Network Service Tiers

Google Cloud offers two Network Service Tiers that determine how traffic is routed between users and your GCP resources: Premium Tier and Standard Tier. The choice of tier affects latency, performance, reliability, and cost. Understanding the differences is essential for making informed decisions about your network architecture and budget.

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What Are Network Service Tiers?

Network Service Tiers control the quality of the network path that traffic takes between the internet and your GCP resources:

• Premium Tier — traffic enters and exits Google's global private backbone network at the PoP (Point of Presence) closest to the user. This provides the lowest latency and highest reliability.
• Standard Tier — traffic is routed over the public internet for most of its journey and only enters Google's network near the GCP region where your resources are deployed. This is cheaper but has higher and more variable latency.

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Premium Tier (Default)