Spend-based CUDs program improvements

Starting January 21, 2026, we improve and expand the spend-based committed-use discounts (CUD) program. These changes provide the following benefits:

  • Simplified billing: Google Cloud uses discounted prices to represent savings from spend-based CUDs, making it easier for you to calculate the total cost of your CUDs and savings. This moves away from the legacy concept of offering credits to offset costs.
  • Greater flexibility: Expands the scope for some spend-based CUDs. As a result, a larger portion of your usage might be eligible for discounts. These changes don't increase your total costs.

The changes include:

  • Added consumption models: A better way to understand and track your cloud spending, especially concerning promotional offers and discounts. For more information, see consumption models.
  • Expanded product coverage for CUDs. For more information, see affected CUDs.
  • Simplified CUD fee SKUs: New CUD fee SKUs replace existing CUD fee SKUs. The price for these new SKUs is $1. For more information, see Simplified CUD fee SKUs.
  • Billing user interface improvements: The Billing section of the Google Cloud console changes to better enable accurate cost management and optimization experiences for CUDs. For more information, see Billing user interface improvements.
  • Updates to the CUD purchasing experience: Your hourly commitment amount is now the discounted price instead of the on-demand price. For more information, see CUD purchasing experience
  • Updated the Marketplace Procurement API: The Marketplace Procurement API is updated to enable purchasing of CUDs in this new model. For more information, see Updated the Marketplace Procurement API.
  • Expanded Billing data export: The Billing export data columns change to reflect the new pricing metadata and monetization of spend-based CUDs. For more information, see BigQuery sample data export.
  • Easier tracking for consumption model prices: A new metadata field, consumption model, represents the price of usage for a given SKU. Discounted prices at the appropriate consumption model represent the savings from spend-based CUDs. This model replaces the use of credits that offset your list price usage rates. For more information, see Easier tracking for consumption model prices.
  • New CUD metadata export to BigQuery. For more information, see CUD metadata export.

Opt in early starting July 15, 2025

Starting July 15, 2025, you can opt in early to these improvements by using the Billing section of the Google Cloud console. Doing so begins the account migration process.

Action required

We recommend that you review the changes to determine if your usage scenario requires you to take action. In addition, take the following steps to prepare:

Customers who opt in early will be unable to purchase new spend-based CUDs for a few hours during their account migration. Google Cloud displays a warning about this outage in the Billing section of the Google Cloud console.

For customers who don't opt in early, the same outage occurs when they are automatically migrated to the new model in January 2026.

Effective dates

The changes take effect on the following dates, depending on which scenario applies to you.

Customers with active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list since July 15, 2024

  • For Billing Accounts with any active spend-based CUDs in this list on or after July 15, 2024, the new model applies on January 21, 2026 at midnight US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8). You can opt in earlier, starting July 15, 2025. In that case, the new model applies when you click opt-in. Learn more about how to opt in.

New customers

  • If you create a Billing Account on or after July 15, 2025, the new billing model applies to you for spend-based CUDs affected CUDs list.

Customers without active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list since July 15, 2024

  • For Billing Accounts with no active spend-based CUDs in this list since July 15, 2024, the new model applies on July 15, 2025, at midnight US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8).

Resellers and customers with billing account hierarchies can find more details in the Determine when other spend-based CUDs change section.

Resources to help adopt these improvements

To help you get ready for the changes, we provide these resources:

Affected CUDs

The following spend-based CUDs are affected by this change.

Unaffected CUDs

The following CUDs won't be affected by this change:

  • Backup for GKE
  • Backup and DR (for VMware Engine)
  • All VMware Engine CUDs
  • NetApp Volumes
  • All resource-based CUDs

As new CUDs launch, check this section to understand their eligibility for these changes.

CUD purchase flow changes

The user interface that you use to purchase CUDs today changes. This change doesn't impact CUDs that you already purchased. The system converts existing CUDs to the new model seamlessly.

New SKUs added

After you opt in to the new model, SKUs for the following products are added to the scope of your Compute flexible CUDs, for example:

New CUD fee SKUs

The existing CUD fee SKUs are replaced with new SKUs. These SKUs are priced at $1/hr unlike the existing SKUs which are priced at a lower rate to indicate the CUD benefit. The CUD benefit is now reflected using the Consumption Model prices described in New consumption model metadata. This doesn't affect your costs.

New Offer IDs and Consumption model IDs are shared for all in-scope CUDs. You can use the following details to help you map your queries and dashboards.

For more information about new CUD SKUs, see New SKUs added to CUDs.

