Container Registry Migration Calculator

Plan a Container Registry to Artifact Registry move: copy time, dual-running cost and the change in monthly storage bill.

Inputs

Data in Container RegistryGB

Images to copyimages

Container Registry storage price per GBUSD/GB-month

Container Registry stored images in a Cloud Storage bucket, billed at bucket rates.

Artifact Registry storage price per GBUSD/GB-month

Copy throughput per workerMbps

Parallel copy workersworkers

Per-image manifest overheadseconds

Each image needs its manifest read, rewritten and verified, which sets a floor on copy time for registries with many small images.

Days both registries stay livedays

Keep the old registry until every pipeline and manifest points at the new host.

Old images pruned instead of copied%

Migration is the cheapest moment to drop images nobody deploys.

Manifests and pipelines referencing the old hostreferences

Effort to update one referenceminutes

Artifact Registry Monthly Cost

$48.00

Container Registry Monthly Cost

$20.80

Change in Monthly Bill

$27.20

Data to Copy

447 GiB

Copy Duration

0.7hours

Cost of Running Both Registries

$67.81

Effort to Repoint References

12.0hours

Migration Verdict

Storage bill will rise noticeably — prune harder before copying, since Artifact Registry costs more per GB

Step by step

Values used
Data in Container Registry = 800 GB; Images to copy = 4,000 images; Container Registry storage price per GB = 0.0260 USD/GB-month; Artifact Registry storage price per GB = 0.1000 USD/GB-month; Copy throughput per worker = 200 Mbps; Parallel copy workers = 8 workers; Per-image manifest overhead = 3 seconds; Days both registries stay live = 30 days; Old images pruned instead of copied = 40 %; Manifests and pipelines referencing the old host = 120 references; Effort to update one reference = 6 minutes
Container Registry Migration
copied GB = stored GB × (1 − pruned share); copy hours = the larger of copied GB × 8,000 Mb ÷ (per-worker Mbps × workers) ÷ 3,600 and images × per-image overhead ÷ workers ÷ 3,600; dual-run cost = (old + new monthly) × overlap days ÷ 30.44.
Artifact Registry Monthly Cost
= 48.00
Container Registry Monthly Cost
= 20.80
Change in Monthly Bill
= 27.20
Data to Copy
= 480,000,000,000
Copy Duration
= 0.7 hours
Cost of Running Both Registries
= 67.81

How it works

The migration itself is a bulk copy whose duration is governed by aggregate throughput, but the cost story is the per-GB difference: Artifact Registry lists higher than the Cloud Storage bucket rate Container Registry used, so the bill only stays flat if you prune. Overlap is the hidden line — every day both registries are live, you pay for both. Container Registry is deprecated, so this migration is not optional, and the two things that go wrong are an unbounded overlap period and copying images nobody deploys. Confirm both per-GB rates for your region in the Google Cloud pricing calculator before you commit to a number.

Formula

Container Registry Migration

pruned share: Images retired during the move rather than copied
aggregate throughput: Per-worker copy rate multiplied by parallel workers
per-image overhead: Manifest read, rewrite and verify time, which dominates for registries of many small images
dual run: Period both registries are billed because pipelines still reference the old host

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Container Registry Migration calculated?

copied GB = stored GB × (1 − pruned share); copy hours = the larger of copied GB × 8,000 Mb ÷ (per-worker Mbps × workers) ÷ 3,600 and images × per-image overhead ÷ workers ÷ 3,600; dual-run cost = (old + new monthly) × overlap days ÷ 30.44. The migration itself is a bulk copy whose duration is governed by aggregate throughput, but the cost story is the per-GB difference: Artifact Registry lists higher than the Cloud Storage bucket rate Container Registry used, so the bill only stays flat if you prune. Overlap is the hidden line — every day both registries are live, you pay for both.

Why does Container Registry Migration matter?

Container Registry is deprecated, so this migration is not optional, and the two things that go wrong are an unbounded overlap period and copying images nobody deploys. Confirm both per-GB rates for your region in the Google Cloud pricing calculator before you commit to a number.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 11 inputs: Data in Container Registry, Images to copy, Container Registry storage price per GB, Artifact Registry storage price per GB, Copy throughput per worker, Parallel copy workers, Per-image manifest overhead, Days both registries stay live, Old images pruned instead of copied, Manifests and pipelines referencing the old host, Effort to update one reference. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

Can I redirect gcr.io traffic instead of updating every manifest?

Artifact Registry can serve gcr.io hostnames from a redirected domain, which buys time by keeping old references working. It is a bridge rather than a destination — the effort estimate here is what it costs to finish the job properly.

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