Google App Engine (GAE) will no longer have a standard free tier | Hacker News Reader

Google App Engine (GAE) will no longer have a standard free tier

techtudor.blogspot.com

This title seems materially false.

https://cloud.google.com/free/docs/gcp-free-tier

Cloud Build has 120 minute build minutes per day allowed under the "Always Free" tier.

GCP has changed the service to require your account to be capable of being billed — for excess usage and to prevent fraud. So if the complaint here is "GAE no longer lets you run code without having a credit card on file", that is correct^, but that's not what the title says.

^ Credit card, bank account, or any other "you have a valid financial services account" validation — Google is using the financial networks as a way to offload identity verification costs onto the banking sector:

> Google uses your credit card [and/or bank account] information for the following purposes: To verify your identity. To distinguish actual customers from robots.

So App Engine now relies on Cloud Build which also has a free tier. Unless I'm missing something this doesn't seem like a big deal?

But how can it be in free-tier if it requires credit card billing?

If you get a free night at a hotel, you'll still be required to put down a credit card or equivalent room deposit.

Is that, then, truly a "free night"?

Most would say yes, since they're not planning to cause damages or use room service or minibar, and so they don't expect to be charged anything as a result of their "free night".

Some would say no, since they're planning to throw a raging party and trash the place, and don't want any risk of being charged money for that outcome. The credit card in both of these scenarios is used for risk prevention, not for revenue.

"Free tier" is a statement of how much you can expect to be charged if you stay within its boundaries, not a statement of your right to participate without accepting the risk of financial penalty if you choose to act outside those boundaries.

(A few would say no, since the principle of "free" means that any conversation about "money" is inappropriate — no matter how much risk that places on others. Other reasons surely exist too.)

It requires a credit card on file in a billing-enabled account. Which, IIRC, AWS’s entire free tier does, too.

It's still free because you aren't charged for usage within the free tier limits.

Because it doesn't cost you money if you stay within the tier?

Yeah as long as gcp doesn't has a clear budget protection, I will not add my credit card to it as a private person.

This seems overly dramatic calling it the last proper free tier. Cloud Run has a free tier is mostly comparable.

It sucks that a free option is gone, but companies are not in an obligation to provide free stuff for developers forever.

They never claimed that they are doing a public service. The only reason it's free is they hope you'll get used to it and pay for bigger stuff later on.

It's OK to be sad, but it's not OK to be morally outrageous.

No ethical dilemma or "ever hungry crony capitalism machine" here.

Just a drop a credit card into the Billing account and be done with it?

This will work for many people (including me), but here is a thread where someone complains about how it doesn't work in a classroom where students aren't allowed to enter credit card numbers:

https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/google-appengine/j...

I agree with the OP in that link.

I don't have a credit card and don't plan to have one. I chose GAE because it's the only one which does not need credit card. I can compromise with the GAE heavy limitations because of that.

Because of this I might as well just choose AWS.

Doesn't go into the specifics enough, if it's a school account it's probably not relevant... But couldn't they enter the card details at home then use the account in class?

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