Google drops inter-cloud data transfer fees in Europe under EU Data Act push
Google has launched Data Transfer Essentials, removing data transfer charges for moving data between Google Cloud and competing cloud providers for customers in the EU and the UK. The move precedes the EU Data Act’s applicability on 12 September 2025 and extends Google’s earlier policy of waiving egress fees when customers exit its cloud. Google positions the offering as a practical implementation of the Act’s goals on interoperability and customer choice, and confirms the service is available at no cost.
The EU Data Act mandates the removal of contractual, commercial, organizational, and interoperability barriers to switching, and from January 2027 will prohibit data egress or switching fees. While the Act allows pass-through of costs until then, Google’s approach goes further by eliminating charges for inter-cloud transfers now. This could reduce switching frictions and strengthen multicloud architectures by lowering ongoing data mobility costs.
By contrast, Microsoft has announced “at cost” pricing for data transfers between Azure and other data processing service providers for EU-based users, and AWS indicates EU customers may request reduced rates for eligible use cases. As of now, Google stands alone among the largest providers in fully waiving inter-cloud data transfer fees in Europe and extending the benefit to the UK. Divergent implementations may influence provider choice, especially for data-intensive workloads.
For practitioners, key compliance and commercial implications include accelerated timelines for contract remediation, the need to update switching and portability clauses, and scrutiny of technical interoperability commitments. Clients should review data localization, cross-border transfer implications, and architecture costs under differing provider policies, anticipating the 2027 fee ban while leveraging Google’s no-cost transfers to pilot or expand multicloud resilience.
