Pricing Comparison
Querylab.io automatically compares your query costs across BigQuery pricing models, helping you choose the most cost-effective option for each query.
How It Works
When you have both on-demand and reservation pricing configured, the Price Comparison panel shows:
- On-Demand price: Cost based on data scanned
- Reservation price: Cost based on slot-hours consumed
- Savings percentage: How much you'd save by switching
- Recommendation: Which model is cheaper for this query
The Price Comparison section appears within the Insights Panel when significant savings are available.
Recommendation Indicators
| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Optimal (green) | You're using the cheapest model |
| High Savings (red) | Significant savings available |
| Medium Savings (orange) | Moderate savings available |
| Low Savings (blue) | Minor savings available |
The comparison only appears when potential savings exceed $0.50.
Before vs After Execution
- Before running (dry run): Estimates based on bytes to be processed
- After running: Actual costs from job metadata
Configuration
Settings > Pricing > Comparison Edition
Select which edition to compare against:
- Standard, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus
- Disabled (hides the comparison panel)
Your project's actual pricing model is detected automatically from BigQuery.
BigQuery Pricing Models Overview
BigQuery offers two compute pricing models:
On-Demand
Pay per TB of data scanned. Starting at $6.25/TB (US multi-region). First 1 TB/month is free.
Best for: Sporadic queries, development, workloads under ~100 TB/month.
Editions (Capacity-Based)
Pay per slot-hour consumed. Replaced legacy flat-rate and flex slots in July 2023.
| Edition | Rate | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $0.04/slot-hr | Max 1,600 slots, no BigQuery ML |
| Enterprise | $0.06/slot-hr | Unlimited slots, BigQuery ML |
| Enterprise Plus | $0.10/slot-hr | Customer-managed encryption |
All editions support autoscaling between baseline and maximum slots.
Best for: Predictable high-volume workloads, cost predictability.
Learn More
- BigQuery Pricing - Official pricing details
- Understanding Slots - How slots work
- BigQuery Editions - Edition comparison