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Google Cloud Pub/Sub
Mountain View, California, United States
What it is
Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a cloud messaging service that passes messages asynchronously between services that create them and services that process them. This separation suits streaming analytics, data integration pipelines, service middleware, and parallel task queues—not direct communication with end-user or IoT clients. Communication typically has latency around 100 milliseconds. Synchronous cross-zone replication and per-message receipt tracking support at-least-once delivery, while Dataflow supports exactly-once processing of Pub/Sub streams. The service has no shards or partitions and provisions capacity automatically after quota is set. Message controls include seeking and replaying messages, dead letter topics, and attribute-based filtering. Integrations include Google Cloud products such as BigQuery and Cloud Storage, plus third-party tools such as Splunk and Datadog. Pub/Sub provides REST and gRPC APIs and client libraries for several languages; API keys are not supported for authentication. The maximum message size is 10 MB. A free tier includes the first 10 GB per month; listed pay-as-you-go throughput is $40 per TB, with storage at $0.27 per GiB-month.
For and against
For
- At-least-once delivery uses cross-zone replication and receipt tracking.
- Supports seek, replay, dead letter topics, and attribute filtering.
- Integrates with Google Cloud and third-party services.
- REST and gRPC APIs; client libraries for several languages.
Against
- API keys are not supported for authentication.
- Maximum message size is 10 MB.
- Exactly-once processing support is through Dataflow.
The verdict
Pub/Sub provides asynchronous messaging and operational controls for service-to-service workloads. Its free tier covers the first 10 GB per month, with listed throughput and storage charges beyond that.
Who it suits
Pub/Sub suits teams connecting backend services or building streaming and data integration pipelines. It is not intended for direct communication with end-user or IoT clients.
Plans and prices
Free usage allowance
10 GiB throughput
Read 20 Sep 2026 · cloud.google.com
Pay-as-you-go throughput
Standard message delivery throughput
Read 20 Sep 2026 · cloud.google.com
Free monthly tier
First 10 GB of data per month
Read 1 Oct 2026 · cloud.google.com
Pay-as-you-go
Beyond 10 GB: $40 per TB · storage $0.27 per GiB-month
Read 1 Oct 2026 · cloud.google.com
On the record
- APIs and libraries
- Pub/Sub uses standard gRPC and REST APIs and provides client libraries for several languages, with the product page stating seven languages.docs.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- Pub/Sub supports client libraries, the Google Cloud CLI, and REST, and does not support API keys as an authentication method.docs.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Automatic scaling
- Pub/Sub has no shards or partitions and uses automatic provisioning after you set your quota.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Delivery reliability
- Synchronous cross-zone message replication and per-message receipt tracking provide at-least-once delivery at any scale.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Exactly-once processing
- Dataflow supports reliable exactly-once processing of Pub/Sub streams.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Google Cloud integrations include Dataflow, BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Cloud Run, App Engine, Cloud Logging, Cloud Monitoring, Workflows, and Eventarc.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- Pub/Sub is intended for service-to-service communication rather than direct communication with end-user or IoT clients.docs.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Latency
- Pub/Sub communication typically has latencies on the order of 100 milliseconds.docs.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Message controls
- Pub/Sub supports seek and replay, dead letter topics, and attribute-based message filtering.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Messaging service
- Pub/Sub is an asynchronous and scalable messaging service that decouples services producing messages from services processing them.docs.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Security
- Pub/Sub offers fine-grained access controls, end-to-end encryption, and HIPAA compliance.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Support resources
- Google Cloud provides Pub/Sub documentation, community forums, support, release notes, and system status resources.docs.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Third-party integrations
- Listed third-party integrations include Splunk, Datadog, Informatica, Confluent Cloud, Apache Kafka, Elastic, Databricks, and ServiceNow.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- Pub/Sub is used for streaming analytics, data integration pipelines, service integration middleware, and parallel task queues.docs.cloud.google.com · read 1 Oct 2026