Unchanged features

Your applicable discount rate for SKUs already eligible for spend-based CUDs remains the same. Your total costs won't increase if your usage behavior remains the same. However, your bill might decrease if you aren't fully utilizing your commitments but are using any of the newly added SKUs. Your contractual discounts are honored for the duration of your contract. Certain spend-based CUDs are not affected by this change. Also, resource-based CUDs are not affected by this change.

In addition, these changes don't affect previous bills. This change in how spend-based CUDs are billed only affects future bills.

Learn about consumption models

In Cloud Billing, a consumption model represents the price you pay for a certain amount of SKU usage within a certain context. A SKU can have several consumption models, but only one applies to any given amount of usage at a particular time. Each SKU has at least one consumption model, whose description is Default.

Consumption models often represent various kinds of discounted SKU usage, such as committed use discounts (CUDs). For example, if a one year Flex CUD covers a particular VM usage, then the consumption model that applies to that SKU usage has the description Compute Flexible CUD - 1 Year.

For spend-based CUDs, consumption models replace the legacy system of using credits to offset usage costs calculated at list price. The new model also changes how commitments are purchased:

Previous Model Current Model
Commitments were purchased based on equivalent on-demand spend. Commitments are now purchased based on equivalent CUD discounted spend.
This represented the list price of the usage your commitment would cover. This represents the actual discounted cost of the usage you commit to pay each hour.

To support consumption models, several fields have been added or updated in the Cloud Billing data model. For more information, see New consumption model metadata.

Billing user interface improvements

In the Google Cloud console, the Cloud Billing user interface has the following updates to support the new CUDs program:

  • Cost breakdown report: The Cost breakdown chart now visually represents the net impact of your spend-based CUDs discount, showing savings in green or any underutilized commitment waste in orange.
  • Savings filter: In Reports and the Cost table report, the Credits filter is now named Savings and has been restructured with clearer subcategories for easier analysis. The Cost table report incorporates additional columns reflecting these distinct savings categories.
  • Improved CUD analysis tool: A new and improved analysis page for CUDs is available, offering more powerful filtering, data aggregation, and utilization tracking.
  • CUD Analysis: For the new spend-based CUD model the analysis tool now provides insights into utilization patterns visualized as equivalent on-demand spend (for savings and usage analysis). The new tool offers new filters by multiple dimensions and aggregate machine commitments. It also has a new graph to track utilization percentages over time.
  • CUD dashboard display names: All spend-based CUDs now follow a consistent [Product] CUD naming pattern in the dashboard for better clarity.
  • Budgets: Budgets track your net cost after savings are applied. You must review your existing budget alert thresholds, as your tracked costs might be lower, depending on the filters that you have configured. The total costs tracked by these budgets can decrease as the uncredited costs now include savings when the new model applies.
  • Pricing table: The pricing table has new fields to support consumption models.
  • CUD metadata exports to BigQuery: Added new billing data exports for pricing and CUD metadata to BigQuery.

View the savings

On the Billing account Overview page, the Savings calculation includes all eligible discounts and credits. The View details link now takes you to the Cost breakdown report, shown as #1 in the following image.

Example of the billing account overview page

View the savings filter

In Reports, the Credits filter is now named Savings, and the subcategories have been restructured as Savings programs and Other savings for easier analysis. The filters let you see your costs before and after various discounts are applied. By toggling these options, you can analyze how much money you are saving with each type of discount, shown as #2 in the following image.

Example of the savings filter in cost Reports

In Reports, the savings filter displays only the specific credit types that you incurred in your Google Cloud costs. If a particular type of credit doesn't apply to your Cloud Billing account, you won't see that credit option in the list.

The Savings programs subcategory includes the Committed Use Discount (CUD) options:

  • Spend-based CUD discounts: Discounts earned with the new pricing model, showing you the cost savings you have from your commitments.
  • Legacy spend-based CUD credits: Spend-based committed use discounts (CUDs) credits for SKUs that are not part of the new pricing model, or for CUDs credits earned before the new pricing model went into effect.
  • Resource-based CUD credits: Credits on Compute Engine resource costs when you commit to using eligible resources during a specified term.

The Other savings subcategory includes Free tier credits, Promotional credits, and other discounts and credits such as the following:

  • Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs): Discounts automatically earned when you run eligible Compute Engine resources throughout the billing month.
  • Spending-based discounts: Discounts applied after a contractual spending threshold is reached, typically earning progressively larger discounts based on your total spend over a defined period.
  • Subscription credits These credits are typically applied to Base + Overage subscriptions, also known as Non-Unified Commitment Service (Non-UCS) subscriptions.

See Cloud Billing Reports to learn more about savings.

