While many teams leverage Tailpipe for analyzing cloud access patterns and strengthening security posture, you can also harness its capabilities to examine your GCP cost and usage data in detail. The most recent release of the [GCP plugin](https://hub.tailpipe.io/plugins/turbot/gcp) for Tailpipe incorporates tables that enable cost and usage analysis using your [BigQuery billing export data](https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/how-to/export-data-bigquery). Combined with the new [GCP Cloud Billing Insights Mod](https://hub.powerpipe.io/mods/turbot/tailpipe-mod-gcp-cloud-billing-insights), you gain the ability to create visual representations of your spending patterns in [Powerpipe](https://powerpipe.io). ## Configure and collect logs Using the [GCP plugin](https://hub.tailpipe.io/plugins/turbot/gcp), set up a [partition](https://tailpipe.io/docs/reference/config-files/partition) to handle your cost and usage information: ```hcl connection "gcp" "billing_account" { project = "my-gcp-project" } partition "gcp_billing_report" "my_billing" { source "gcp_storage_bucket" { connection = connection.gcp.billing_account bucket = "gcp-billing-export-bucket" } } ``` Once this partition is in place, proceed to gather your logs. ```shell tailpipe gcp_billing_report ``` ## Query your spending data After collecting the logs, you can execute queries to analyze your spending patterns. As an example, here's how to view total monthly costs. ```sql select DATE_TRUNC('month', usage_start_time) as month, round(SUM(cost),2) AS total_cost, currency from gcp_billing_report where cost IS NOT NULL group by DATE_TRUNC('month', usage_start_time), currency order by month DESC limit 12 ``` ```shell +---------------------+------------+----------+ | month | total_cost | currency | +---------------------+------------+----------+ | 2025-04-01 00:00:00 | 14,457.98 | USD | | 2025-03-01 00:00:00 | 17,286.9 | USD | | 2025-02-01 00:00:00 | 15,093.38 | USD | | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 | 15,277.61 | USD | | 2024-12-01 00:00:00 | 14,908.98 | USD | | 2024-11-01 00:00:00 | 14,542.62 | USD | | 2024-10-01 00:00:00 | 16,095.58 | USD | | 2024-09-01 00:00:00 | 15,784.81 | USD | | 2024-08-01 00:00:00 | 3,677.85 | USD | +---------------------+------------+----------+ ``` Looking to identify your highest spending services? ```sql select service_description, round(sum(cost),2) as total_cost, currency from gcp_billing_report group by service_description, currency order by total_cost desc limit 10; ``` ```shell +------------------------------------+------------+----------+ | service_description | total_cost | currency | +------------------------------------+------------+----------+ | Compute Engine | 75,466.94 | USD | | Artifact Registry | 12,762.09 | USD | | Cloud SQL | 12,681.29 | USD | | Cloud Key Management Service (KMS) | 8,592.78 | USD | | Cloud Filestore | 4,699.71 | USD | | Cloud Logging | 4,041.34 | USD | | Networking | 3,932.78 | USD | | Kubernetes Engine | 2,410.64 | USD | | Cloud Storage | 920.84 | USD | | Binary Authorization | 283.09 | USD | +------------------------------------+------------+----------+ ``` ## Visualize in Powerpipe While Tailpipe queries provide rapid insights into specific cost questions, deeper analysis of spending trends and patterns benefits from visualization. The [GCP Cloud Billing Insights Mod](https://hub.powerpipe.io/mods/turbot/tailpipe-mod-gcp-cloud-billing-insights) offers dashboards designed for this analysis.

### Cloud Billing Report Overview The [Overview](https://hub.powerpipe.io/mods/turbot/tailpipe-mod-gcp-cloud-billing-insights/dashboards/dashboard.cloud_billing_report_overview_dashboard) dashboard delivers a comprehensive view of your spending and usage patterns. You'll find total cost summaries with both monthly and daily trends, plus detailed breakdowns across accounts and regions.

GCP Cloud Billing Report: Overview dashboard in Powerpipe

### Cost by Service For service-specific cost analysis, the [Cost by Service](https://hub.powerpipe.io/mods/turbot/tailpipe-mod-gcp-cloud-billing-insights/dashboards/dashboard.cloud_billing_report_cost_by_service_dashboard) dashboard breaks down expenses by individual GCP services. This view helps pinpoint your most costly services while providing granular cost details for each one.

GCP Cloud Billing Report: Cost by Service dashboard in Powerpipe

### Cost by Label Labels provide essential organization and management capabilities for your GCP resources and projects. The [Cost by Label](https://hub.powerpipe.io/mods/turbot/tailpipe-mod-gcp-cost-usage-report-insights/dashboards/dashboard.cost_by_label_dashboard) dashboard displays total spending associated with specific project, resource, or system labels, breaking down costs by label values. This view also highlights the ten label values that drive the highest GCP expenses across your organization.

GCP Cloud Billing Report: Cost by Label dashboard in Powerpipe

## See it in action

## Start exploring your GCP cost and usage data The [Tailpipe GCP Billing Report table](https://hub.tailpipe.io/plugins/turbot/gcp/tables/gcp_billing_report) and the [Powerpipe GCP Cloud Billing Insights Mod](https://hub.powerpipe.io/mods/turbot/tailpipe-mod-gcp-cloud-billing-insights) are ready for use today. We'd love to hear your feedback in our community!

Analyze GCP billing data with Tailpipe