Explanation
Why the waste happens and who it affects.
This redundancy results in paying twice (or more) for identical data. It often arises from decentralized logging configurations, inherited policies, or unclear ownership between teams. The problem is compounded when logs are routed both to Cloud Logging and external observability platforms, creating parallel ingestion streams and double billing.
Billing model
The pricing dimensions that drive this cost.
Cloud Logging charges a one-time storage fee per GiB of log data streamed into each log bucket (this includes 30 days of retention), plus a per-GiB-month retention charge for logs kept longer than 30 days. Routing logs through sinks is not charged, and logs in the _Required bucket are free. When sinks with overlapping filters send the same entries to more than one log bucket, each copy is billed, and copies routed to Cloud Storage, BigQuery, Pub/Sub or an external platform are billed by that destination. These costs scale linearly with the number of redundant destinations.
How to detect
4 checks to find it in your estate.
- Analyze log sink filters across projects, folders, and the organization to identify overlapping export scopes
- Review log destinations to confirm whether the same log types are stored in multiple buckets or BigQuery datasets
- Assess whether central and project-level teams maintain independent sinks that duplicate the same data
- Determine if redundant routing exists between Cloud Logging and external observability or SIEM platforms
How to fix
4 ways to remove the waste.
- Consolidate log routing and ensure filters define mutually exclusive export scopes
- Remove or disable redundant sinks that replicate the same logs to multiple destinations
- Implement centralized governance for sink management to avoid overlapping configurations across projects
- Periodically audit all sinks at the organization level to ensure routing remains efficient and non-duplicative
Documentation
Vendor references for pricing and configuration.