New columns and filters in the Cost table report

In the Cost table report, new columns and filters show you how the consumption model affects your costs and let you filter the savings data for more flexibility, shown as #3 and #4 respectively in the following image.

Screenshot of the savings filter

Use labels and group data in the Cost table report

In the Cost table report, you can use the Table configuration settings to organize, aggregate, and add business context to your tabular view of your costs for a given invoice or statement. These settings let you select a label to categorize your data, use labels as a grouping dimension, and select a grouping option, shown as #5 in the following image.

Screenshot of the table configuration settings in the cost table report.

The table configuration dialog has the following options:

  • Label data: This lets you select one of your custom label keys. It adds a new column to the table, showing the specific label value for each cost item. This is the best way to overlay your own business context (like teams, environments, or cost centers) onto your report.

  • Group by: The grouping options control how the rows in the table are aggregated and nested. You can view a flat list, or you can create a hierarchical, nested view of your costs. The Group by options include:

    • No grouping: Shows each cost item as a separate, individual row.
    • Project > Service > SKU > Consumption model: Creates a nested hierarchy starting with the project at the highest level, allowing you to see costs roll up from the most granular level (the consumption model) to the highest level.
    • Service > SKU > Consumption model: Creates a nested hierarchy starting with the service at the highest level.
    • Custom grouping: Select grouping dimensions to break out totals of the different types of savings/credits that apply.

Learn more about the Cost table report.

Analyze your savings with the Cost Breakdown report

For the report date range, the Cost breakdown report shows your base usage cost and how that cost is affected by any credits, adjustments, and taxes, to arrive at your total cost. The waterfall chart displays charges in orange, savings in green, and subtotals and totals in blue. For services covered by the new spend-based CUDs, the Spend-based CUD discounts bar shows the net impact of your spend-based commitments, shown as #6 in the following image.

Screenshot of the cost breakdown report.

The Cost breakdown report includes a savings bar for each applicable type of credit. If a particular type of credit doesn't apply to your Cloud Billing account, you won't see that savings type in the chart. In the example image, the Cost breakdown chart and table are showing the following items:

  • Usage cost: This is the starting point—the gross cost of all services you used during the time period, before any discounts or credits are applied.
  • Negotiated savings: This green bar represents a credit for any special pricing or custom discounts negotiated in your contract.
  • Spend-based CUD discounts: This shows the net impact of your spend-based commitments. It appears as a green credit bar representing your savings, but can appear as an orange charge bar in the rare case of underutilized commitments (waste).
  • Sustained use discounts (SUDs): This credit represents the automatic savings you receive for running eligible resources for a significant portion of the month, with no commitment required.
  • Spending-based discounts: This credit is for any automatic volume-based discounts you receive for high usage of certain services.
  • Subtotal / Total: The final blue bars show your subtotal after all credits are applied, and the final total represents the net costs after taxes are added.

Learn more about the Cost breakdown report.

Reviewing your budgets after cost-saving updates

With recent updates to how spend-based CUDs cost savings are calculated, the total costs tracked by your budgets might now be lower. Commitment savings are more consistently included in the budget's calculation, giving you a more accurate view of your actual net spend.

Due to this change, you should ask the following questions:

  • Should I lower my budget alert thresholds to avoid missing important spending changes?
  • Which of my existing budgets are affected and need review?
  • How can I create a new budget that accurately reflects my net costs?

We recommend that you visit your budgets dashboard to review any existing budgets. Since they now track a lower total cost that includes commitment savings, your original alert thresholds might be too high and might not trigger when expected. Adjusting your thresholds downward ensures you continue to receive timely spending alerts based on your actual costs.

When creating or reviewing a budget, the Savings scope is the key section to understand, shown as #7 in the following image.

  • This section controls which credits and discounts are subtracted from your gross costs to determine the final "total cost" that your budget tracks.
  • Because your budget tracks the cost after these savings are applied, the tracked amount is your net cost. This is why your total tracked cost might be lower than it was previously, requiring you to review and potentially lower your alert thresholds to match this more accurate, post-savings number.

Learn more about managing budgets.

Screenshot of the savings options in the budget scope.

New CUD display names

To simplify how commitments are displayed, all spend-based CUDs use a consistent naming convention. This change, noted in the migration banner at the top of the page, helps you more easily identify which product a specific commitment applies to directly from the list view.

Your existing CUDs will migrate to the new consumption model and will be tagged if they have migrated, shown as #8 in the following image.

Screenshot of the new CUD display names.

