Pick it if your company already runs on Google Cloud and wants Gemini, Claude and custom training under one account. Skip it if you need the Pro-tier Gemini under Google's security controls today, because Google says those controls do not cover preview models. Google's uptime objective for Gemini requests is 99.5%.
Google Vertex AI, sold since April 2026 as Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, is Google Cloud's managed AI platform, and Google says its Model Garden holds more than 200 models. It serves Gemini, Claude and open models through one API, trains custom models on GPUs and TPUs, and hosts long-running agents.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do you pay for Google Vertex AI?
The bill is usage: tokens for models, node-hours for training and serving, vCPU-hours for agents. A support chatbot that sends 2,000 input and 300 output tokens per reply to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs about $13.50 per 10,000 replies at the listed global rates. Google's 1 year and 3 year Flexible Savings Plans cut the published hourly rates for training and agents by 10% and 20%.
What do you get on Google Vertex AI's free tier?
New Google Cloud customers get up to $300 in free credits, according to Google's product page. Beyond the trial, the free allowances are small: 5,000 grounded search queries a month across Gemini 3 models, plus the first 50 vCPU-hours of agent compute each month per account. The pricing page lists no free monthly token allowance for Gemini models.
What are Google Vertex AI's closest competitors?
Claude in Amazon Bedrock is the nearest match when your data already sits in AWS, and it lists the current Sonnet and Opus models at the same global rates. Anthropic's own API suits teams that need only Claude and want no cloud contract in between.
How does Google Vertex AI compare to Claude in Amazon Bedrock in 2026?
For the current Sonnet and Opus models the two list identical global token rates, so cost does not decide it. Vertex adds first-party Gemini and your own GPU and TPU training, while Anthropic's documentation says Bedrock's Claude endpoint runs on AWS-operated infrastructure that Anthropic staff cannot access. Pick Vertex when Gemini or custom training is in the plan, and Bedrock when AWS must be the only data processor.
What does it take to start using Google Vertex AI?
Sign in to Google Cloud, start the free trial if you are new, and open Agent Platform at console.cloud.google.com/agent-platform/overview. Pick a region first, because machine learning resources are tied to one location and API calls go to a regional host such as us-central1-aiplatform.googleapis.com. Google requires training data and program files to sit in Cloud Storage, and it warns that a large cluster on a first job is likely to exceed your quota, so start small.
Top Alternatives
- Claude in Amazon Bedrock: Pick Vertex if Gemini or custom GPU training is in the plan; pick Bedrock if AWS must be the only data processor.
- Anthropic: Pick Anthropic's own API if Claude is the only model you need; pick Vertex if you also want Gemini and one Google Cloud bill.