AWS Knowledge
Google Sustained Use Discounts: When to Use Them
Piyush Kalra
Jan 17, 2025
Effectively managing cloud costs is a big challenge for developers, cloud engineers, and FinOps professionals. With Google Cloud Platform's flexible pricing, Sustained Use Discounts are a powerful way for businesses to save money without the hassle of long-term commitments.
So, what are Sustained Use Discounts, and when should you use them? SUDs automatically apply discounts of up to 30% when you consistently use certain Google Cloud resources over time. This blog breaks down the basics of SUDs, their advantages, and how they stack up against other discount models. By the end, you'll know exactly how to use SUDs to optimize your cloud costs and maximize savings.
What Are Google Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs)?
Google Sustained Use Discounts are automatic, usage-based discounts designed to reward customers for consistently using eligible Compute Engine resource. Unlike CUDs — which require upfront commitments — SUDs automatically apply when resources are used for more than 25% of a billing month. The longer you use a resource, the deeper the discount, going up to 30% off when the resource is used for an entire billing month.
Key Features of SUDs:
Automatic Application: Discounts are applied automatically without requiring any manual actions or contracts.
Incremental Savings: Discounts increase incrementally with more usage during the billing month.
No Long-Term Commitment: SUDs suit businesses with uncertain or fluctuating workload patterns.
Examples of eligible resources include N1, N2, and N2D machine types, among others, used in Google Kubernetes Engine, Compute Engine, and sole-tenant nodes.
How SUDs Work:
Use it for 25% to 50% of the month, you'll receive a discount.
Use it for 50%-75% of the month, and the discount increases further.
Use it for 75%-100% of the month, and you unlock the maximum discount.
By the end of the billing period, your total discount reflects these usage thresholds.
Benefits of Using Sustained Use Discounts
Google Sustained Use Discounts are packed with financial and operational advantages. Here are the top benefits:
Substantial Savings Without Long-Term Commitment: With discounts of up to 30%, SUDs help companies lower cloud spending without committing to multi-year contracts. This flexibility is crucial for businesses with unpredictable or cyclical workloads, such as startups or companies testing new cloud services.
Fully Automated: SUDs are seamless. You don’t need complicated forecasts or hefty upfront investments. If your workload exceeds the 25% threshold, Google Cloud does all the heavy lifting to calculate and apply the discount to your bill.
Perfect for Dynamic Workloads: For companies with fluctuating usage—like development and testing environments—SUDs offer scalable savings. You pay only for what you actively use.
Complements Other Pricing Models: SUDs automatically apply to any remaining eligible Compute Engine resources after committed use discounts are exhausted. This minimizes cost while maximizing resource flexibility.
When to Use Sustained Use Discounts
Sustained use discounts work best in specific scenarios. Here’s how to determine if SUDs are the right fit for your organization:
Ideal Scenarios for SUDs
Variable Workflows: For organizations whose workloads have no rhythm and are unsteady, SUDs can be great cost-effective tools, as they do not require the user to plan the amount of work in advance. This is very favourable to firms that are subject to erratic demand.
Development and Tests: Application testing and small-sized projects can be short-term. In this case, SUDs are an excellent choice for meeting temporary needs, as they let you scale the resources and still save on costs.
Scaling Up Resources: If it is not possible to determine the long-term requirement for resources, but there is an underlying need to increase use on temporary basis, SUDs helps in cost reduction when there is an absence of flexible contracts.
Analyzing Usage Patterns
To decide whether your workload is SUD-eligible, analyze its unique behaviour:
Duration of Resource Usage: SUDs resources should be utilized more than 25% of the month. For those who surpass the average, the discounts can provide positive utility.
Machine Types and Eligibility: Certain machine types, including the N1 or N2 series, qualify for SUDs. Use tools available in the Google Cloud Console to monitor identify track and check which items in your configuration can take the discount.
Future Workload Projections: SUDs are advantageous even when usage is going to increase significantly soon. They are flexible and more cost-efficient immediately, which is especially good when there are workloads that could potentially grow.
Comparing Sustained Use Discounts and Committed Use Discounts
To optimize costs, it's vital to assess how SUDs differ from CUDs:
SUDs are Ideal If:
You're running temporary environments like QA or staging.
Your usage fluctuates throughout the month.
CUDs are Ideal If:
You have stable and predictable workloads such as always-on production environments.
Your business benefits from deeper, long-term discounts.
Google’s automatic priority system applies committed use discounts first, followed by sustained use discounts for any remaining eligible usage.
How to Maximize Savings Using Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs)
Sustained Use Discounts can significantly reduce your Google Cloud costs, but understanding how to calculate and optimize them is key. Here's how you can make the most of them, along with a few tricks:
Identify Eligible Resources: Check Google Cloud’s pricing documentation to ensure your VMs or machine types qualify for SUDs. Not all resources are eligible, so it's important to confirm beforehand.
Trick: Focus on using eligible machine types for consistent workloads to maximize discounts.
Use the Google Cloud Pricing Calculator: Use this tool to estimate your costs, including SUDs, based on your expected usage levels. It will help you plan and predict your savings.
Analyze Incremental Discounts: SUDs are tiered – light usage (<25%) gets no discount, while full-month usage can earn up to 30%. Usage is calculated automatically based on uptime.
Trick: Schedule workloads to run consistently throughout the month instead of sporadically to reach higher discount tiers.
Review Billing Statements: At the end of the month, use Google Cloud Console’s billing history to review the SUD credits applied. This will help you verify savings and identify areas for improvement.
Best Practices for Maximizing Your Discounts
This tip provides how to maximize discounts through Sustained Use Discounts in Google Cloud. Here’s a breakdown of the advice:
Optimize Resource Timing: To qualify for SUDs, your virtual machines need to be active for at least 25% of the billing month. This ensures consistent usage, which is key for automatic discounts.
Regularly Monitor Usage: By tracking your resource usage in the Google Cloud Console, you can spot areas where you might be overspending or using resources inefficiently. This helps you adjust and reduce costs.
Use Right-Sized VMs: Avoid allocating more resources than necessary. By correctly sizing your VMs to fit your needs, you can save money and prevent wasteful overprovisioning.
Scale Intelligently: For workloads with fluctuating demands, use autoscaling carefully to manage spikes efficiently. This ensures that the resources being scaled are eligible for discounts and used effectively.
Why Sustained Use Discounts Can Transform Your Cloud Strategy
Sustained use discounts simplify cost management for Google Cloud professionals. Their flexibility, automation, and incremental cost savings make them exceptional tools for businesses with dynamic workloads.
But, understanding your usage continues to be the key to unlocking maximum value. Analyze your workload trends, explore Google Cloud's pricing models, and assess whether SUDs, CUDs, or a blend will deliver the most savings.
Sign up now to access Google Cloud Cost Management tools, such as the Pricing Calculator, and maximize your cloud savings immediately.
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