Google App Engine
Google Cloud's original managed app platform, with standard and flexible environments.
- Verified facts
- 4 of 4
- Alternatives ranked
- 4
- Approved reviews
- 0
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About Google App Engine
App Engine is Google's long-running platform-as-a-service. You deploy code in supported languages, including Python, Java, Node.js, Go, PHP and Ruby, and Google runs it, scales instances automatically and handles load balancing and versions with traffic splitting. The standard environment runs apps in sandboxes that start quickly, scale to zero and include a free daily quota; the flexible environment runs Docker containers on Compute Engine VMs for custom runtimes, at higher cost and without scale-to-zero. It integrates with Firestore, Cloud SQL, Cloud Tasks and the rest of Google Cloud. App Engine still powers many established apps, but Google now steers most new container workloads towards Cloud Run, and runtime support is tied to the languages and versions Google maintains. Billing is pay-as-you-go by instance hours and resources. It is best for teams already running on it, or who want a hands-off, version-managed platform inside Google Cloud.
Best for: Teams maintaining apps on Google Cloud who want a fully managed, versioned app platform.
Pros and cons
What works
- Free quota in the standard environment
- Versioning and traffic splitting built in
- Hands-off scaling and patching
Why people leave
- Google is steering new workloads to Cloud Run
- Standard environment limits languages and versions
- Flexible environment cannot scale to zero
Top Google App Engine alternatives
See all 4- 1
Google Cloud Run66.5Google's recommended path for new containerised workloads.
- 2
Heroku62.6Similar push-and-run model outside Google Cloud.
- 3
Render59.6Modern PaaS with workers, cron and Postgres included.
- 4
Azure App Service57.2Microsoft's equivalent managed app hosting.
Why people left Google App Engine
In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.
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Reviews
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Google App Engine: common questions
Is Google App Engine free?
Google App Engine has a free plan and paid plans. Free tier: Standard environment (checked on Google App Engine's own site).
Is Google App Engine open source?
No, Google App Engine is not open source.
What platforms does Google App Engine run on?
Google App Engine is available for Web.
What are the best alternatives to Google App Engine?
The highest-ranked Google App Engine alternatives right now are Google Cloud Run, Heroku and Render. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.