Google Compute Engine (Windows Server)
Sibling records disagree:
- verdict:
compute/gcp-computesays qualifies-with-caveat, compute/gcp-windows says paid-only
- Free allowance
- Not stated for the Windows Server image on https://cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing (read 2026-10-30), which bills it from a 1 minute minimum; the page's only free row is standard persistent disk, 'Standard provisioned space | 0 gibibyte month to 30 gibibyte month $0.00 (Free)', per...
- Verdict
- paidno free allowance; listed for its price
- Cost
- no price stated
- Identity
- cardcard required, no phone
- Binding limit
- request-rateWindows Server image licence at USD 0.046 an hour per visible vCPU (USD 0.023 an hour on f1-micro and g1-small), on top of the machine type; 1 minute minimum, then 1 second increments
- Evidence
- documented14 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
- Freshness
- stale on 2026-12-04checked 2026-11-03 (live); stale on 2026-12-04
| Free tier | not stated for the Windows Server image on https://cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing (read 2026-10-30), which bills it from a 1 minute minimum; the page's only free row is standard persistent disk, 'Standard provisioned space | 0 gibibyte month to 30 gibibyte month $0.00 (Free)', per month per account in Iowa (us-central1) unit none; metered on wall-clock; The USD 300 Free Trial credit does not reach this offer before an upgrade: a non-billable Free Trial account cannot 'Create VM instances that are based on Windows Server images.' After the upgrade to a Paid billing account the Free Trial document says the remaining credit stays usable on products and services covered by the Free Trial for the original 90 days from sign-up, and its list of what the credit cannot pay for names Gemini API in AI Studio and managed-API partner models, not Windows Server images, so the credit is expected to pay the Windows Server licence (inferred; no first-party page states it for Windows Server). No page read states a free Windows Server allowance. |
|---|---|
| Price | none stated |
| Limits |
part of the text of Free tier, above |
| Identity | card Free Trial signup requires a credit card or other payment method, and the upgrade to a Paid billing account that GPU and Windows Server VMs need is made on that billing account |
| Egress | not stated |
| Per-object cap | not stated |
| Retention | not stated |
| Interface | unknown |
| Tooling | part of the text of Free tier, above |
| Composes with | part of the text of Free tier, above |
| Reliability | no reliability event recorded |
| Evidence note | documented the disks and images pricing page was read on 2026-10-30: it bills the Windows Server image at USD 0.046 an hour per visible vCPU (USD 0.023 on f1-micro and g1-small) from a 1 minute minimum and states the 90-day archive-snapshot minimum; the Free Trial document bars Windows Server VMs on a Free Trial account |
| Parsed numbers |
|
Evidence 14
| date | source | what it proved |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-02 | cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing#windows_server_ | not published |
| 2026-10-22 | cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing#windows_server_ | '$0.06 USD/hour for instances with 4 or fewer vCPUs' and '$0.13 USD/hour for instances with more than 4 vCPUs' on the Windows Server premium image, and 'Archive snapshots are billed for a minimum of 90 days of storage', quoted |
| 2026-10-30 | cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing | the Windows Server image is billed from a 1 minute minimum, with no free allowance on the page |
| 2026-10-30 | cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features | a non-billable Free Trial account cannot create VM instances based on Windows Server images |
| 2026-10-30 | cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing | the only free row on the disks and images page is 30 gibibyte months of standard persistent disk per month per account |
| 2026-10-30 | cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing | the Windows Server image licence is USD 0.046 an hour per visible vCPU on every machine type but f1-micro and g1-small |
| 2026-10-30 | cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing | the Windows Server image licence on f1-micro and g1-small is USD 0.023 an hour |
| 2026-10-30 | cloud.google.com/compute/disks-image-pricing | archive snapshots are billed for at least 90 days |
| 2026-11-03 | cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features | after the upgrade to a Paid billing account the remaining credit stays usable on products and services covered by the Free Trial, within 90 days of sign-up |
| 2026-11-03 | cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features | the credit has its own exclusion list, which names Gemini API in AI Studio and managed-API partner models, and neither GPUs nor Windows Server images |
| 2026-11-03 | cloud.google.com/terms/free-trial | the Free Trial terms let an upgraded customer keep using unused credit for the Services, expiring 3 months after the Free Trial start |
| 2026-11-03 | cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features | upgrading to a Paid billing account unlocks GPUs, which a non-billable Free Trial account cannot add |
| 2026-11-03 | cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features | Windows Server VMs are listed among what a non-billable Free Trial account cannot do, a restriction tied to the account state |
| 2026-11-03 | cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features | the Free Trial signup, which precedes the upgrade, requires a credit card or other payment method |
More fields 6
| keep rate | 1.0 |
|---|---|
| billing model | unclassified |
| session cap | {"wall_clock_min": null,"idle_reap_s": null,"restart_required": false,"note": "the licence bills with the instance hour; the free e2-micro allowance does not carry a Windows image"} |
| free tier kind | none |
| granularity | {"min_billed_s": 60,"rounding_s": null} |
| ps | {"gib": null,"price": "archive snapshots metered at a 90-day floor","durability": "snapshot","on_stop": true,"on_destroy": true,"retention": "90 days of billing even if deleted sooner"} |
Unknown values 10
- chaining: a source was read and is silent on this field
- egress metered: egress metering was not published
- egress terms: a source was read and is silent on this field
- interface: the access interface was not established
- limits note: a source was read and is silent on this field
- per object cap stated: a source was read and is silent on this field
- reliability note: nothing of this kind was observed
- retention notes: the field may be stated in a source that was not read
- retention stated: a source was read and is silent on this field
- tooling: a source was read and is silent on this field