Google Cloud Firewall
Firewall software
Network security software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
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What is Google Cloud Firewall
Google Cloud Firewall refers to the firewall capabilities in Google Cloud that control network traffic to and from cloud resources using policy-based rules. It is primarily used by cloud and network/security teams to segment networks, restrict ingress/egress, and enforce access controls for workloads running in Google Cloud. The service integrates with Google Cloud networking constructs (such as VPC networks, subnets, tags/service accounts, and hierarchical policies) and is managed through Google Cloud Console, gcloud, and APIs.
Native Google Cloud integration
Firewall rules are built into Google Cloud networking and apply directly to Google Cloud resources without requiring third-party virtual appliances. Policies can target instances using network tags and service accounts, which helps align controls with workload identity and deployment automation. Administration is available through console, CLI, and APIs, supporting infrastructure-as-code and CI/CD workflows.
Centralized policy administration options
Google Cloud supports centralized approaches such as hierarchical firewall policies to manage rules across projects and folders. This can reduce duplicated rule sets and improve consistency in multi-project environments. Central policy constructs also support governance patterns where security teams define guardrails while application teams manage local exceptions.
Scales with cloud workloads
Because the firewall capability is part of the cloud platform, it is designed to operate at cloud scale for dynamic workloads that change frequently. Rules can be applied consistently as instances are created or replaced, which fits autoscaling and ephemeral compute patterns. This reduces operational overhead compared with managing per-instance firewall configuration.
Not a full NGFW
Google Cloud firewall rules primarily provide L3/L4 network filtering and do not inherently deliver the full set of next-generation firewall features found in dedicated NGFW products (for example, deep application inspection and advanced threat prevention). Organizations needing those capabilities often add separate cloud security services or deploy virtual firewall appliances. This can increase architectural complexity and cost.
Google Cloud–specific scope
The firewall controls apply to workloads and networks within Google Cloud and do not directly provide a single enforcement point across multiple cloud providers or on-prem environments. Multi-cloud or hybrid organizations may need additional tooling to standardize policy and visibility across environments. Operational processes can become fragmented if different platforms use different policy models.
Rule management can be complex
Large environments can accumulate many rules across projects, VPCs, and policy layers, making troubleshooting and change control harder. Priority ordering, implied defaults, and overlapping scopes require careful design to avoid unintended access. Teams typically need strong governance, naming conventions, and testing to prevent configuration drift.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan / Item | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| VPC firewall rules | Free of charge | Traditional VPC firewall rules are free. (Use Essentials or migrate without cost.) |
| Cloud NGFW Essentials | Free of charge | Foundational firewall features (IP ranges, ports, protocols). No data-processing charges when only Essentials rules are used. |
| Cloud NGFW Standard | $0.0193 per GiB (priced per gibibyte evaluated) | Adds FQDN objects, threat intelligence; data-processing charges apply to north–south (internet <-> VM) traffic evaluated by Standard rules. |
| Cloud NGFW Enterprise | Endpoint deployment: $1.75 per hour; Data processing: $0.0193 per GiB | Adds Layer-7 features (IDPS, URL filtering). Billing includes hourly firewall endpoint deployment charge and per-GiB inspection/data-processing charge. If a flow is evaluated by both Standard and Enterprise, only Enterprise charge applies. |
| Hierarchical firewall policies (per VM) | $0.001369863 per hour per VM (standard: ≤500 attributes) / $0.002054795 per hour per VM (large: ≥501 attributes) — (~$1.00 / $1.50 per VM per month equivalent) | Price is based on total number of rule attributes in the policy and number of VMs the policy covers. No charge for a policy that applies to no VMs. |
| Firewall Insights (Network Intelligence Center) | Configuration analysis: $1 initial evaluation per rule; $0.10 per rule for subsequent evaluations. Overgranting analysis: $0.20 / million log entries (tiered) | Firewall Insights features are billed under Network Intelligence Center pricing (configuration analysis, overgranting analysis, logs-based metrics). Some metrics are free. |
| Firewall Rules Logging | See Network Telemetry pricing | Firewall Rules Logging charges are described in Network Telemetry pricing (separate logging ingestion/telemetry charges). |
Notes: Prices and units are taken from Google Cloud's official product and pricing pages. Billing model is pay-as-you-go; charges are billed to the project where evaluation or resources exist. For free-trial/free-credit information, Google Cloud offers a new-customer Free Trial (90 days / $300 credit) and always-free usage tiers for eligible products.
Seller details
Google LLC
Mountain View, CA, USA
1998
Subsidiary
https://cloud.google.com/deep-learning-vm
https://x.com/googlecloud
https://www.linkedin.com/company/google/
