Cloud Monitoring Cost Calculator
Estimate Cloud Monitoring cost from time series, sampling period and sample size across the tiered per-MiB rates.
Inputs
Google Cloud system metrics are free; custom, Prometheus and agent metrics are chargeable.
Halving the sampling period doubles ingested volume for the same metric set.
Monitoring bills a fixed byte size per sample that depends on the metric kind and label count.
Monthly Cost
$5,148.18
Ingested Volume
20,065.4MiB
Billed Volume After the Free Allotment
19,915.4MiB
Ingestion Charge
$5,138.18
API Call Charge
$10.00
Samples Ingested
219,168,000samples
Blended Price per MiB
$0.2580
Cost at the Alternative Period
$1,006.68
Step by step
Values used
Chargeable time series = 5,000 series; Sampling period = 60 seconds; Bytes per sample = 96 bytes; Free ingestion allotment = 150 MiB; Price per MiB up to 100,000 MiB = 0.2580 USD/MiB; Price per MiB from 100,000 to 250,000 MiB = 0.1610 USD/MiB; Price per MiB above 250,000 MiB = 0.0810 USD/MiB; Monitoring API read calls = 2,000 thousands/month; Free API read calls = 1,000 thousands/month; Price per 1,000 API calls = 0.0100 USD; Alternative sampling period to compare = 300 seconds
Cloud Monitoring Cost
ingested MiB = time series × (seconds in the month ÷ sampling period) × bytes per sample ÷ 1 MiB; cost = MiB above the free allotment priced through the 100,000 and 250,000 MiB tiers.
Monthly Cost
= 5,148.18
Ingested Volume
= 20,065.4 MiB
Billed Volume After the Free Allotment
= 19,915.4 MiB
Ingestion Charge
= 5,138.18
API Call Charge
= 10.00
Samples Ingested
= 219,168,000 samples
How it works
Monitoring bills ingested sample volume, and volume is time series multiplied by samples per month, so cardinality and sampling period matter far more than how many metric names you define. Because the rate drops in tiers at 100,000 and 250,000 MiB, large estates pay a much lower blended price than the headline rate suggests. One badly chosen label — a user ID, a request path, a pod name — can multiply time series by thousands and turn observability into a top-five line on the invoice. Confirm the current per-MiB tiers in the Google Cloud pricing calculator, and compare the alternative sampling period here before adding cardinality.
Formula
Cloud Monitoring Cost
ingested MiB = time series × (seconds in the month ÷ sampling period) × bytes per sample ÷ 1 MiB; cost = MiB above the free allotment priced through the 100,000 and 250,000 MiB tiers.
- time series
- One metric with one unique label combination — cardinality, not metric names
- sampling period
- Interval between samples; the volume driver most teams forget they control
- tiered price
- Per-MiB rate that steps down as monthly ingestion grows
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Cloud Monitoring Cost calculated?
ingested MiB = time series × (seconds in the month ÷ sampling period) × bytes per sample ÷ 1 MiB; cost = MiB above the free allotment priced through the 100,000 and 250,000 MiB tiers. Monitoring bills ingested sample volume, and volume is time series multiplied by samples per month, so cardinality and sampling period matter far more than how many metric names you define. Because the rate drops in tiers at 100,000 and 250,000 MiB, large estates pay a much lower blended price than the headline rate suggests.
Why does Cloud Monitoring Cost matter?
One badly chosen label — a user ID, a request path, a pod name — can multiply time series by thousands and turn observability into a top-five line on the invoice. Confirm the current per-MiB tiers in the Google Cloud pricing calculator, and compare the alternative sampling period here before adding cardinality.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 11 inputs: Chargeable time series, Sampling period, Bytes per sample, Free ingestion allotment, Price per MiB up to 100,000 MiB, Price per MiB from 100,000 to 250,000 MiB, Price per MiB above 250,000 MiB, Monitoring API read calls, Free API read calls, Price per 1,000 API calls, Alternative sampling period to compare. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.
Which metrics are actually chargeable?
Metrics written by Google Cloud services are free. You pay for custom metrics, Prometheus metrics collected by Managed Service for Prometheus, agent metrics and log-based metrics — which is exactly the set that grows when teams add instrumentation.