Google Cloud VPN
Business VPN software
Network security software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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What is Google Cloud VPN
Google Cloud VPN is a managed VPN service on Google Cloud that provides encrypted connectivity between Google Cloud VPC networks and external networks such as on-premises data centers, branch locations, or other cloud environments. It supports site-to-site IPsec VPN tunnels and integrates with Google Cloud networking constructs like Cloud Router for dynamic routing. The product targets cloud and network teams that need hybrid connectivity, secure interconnect between environments, or encrypted transport over the public internet. It is typically used as a building block alongside other Google Cloud network security and connectivity services rather than as an end-user remote-access VPN.
Managed IPsec site-to-site VPN
The service provides Google-managed VPN gateways and IPsec tunnel termination, reducing the need to deploy and maintain VPN appliances. It supports common site-to-site use cases such as connecting on-prem networks to VPCs and connecting VPCs across projects. This approach fits organizations that want cloud-native operations and standardized configuration through Google Cloud tooling.
Integration with Cloud Router
Google Cloud VPN integrates with Cloud Router to support dynamic routing (BGP) for many deployments, which helps automate route exchange and failover behavior. This is useful for hybrid networks where routes change over time or where multiple tunnels are used for redundancy. It also aligns with infrastructure-as-code and centralized network management patterns in Google Cloud.
Works with standard VPN devices
Because it uses IPsec, it interoperates with a wide range of third-party VPN gateways and firewall appliances commonly used in enterprises. This can simplify adoption when an organization already has existing edge devices and wants to extend connectivity to Google Cloud. It also supports common cryptographic and tunnel configuration options expected in enterprise VPN deployments.
Not a ZTNA remote-access VPN
Google Cloud VPN primarily addresses network-to-network connectivity rather than user-to-app access. Organizations looking for identity-aware access controls, device posture checks, and per-application segmentation typically need additional products or architectures. This can increase design complexity compared with solutions built specifically for remote workforce access.
Internet-based performance variability
As an IPsec VPN over the public internet, throughput and latency depend on internet conditions and the characteristics of the peer network. For consistent high bandwidth or low-latency requirements, organizations may need dedicated connectivity options and additional routing design. This makes Cloud VPN better suited for many hybrid scenarios but not always for high-performance backbone connectivity.
Google Cloud–centric operations
Configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting are centered on Google Cloud networking concepts (VPCs, Cloud Router, routes, and logs). Teams operating multi-cloud or heterogeneous environments may need to bridge different operational models and tooling. Some advanced network security controls (beyond tunnel encryption) are handled by separate Google Cloud services, which can require additional integration.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go
Billing components:
- Hourly charge for each tunnel attached to a Cloud VPN gateway (billed per tunnel): $0.05 per tunnel per hour (default). Regional hourly rates vary (examples in Google’s docs: $0.075/hr for asia-northeast1, $0.065/hr for europe-west6 in documented examples).
- IPsec (data) traffic: charged per GiB. If the tunnel connects to another Cloud VPN gateway, VM-to-VM data transfer pricing within Google Cloud applies; if the tunnel connects to a gateway outside Google Cloud, Internet data transfer out rates apply. Example site-to-site data-transfer tiers (from Google’s Network Connectivity pricing): $0.12 per GiB for 0–1,024 GiB, $0.11 per GiB for 1,024–10,240 GiB, $0.08 per GiB above. Australia has higher tiers (e.g., $0.19/$0.18/$0.15 per GiB for the same brackets).
- External IP address for a VPN gateway: no charge when the IP is in use by a tunnel; reserved/unassigned external IP addresses are charged per Google’s External IP pricing (examples: static unused IPs are charged in some regions; many regions show $0.01/hr for a reserved unused static IP).
Free tier/trial:
- Free plan (permanently free tier): Not available for Cloud VPN specifically (no permanently free Cloud VPN tier documented).
- Free trial: Available via Google Cloud Free Trial (new customers receive $300 in credits to spend on Google Cloud products, including Cloud VPN; Free Trial period is 91 days per Google Cloud documentation).
Example costs:
- One Cloud VPN tunnel at $0.05/hr for a 30-day (720-hour) month ≈ $36.00 (derived from Google’s hourly tunnel rate and the example on the pricing page). Google’s example shows two tunnels at $0.05/hr x 2 x 720 = $72.00.
- Data transfer example from Google’s pricing page: 2 TiB (2,048 GiB) x $0.11/GiB = $225.28 (used in Google’s sample calculation).
Discounts / notes:
- Pricing is region-dependent; Google’s docs list per-region tunnel rates and per-region/data-tiered transfer rates.
- HA VPN availability configurations (for SLA) can require multiple tunnels (and therefore multiple hourly tunnel charges).
- New customers may use the Google Cloud $300 Free Trial credit to pay for Cloud VPN usage during the trial period.
(See official Google Cloud Network Connectivity / Cloud VPN pricing and VPC/external IP pricing pages for full region tables and details.)
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/
