Google Cloud Workflows vs ONAP
Google Cloud Workflows
cloud.google.comONAP
onap.orgSide by side
| Figure | Google Cloud Workflows | ONAP |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.01/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 1 |
| Spec score · IT Orchestration Software | 8.8 (#2) | 8.4 (#9) |
| Access control | Workflows uses IAM, and connectors use built-in IAM authentication while requiring the workflow service account to have the needed permissions. | The Portal Framework provides access to design-time and runtime environments with role-based access for service designers and operations personnel. |
| Security | Workflows runs in a sandboxed environment without code or library dependencies that require security patches, and it can use Secret Manager to store and retrieve secrets. | The Paris release highlights describe HTTPS ports, removal of hard-coded passwords, non-root Kubernetes pods, CVE mitigation, and Istio and Ingress Gateway for secure component communications. |
| Use cases | Google identifies service orchestration, batch jobs, business process automation, and IT process automation as Workflows use cases. | Published blueprints include 5G, virtual CPE, broadband service, VoLTE, and cross-domain VPN use cases. |
| What it does | Google Cloud Workflows orchestrates Google Cloud services, custom Cloud Run services or functions, and HTTP APIs into serverless applications and pipelines without infrastructure management. | ONAP is an open source platform for real-time, policy-driven orchestration and automation of physical and virtual network functions, supporting service lifecycle management. |
Plans
Google Cloud Workflows
- Always FreeFree
- Always Free external stepsFree
- Always Free internal stepsFree
- Internal steps$0.01 a month
- Pay as you go$0.01 a month
- External steps$0.03 a month
In their own words
Google Cloud Workflows
Google Cloud Workflows is a managed orchestration platform for running Google Cloud services, custom services, and HTTP APIs in a chosen sequence. Workflow definitions use YAML or JSON and can combine ordered steps with conditions, loops, parallel work, and reusable subworkflows. Start an execution manually, through client libraries or REST, or on a schedule with Cloud Scheduler. Connectors link workflows to Google Cloud APIs such as Pub/Sub, Firestore, and Secret Manager, while workflow steps can also call custom or private HTTP and HTTPS endpoints. Reliability features include retries, polling, error handling, callbacks, and waits of up to one year. A single execution can run up to 100,000 steps and last no more than one year. IAM controls access; Secret Manager can store and retrieve secrets. Cloud Logging and Cloud Monitoring surface execution logs, volume, errors, and duration. Pricing is based on executed steps, including failed and retried steps, while idle workflows incur no charges. The free plan includes 5,000 internal and 2,000 external steps; paid usage starts at $0.01 per month, with rates that vary by step type and volume.
ONAP
ONAP is a free, open-source platform for designing, orchestrating, observing, and automating network and edge services. It supports lifecycle management for physical, virtual, and cloud-native network functions, with real-time, policy-driven orchestration. Design and runtime capabilities include implementation, analytics, monitoring, alarm and event correlation, and closed-loop automation for service optimization. Role-based access through the Portal Framework serves service designers and operations personnel. ONAP is modular, so users can select orchestration functions; its Operations Manager uses Kubernetes to deploy, monitor, and manage component lifecycles. Published blueprints cover 5G, virtual CPE, broadband, VoLTE, and cross-domain VPN services. A full deployment guide lists 224 GB RAM, 160 GB disk, and 112 vCores, while selected components can substantially reduce those requirements. ONAP supports deployment on Kubernetes on bare metal or environments such as OpenStack, Azure, and AWS. It runs across API, Linux, self-hosted, and web contexts. Free introductory training and a paid ONAP Fundamentals course are available.