Freedom251 › Distributed File System Software
Google Cloud Filestore
What Google Cloud Filestore is
Google Cloud Filestore is a fully managed shared NFS file service for applications that need persistent file storage. It connects to Compute Engine VMs, GKE clusters, Google Cloud VMware Engine, on-premises machines, Cloud Run services, and AI agent fleets and sandboxes. Its GKE CSI driver lets multiple pods share a file system, and Cloud Run workloads can mount an instance as a local directory over NFS. Filestore supports NFSv3 across all tiers and NFSv4.1 on zonal, regional, and enterprise tiers. Content is encrypted at rest by default; customer-managed Cloud KMS keys are supported for instances and backups on those three tiers. NFSv4.1 supports Kerberos-based authentication, message integrity checks, and encryption in transit, while NFSv3 lacks client and server authentication and encryption. Data protection options include snapshots, backups, and replication to another region. The product page lists capacity up to 100 TiB, throughput up to 26 GiB/s, and up to 920K IOPS, and describes Regional Filestore as providing 99.99% regional availability. There is no free plan, but the page offers $300 in free credits to try the service.
Who it suits
Filestore suits applications that need persistent shared NFS storage across cloud, on-premises, GKE, or Cloud Run workloads. Teams needing in-transit encryption and client authentication should note the distinction between NFSv4.1 and NFSv3.
What it does well
- Managed shared NFS file storage for persistent application data.
- GKE CSI driver enables multiple pods to share a file system.
- Supports snapshots, backups, and cross-region replication.
- Encrypts customer content at rest by default.
- Offers $300 in free credits to try Filestore.
What to know first
- No free plan.
- NFSv3 lacks client and server authentication and encryption.
- Customer-managed Cloud KMS keys are limited to specified tiers.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Filestore Zonal - custom performance on (per IOPS) | Starting at $0.0145 per month · Custom performance on · per IOPS | $0.01 a month |
| Filestore Regional - custom performance on (per IOPS) | Starting at $0.027 per month · Custom performance on · per IOPS | $0.03 a month |
| Filestore Zonal - custom performance on (instance capacity) | Starting at $0.12 per GiB per month · Custom performance on · instance capacity | $0.12 a month |
| Filestore Regional - custom performance on (instance capacity) | Starting at $0.21 per GiB per month · Custom performance on · instance capacity | $0.21 a month |
| Filestore Zonal - custom performance off | Starting at $0.25 per GiB per month · Instance capacity | $0.25 a month |
| Filestore Regional - custom performance off | Starting at $0.45 per GiB per month · Instance capacity | $0.45 a month |
| Filestore Zonal - custom performance on (per instance) | Starting at $20 per month · Custom performance on · per instance | $20 a month |
| Filestore Regional - custom performance on (per instance) | Starting at $40 per month · Custom performance on · per instance | $40 a month |
As cloud.google.com lists them, read 30 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Filestore provides shared file storage for a broad range of workloads, with data protection options and two NFS versions. Check the tier-specific protocol and encryption capabilities, as well as provisioned capacity pricing, before selecting a configuration.
Facts from Google Cloud Filestore's own pages
- Capacity tiers
- The product page lists Zonal and Regional capacity of 1–100 TiB, and GKE multi-share capacity of 1–10 TiB with up to 80 shares. · cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Cloud Run
- Filestore instances can be mounted directly to Cloud Run workloads as local directories over NFS. · cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Data protection
- Filestore supports snapshots, backups, and replication of data to an instance in another region. · cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Encryption
- Filestore encrypts customer content at rest by default and supports customer-managed Cloud KMS keys for instances and backups on zonal, regional, and enterprise tiers. · docs.cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Google Kubernetes Engine
- Filestore integrates with the GKE CSI driver so multiple pods can access the same file system. · cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- NFSv3 limitation
- NFSv3 lacks client and server authentication and encryption, according to the protocol documentation. · docs.cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- NFSv4.1 security
- NFSv4.1 supports Kerberos-based client and server authentication, message integrity checks, and in-transit encryption. · docs.cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Other clients
- Filestore can connect to Compute Engine VMs, GKE clusters, Google Cloud VMware Engine, on-premises machines, Cloud Run services, and AI agent fleets and sandboxes. · docs.cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Protocols
- Filestore supports NFSv3 across all service tiers and NFSv4.1 on zonal, regional, and enterprise tiers. · docs.cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Purpose
- Filestore is a fully managed shared NFS file service for applications that need persistent file storage. · cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Regional availability
- Filestore Regional is described as providing 99.99% regional availability for critical applications that need resilience to zonal outages. · cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Scale
- The product page lists capacity up to 100 TiB, throughput up to 26 GiB/s, and up to 920K IOPS. · cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
- Trial credit
- The product page offers $300 in free credits to try Filestore. · cloud.google.com, 30 Sept 2026
Where Google Cloud Filestore stands on Freedom251
- Distributed File System Software#15 of 32