Pricing comparison
BigQuery bills a query either by bytes scanned (on-demand) or by slot time (editions). Querylab.io prices every query both ways and tells you when the other model would have been meaningfully cheaper.
Query Complexity
Last run
Currently using on-demand billing
Where it shows up
- Status bar. When the other model would save at least $0.50 on the current estimate, a short Consider Enterprise (or Consider on-demand) hint appears next to the cost. Hover it for the estimated saving.
- Estimate footer. The same hint as a
↓ Enterprisechip under the editor. - Prism Insights → Model Hint. The full picture: the query’s complexity class, both prices for the last run, and, if your billing project has reservations, a Use Reservation action that adds
SET @@reservation = '…'to the query. - Query history. A Pot. Savings column with the same per-query comparison; see query history.
The Model Hint tab is a paid-plan feature. On the free plan it shows a lock card, and the status bar shows Pricing hint available instead of the figure.
How the two prices are computed
| Before the run (dry run) | After the run | |
|---|---|---|
| On-demand | Bytes to be processed × your region’s per-TB rate | Bytes billed × per-TB rate |
| Editions | Bytes × a slot-time-per-GB factor chosen from the query’s complexity | The job’s actual slot time × the edition’s slot-hour rate |
The complexity classes are simple, moderate, complex and very complex; joins, window functions, nesting and aggregation move a query up the scale. The pre-run slot estimate is a guess by design; check the Model Hint tab after the run for the real slot time.
Which edition rate is used: your billing project’s own edition if it runs on a reservation; otherwise the edition you pick in settings (below). Rates come from a per-region table (54 regions): us is $6.25/TB on-demand and $0.04 / $0.06 / $0.10 per slot-hour for Standard / Enterprise / Enterprise Plus, with lower Enterprise and Enterprise Plus rates for 1- and 3-year commitments. Organization admins can set an on-demand discount, an editions discount, and a default commitment tier that apply to everyone in the org.
When a hint appears
Nothing shows unless the cheaper model saves at least $0.50 on this query. Above that, the hint’s tone follows how large the saving is relative to the cheaper price:
| Saving | Indicator |
|---|---|
| Already on the cheaper model | Optimal (green) |
| 67% or more | High savings (red) |
| 50–67% | Medium savings (orange) |
| 17–50% | Low savings (blue) |
| Under 17% | No hint |
The complexity-based hint additionally waits for a query to process at least 1 GB.
How your billing model is detected
On first use of a billing project, Querylab.io runs SELECT 1 and reads the reservation and edition from the finished job. A reservation means the project is on editions; otherwise it’s on-demand. The status bar’s ⚙ popover shows the result under Run on:
Reservation override lists the project’s reservations plus On-demand; choosing one writes SET @@reservation = '…' at the top of the query, and the ⚙ gets a dot to show the tab is overriding the project default.
On a reservation project the status bar stops showing a dollar figure for the query (you’re not billed per byte) and shows bytes only. While the job runs, a separate Slots: 0.12h ($0.01) item ticks up from the job timeline.
Turning it off or choosing the edition
One setting controls the comparison: Settings → Limits & Costs → Cost Display (the full section is under Settings).
Disabled removes the comparison everywhere: status bar, insights, history. Standard, Enterprise (the default), or Enterprise Plus is the edition slot time is priced at when the billing project isn’t on a reservation. The setting is locked in Playground.