistics platform's backend infrastructure through a period of real growth. It's handled the demands of a system juggling REST and GraphQL services, PostgreSQL and PostGIS workloads, and multiple government and payment API integrations without major reliability issues, and live migration during maintenance has meant our uptime hasn't taken hits from routine hardware upkeep. The flexibility to size instances precisely and scale during demand spikes has kept infrastructure aligned with actual usage rather than forcing us into rigid capacity planning, and that's translated into cost efficiency once we got past the initial learning curve around pricing and discount structures. Where the experience has been less smooth is around the complexity of fully optimizing costs and the steeper ramp-up time for new engineers getting comfortable with IAM and networking configuration. Support responsiveness has also been a mixed bag depending on the tier and urgency of the issue. Net, it's been a dependable platform for a system where reliability and scalability genuinely matter, and the tradeoffs in complexity have been manageable given the flexibility and performance gained in return. Pros Google Cloud Compute Engine's performance and reliability have held up consistently well for running a logistics platform's backend services, which need to stay responsive under variable load as bidding, trip tracking, and government API integration traffic fluctuates throughout the day. Custom machine types let us size instances precisely to actual workload needs rather than paying for a fixed tier that either wastes resources or falls short during peak periods. Integration with the rest of Google Cloud, including Cloud SQL and networking tools, made setting up a PostgreSQL-backed backend straightforward without a lot of manual wiring between services. Live migration during host maintenance has been a genuine advantage, since it keeps instances running through underlying hardware maintenance without the downtime we'd expect from other providers. On the pricing and ROI side, sustained-use discounts and the ability to right-size machine types have kept infrastructure costs proportional to actual usage rather than locking us into rigid pricing tiers, which matters for a platform where traffic patterns shift as new integrations and features roll out. Scaling up additional instances during high-demand periods, like promotional campaigns or peak booking windows, has been quick and predictable. Global network performance is also a standout, with low-latency connectivity that's kept API response times consistent for time-sensitive operations like trip status updates and compliance checks tied to government integrations. Cons The pricing model, while flexible, is genuinely complex to fully understand and optimize. Between sustained-use discounts, committed-use contracts, and the many machine type options, getting cost projections right for a growing logistics platform's infrastructure needs took more trial and error than we expected, and it's easy to end up paying more than necessary without careful ongoing monitoring. The learning curve for newer team members is steeper than some competing platforms, particularly around networking configuration and IAM permissions, which took real ramp-up time to get comfortable with when onboarding new engineers to manage infrastructure tied to government integration work. Documentation, while extensive, can be inconsistent in depth across different services, and we occasionally had to piece together information from multiple sources or reach out to support for less common configuration scenarios specific to our setup. Support response times on lower-tier plans have been slower than we'd like for infrastructure that carries real operational weight, and getting timely help during time-sensitive incidents sometimes required escalating through higher support tiers than we'd initially budgeted for. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JM Jo M. sss Accounting ### "BPF restriction forced me to AWS" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 2/10 December 5, 2025 Poor, Average. Messy and hard to use, works well though. The ability to create things with the CLI was nice, though my overall experience with them specifically having initial settings avoid the components for always free was rough. Pros Connected and respected. They have a deep set of documentation, that is extensive though disorganized. Cons I was unable to run an e2 instance with cilium due to bpf restrictions. Certainly a requirement they chose not to fulfill because of the cost of needed changes. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AN Anonymous User intern Computer Software ### "Simple to Start, But Some Features Need assistance. " 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 February 23, 2025 It was amazing like I liked some of the features which are not available on other platforms. Pros I like that it is easy to set up and provides fast, scalable virtual machines. The pricing is also low. Cons The pricing structure can be difficult to learn, and setting up networking and permissions requires some learning for the new users Switched from [Microsoft Azure](https://www.capterra.com/p/16365/Azure/) [Amazon EC2](https://www.capterra.com/p/219781/EC2/) [Bitnami](https://www.capterra.com/p/198513/Bitnami/) [Linode](https://www.capterra.com/p/210618/Linode/) I wanted to explore more option for virtual machines. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. EB Ebenezer B. Relationship Officer Financial Services ### "Google Cloud is the best all time" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 May 3, 2023 Pros It's the best and it's easy to understand and the usage isn't complex like others. Cons I believe management and the technical hoard will do an update to it's functionality. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. GM George M. MD Information Technology and Services ### "GCP has the best documentation for Cloud Computing " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 April 28, 2023 It was the best experience I had with a Google product. Pros I was new to Cloud Computing but the easy to use documentation gave me the best introduction to cloud computing. I was able to build my first VPN, run my first virtual machine and do lots of stuff. The $300 credit was a good thing also Cons I cant name anything I disliked about the process. Alternatives considered [Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/p/174285/Amazon-S3/) [Amazon EC2](https://www.capterra.com/p/219781/EC2/) Reasons for choosing Google Cloud Compute Engine Very good documentation, ease of use, free $300 credit and support from GCP twitter Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Fabiano A. Consulente IT Information Technology and Services ### "Macchine virtuali alla portata di tutti " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 February 23, 2023 Utilizzato a lavoro per sviluppare un piccolo backend per servire una app mobile sviluppata Pros Bastano poche configurazioni per avere una macchina virtuale operativa su cui subito sviluppare o eseguire altre operazioni Cons Può in casi rari volerci molto per creare la macchina virtuale Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RS raj S. cloud architect Computer Software ### "Google Cloud Compute Engine " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 February 22, 2023 my overall experience is good and Google Cloud Compute Engine is easy to create vm Pros Google Cloud Compute Engine's integration with other Google Cloud services. The platform makes it easy to integrate with other Google Cloud offerings, such as Google Cloud Storage and Google Kubernetes Engine, which can help users build more complex applications and solutions. Cons Google Cloud Compute Engine's integration with third-party tools and services can be limited, which can make it challenging to use with certain applications or workflows. Switched from [Amazon EC2](https://www.capterra.com/p/219781/EC2/) Google Cloud Compute Engine platform is costly Alternatives considered [Microsoft Azure](https://www.capterra.com/p/16365/Azure/) Reasons for choosing Google Cloud Compute Engine Google Cloud Compute Engine platform is costly and aws ec2 offer more third party services then google cloud compute engine Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AN Anonymous User Jr. Software developer Financial Services ### "Try VM with Google cloud compute engine." 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 December 23, 2022 Overall experience is very positive and great VM machine , continue to use in future with great and affordable price. Pros I most liked about Google cloud compute engine is nested virtualization and data migration feature. Cons Everything feels good in Google cloud compute engines , only one thing affect me is find difficulty to connect the apache sever to cloud, all other is great. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. NF Nikhil F. Quality engineer Telecommunications ### "Best virtual machine service" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 November 27, 2022 Pros Easy to use, easy to deploy virtual machine, scalability is the best feature which I like, we can scale up and scale down the server as the production demand Cons It is bit expensive as compared to other cloud service provider Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AN Anonymous User Associate Engineer Information Technology and Services ### "Virtualization on Compute Engine" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 November 5, 2022 My overall experience is very good with the google compute engine as the pricing is low,feature set is rich and almost everything is at one place. Pros Best feature is pay for what you use only.Doesnt matter since when or how much powerful vm have you created you only get charged for time when the machine is running. Cons I dont think that is least liked by me everything so far is good i am loving using compute engine. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/253623/Google-Cloud-Compute-Engine/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.