Instance cores and RAM

The vCPU half of a virtual machine. Google bills CPU and memory as separate SKUs, which is why a single VM appears as several lines on your bill and why per-instance costs are not directly visible without joining them back together.

Billed: Per vCPU-hour, priced per machine family and region. RAM is billed as a separate SKU.

The memory half of a virtual machine, billed per gibibyte-hour alongside the vCPU SKU. On memory-optimised families this line is usually larger than the CPU one, which is worth knowing before assuming CPU is where the money goes.

Billed: Per gibibyte-hour of memory, priced per machine family and region. Separate from the vCPU SKU.