Google Cloud Workflows
cloud.google.com/workflowsBuild Difficulty: 5/5
Build a working replacement in a weekend with AI tools
Combine Google Cloud services and APIs to build reliable applications, process automation, and data and machine learning pipelines.
How to Replace Google Cloud WorkflowsOverview
Features
40 features across 12 categories
Automation(1)
Automate conditions based on input and service responses
Core Functionality(1)
Visualize and monitor complex service integrations without additional dependencies
Development(4)
Access to standard library functions and built-in functions for workflow logic
Deploy in seconds to support fast developer experience and quick production changes
Create reusable subworkflows that can be called from main workflows
Specify workflows in YAML or JSON with named steps making them easy to visualize understand and observe
Execution(9)
Wait for asynchronous operations and events with polling and callbacks
Evaluate conditional statements within workflow execution
Execute workflows when events occur such as when a file is uploaded to Cloud Storage or when a Pub/Sub message is published through Eventarc
Wait up to one year for a given period to implement polling
Use expressions and functions to transform response data and prepare request inputs
Execute workflows programmatically from application code
Implement real-time processing with low-latency event-driven executions
Execute workflows on a recurring schedule using Cloud Scheduler integration
Assign and evaluate variables within workflow steps
Infrastructure(1)
Fully managed service with nothing to patch or maintain that scales as needed
Integration(8)
Connectors for Google Cloud services like BigQuery make it easy to perform operations and wait for completion
Connectors make Google Cloud services particularly easy to use by taking care of request formatting, retries and waiting to complete long-running operations
Trigger workflows when files are uploaded to Cloud Storage buckets
Polling attempts made by connectors for long-running operations controlled using connector_params.polling_policy
Send documents to Document AI for processing and handle the results in workflows
Make entries in Firestore database from workflow steps
Create unique callback URLs inside your workflow and wait with a configurable timeout of up to one year for the URL to be called
Execute workflows when Pub/Sub messages are published through Eventarc
Monitoring(2)
Out-of-the-box integration with Cloud Logging with automatic and custom entries provides insight into each workflow execution
Cloud Monitoring tracks execution volume error rates and execution time
Performance(1)
Fast scheduling of workflow executions and transitions between steps with predictable performance and no cold starts
Pricing(1)
Only pay when workflows take steps with no cost while waiting or inactive
Reliability(5)
Control failures and maintain reliability even when other systems fail with automatic redundancy and fault-tolerance
Workflows are automatically replicated across multiple zones ensuring executions continue even after outages
Default or custom retry logic and error handling with checkpointing every step to Spanner
Specify retry policies and error handling for workflow execution
Checkpoint state after each step to help keep track of progress
Security(3)
Workflows run in a sandboxed environment with no code dependencies that require security patches
Orchestrate work of any Google Cloud product without worrying about authentication using proper service accounts
Store and retrieve secrets with Secret Manager
Use Cases(4)
Combine sequences of service invocations into reliable and observable workflows such as receipt processing in expense applications
Run line-of-business operations with workflows like order fulfillment and tracking automation
Implement batch and real-time data pipelines using workflows that sequence exports transformations queries and machine learning jobs
Automate cloud infrastructure with workflows that control Google Cloud services such as security compliance monitoring
Pricing
Free Tier (Always Free)
- ✓5,000 internal steps per month
- ✓2,000 external API calls per month
Pay As You Go
Popular- ✓Internal steps 5,001 to 100,000,000: $0.01 per increment of 1,000 steps
- ✓External steps 2,001 to 100,000,000: $0.025 per increment of 1,000 calls
- ✓Steps after 100,000,000: Contact sales for pricing
- ✓$300 in free credits for new customers
Enterprise
- ✓Internal or external steps after 100 million: Contact sales for pricing options
Cost Calculator
Pricing data not available for Google Cloud Workflows. Check their website for current pricing.
Build vs Buy
Should you build a Google Cloud Workflows alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 40 features.
Buy Google Cloud Workflows
Better ValueBuild Your Own
Buying Google Cloud Workflows saves ~$36,960 over 3 years vs building.
Estimates based on 40 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.
Integrations
17 known integrations