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Google Cloud Managed Service for Prometheus
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What Google Cloud Managed Service for Prometheus is
Google Cloud Managed Service for Prometheus is a paid, Prometheus-compatible monitoring service on Google Cloud. It stores metrics for 730 days, with that retention available at no additional charge, and supports global queries across regionalized data. Customers can use managed collectors that Google deploys, scales, shards, configures, and maintains, or run collectors themselves. Self-deployed collectors can gather metrics from Kubernetes, virtual machines, and other applications outside Google Cloud. PromQL queries work in Cloud Monitoring, where dashboards, alerting, and SLO monitoring are available. Grafana and the Prometheus HTTP API are supported, and the Ops Agent can collect virtual-machine metrics. A stand-alone global rule evaluator can apply existing recording and alerting rules to global data. Read API calls are charged by time series returned at $0.50 a month, with the first 1 million returned per billing account each month free; console read calls are excluded. Metrics ingestion is billed by samples with no monthly free allotment. The minimum scrape interval is five seconds, and data is downsampled after one week at full granularity and again after five more weeks. A free trial is available, but there is no free plan.
Who it suits
Teams monitoring Kubernetes, serverless, or virtual-machine deployments with Prometheus and PromQL. It also suits organizations needing self-hosted collectors or global queries.
What it does well
- 730-day metric retention
- Managed or self-deployed collectors
- PromQL, Grafana, and HTTP API support
- Global queries and rule evaluation
- SLO monitoring support
What to know first
- No free plan
- Metrics ingestion has no monthly free allotment
- Minimum scrape interval is five seconds
- Data is downsampled after six weeks
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring API read calls | Write API calls have no charge; read API calls are charged by time series returned. · First 1 million time series returned per billing account each month are free · No charge for read API calls issued through the Google Cloud console, excluding Cloud Shell | $0.50 a month |
| Metrics ingestion | By samples ingested; sample counts are per billing account. · No free allotment per month · 24-month retention at no additional charge | On request |
As cloud.google.com lists them, read 7 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
This service combines managed Prometheus collection with long retention, global querying, and Cloud Monitoring features. Review ingestion and read-call billing, plus downsampling rules, before selecting it.
Facts from Google Cloud Managed Service for Prometheus's own pages
- Collectors
- Customers can use managed collectors that are automatically deployed, scaled, sharded, configured, and maintained, or use self-deployed collectors. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- External environments
- Self-deployed collectors can collect metrics from applications outside Google Cloud, including Kubernetes and non-Kubernetes environments such as virtual machines. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Global queries
- The service supports global queries over regionalized data. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The service supports querying with Grafana and the Prometheus HTTP API, and can be used with the Ops Agent to collect Prometheus metrics from virtual machines. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- Google describes use cases that include monitoring Kubernetes, serverless, and virtual machine deployments with Prometheus and PromQL. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Limits
- The minimum scrape interval is five seconds, and stored data is downsampled after one week at full granularity and again after the following five weeks. · docs.cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- PromQL and dashboards
- Prometheus metrics can be queried with PromQL in Cloud Monitoring and viewed with Cloud Monitoring dashboards, alerting, and SLO monitoring features. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- It is a fully managed Prometheus-compatible monitoring service built on Google Cloud’s globally scalable data store. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Retention
- Metrics are stored for two years at no additional charge. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Rule evaluation
- The service supports a stand-alone global rule evaluator for existing recording and alerting rules against global data. · cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Support and agreements
- As part of Cloud Monitoring, the service inherits certain agreements and certifications, including the Operations Service Level Agreement, US DISA and FedRAMP compliance levels, and VPC Service Controls support. · docs.cloud.google.com, 7 Oct 2026
Where Google Cloud Managed Service for Prometheus stands on Freedom251
- Metrics Monitoring Tools#27 of 36