Google Cloud (Compute Engine)

General cloud · since 2013 · USA / Mountain View, California

Solid

3.8

/ 5 ★

From~$12/mo

UptimeCompute Engine ~99.99% (multi-zone) / 99.9% single-instance SLA

1-click MT4/MT5No (self-setup)

SupportBasic free; paid support; strong docs; no MT-specific help

Trial$300 credit for 90 days for new accounts

HQUSA / Mountain View, California

Server locations

Proximity to your broker's datacenter is the single biggest factor for an EA. Equinix LD4 (London), NY4 (New York), TY3 (Tokyo) and FR2 (Frankfurt) are where most brokers host.

📍 Iowa (us-central1)📍 N. Virginia📍 Oregon📍 London📍 Belgium📍 Netherlands (europe-west4)📍 Frankfurt📍 Tokyo (asia-northeast1)📍 Singapore📍 Sydney📍 Mumbai📍 Sao Paulo

Plans

e2-small · ~$12/mo Linux + Windows license premium2 vCPU (shared), 2GB RAM

e2-medium · ~$24/mo Linux + Windows license premium2 vCPU (shared), 4GB RAM

e2-standard-2 · higher + per-vCPU Windows premium2 vCPU, 8GB RAM

Pros

✓strong global private network backbone

✓$300 free trial credit

✓reliable, scalable

✓sustained-use discounts

Cons

✗no 1-click MT4/MT5 image

✗Windows license premium can exceed compute cost on small VMs

✗complex billing

✗DIY setup

✗not latency-optimized to brokers

Breakdown by axis

The score (out of 100) is the sum of 7 axes, same yardstick for everyone. Note: latency here is claimed (from provider/reviews), not yet measured by us.

Location & latency8/26 pts

Why: General-purpose cloud, not optimized to brokers datacenters

Uptime / reliability16/18 pts

Why: 100% / 99.99% SLA

Value & specs18/18 pts

Why: Good specs/price ratio (2GB+ RAM at an accessible price)

Ease of use (MT4/MT5)16/16 pts

Why: 1-click / preinstalled MT4/MT5, Windows included

Support6/10 pts

Why: Support available

Reputation & transparency4/7 pts

Why: Reputation with no clear signals

Trial & flexibility1/5 pts

Why: No clear free trial or refund

Notes

Powerful and reliable but Windows licensing premium makes it costly for a small EA VM; DIY MetaTrader, not broker-tuned.

Sources

Check it yourself — the provider's pricing page and independent reviews we relied on.

🔗 GCP Compute Engine pricing 🔗 e2-small pricing