The display names for all CUD offerings in the new spend-based model use the following naming pattern:

  • Naming Pattern: [Product] CUD - The name of the product is listed first, followed by "CUD".
  • Examples shown in the screenshot:
    • AlloyDB for PostgreSQL CUD
    • Cloud Run CUD
    • Compute Flexible CUD
    • Kubernetes Engine CUD

Pricing table fields for consumption models

The Pricing page provides a comprehensive list of all available SKUs and their associated prices for your account. There are new fields in this view, for example Consumption model description, shown as #9 in the following image.

Screenshot of the pricing view for a project with negotiated pricing.

By using the column chooser on the right side of the table, you have granular control over your pricing report. This allows you to create a view tailored to your specific needs, whether that's a high-level overview focusing on product names or a detailed deep-dive that includes specific IDs and taxonomy.

You can choose the data points to show, for example:

  • Identifiers: SKU ID for technical analysis.
  • Descriptions: SKU description and Consumption model description for better readability.
  • Classification: Product taxonomy to understand how a SKU is categorized within the Google Cloud ecosystem.
  • Pricing Details: Price reason to understand why a certain price is being applied (e.g., DEFAULT_PRICE).

Pricing and CUD metadata exports to BigQuery

For customizable analysis of your pricing and savings, enable Billing data exports to BigQuery:

  • Pricing (updated): This export contains all of your account's SKUs and their prices. You can join this data with the detailed usage export to perform custom pricing calculations or analysis. Learn more
  • Committed Use Discounts Export (new): This export provides all the metadata related to your spend-based CUDs. It allows you to analyze your commitment portfolio, track utilization over time, and identify opportunities for optimization beyond what is available in the standard console reports. Learn more

In addition, there are new fields added to the Pricing data export. For more information, see .

New consumption model metadata

For each SKU, a new metadata field, Consumption Model, represents the price of usage for that SKU. This price applies when the system monetizes usage for that SKU under this particular consumption model. For example, if a 1-Year Flex CUD covers VM usage, then the consumption model of the usage has a value of 1 Year Flex CUD.

For more information, see Offers and consumption model IDs.

CUD savings report changes

The change in the billing model doesn't increase your total costs. Your contractual discounts are honored for the duration of your contract. Your total costs won't increase. However, you'll notice changes in the way that Google Cloud represents your CUD savings. You'll also notice changes in the data structure in the BigQuery export and the presentation of information in the Billing section of the Google Cloud console. The goal of the change is to simplify billing, make CUDs easier to understand, and expand their scope over time.

Additionally, the cost of your commitments won't change. However, you will notice that your total commitment amount changes from commitment amount in on-demand spend to commitment amount in CUD discounted spend and equals your hourly commitment costs at the time of conversion.

Determine when other spend-based CUDs change

Timelines for other spend-based CUDs to move to this new model are unavailable.

When changes take effect for resellers

  • Resellers that don't have active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list on or after July 15, 2024: For reseller parent billing accounts that have no active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list since July 15, 2024, the new model applies on July 15, 2025, at 12 AM US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8). This applies to all billing accounts in the hierarchy.
  • Resellers with active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list since July 15, 2024: For reseller parent billing accounts with any active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list since July 15, 2024, the new model applies on January 21, 2026, at 12 AM US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8). Resellers can opt in their parent billing account earlier, starting July 15, 2025. In that case, the new model applies when you click opt-in to all billing accounts in the hierarchy that don't have spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list since July 15, 2024. For the remaining billing accounts, billing account administrators can then opt in their billing accounts. Learn more about how to opt in.

When changes take effect for direct customers with a two-tier billing account hierarchy

  • Customers that don't have active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list on or after July 15, 2024: For billing account hierarchies with no active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list since July 15, 2024, the new model applies on July 15, 2025, at 12 AM US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8) to all billing accounts in the hierarchy.
  • Customers with active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list since July 15, 2024: For billing account hierarchies with any active spend-based CUDs in the affected CUDs list on or after July 15, 2024, the new model applies on January 21, 2026, at 12 AM US and Canadian Pacific Time (UTC-8). You can opt in your entire hierarchy (at the parent billing account) earlier, starting July 15, 2025. In that case, the new model applies when you click opt-in to all billing accounts in the hierarchy. Learn more about how to opt in.

Cloud Commerce Consumer Procurement API changes

The Cloud Commerce Consumer Procurement API enables programmatic purchases of spend-based CUDs with Marketplace offers. This API changes:

  • The offer name for existing spend-based CUDs changes.
  • The commitment amount for CUDs you purchase changes. Refer to CUD purchase flow changes for more details.

You must update any code that automates purchases of spend-based CUDs. Use the updated offer name and commitment amounts after you transition to the new billing model.