What does it cost to scan all of it?
Per-GB scanning charges you for being thorough. Pick your data volume and how often you need to scan, and compare a flat fee against AWS Macie and Google Cloud DLP list pricing.
Inspect-Data Risk Finder
- Results in 72 hours, or faster
- 100% data coverage
- No usage-based billing
- 1000+ File Types
- Unlimited file size
- OCR Support
- Scan 60+ Data Sources
- On-prem or your VPC
Amazon AWS Macie
- Finish time unknown
- Partial coverage (sampling)
- $1 per GB scanned
- No OCR Support
- File size limits vary by type
- AWS S3 storage only
Google Cloud DLP
- Finish time unknown
- Job-based, quota-limited
- $1 - $3 per GB scanned
- Limited File Type Support
- 30MB limit on documents
- Limited to Google Cloud
The problem with paying by the gigabyte
A usage-based model prices the scan. The decision it actually shapes is how much you are willing to look at.
Sampling becomes rational
When each gigabyte carries a cost, scanning a representative slice is the responsible budget decision. The data you skipped is still there.
Rescanning gets deferred
Verifying that remediation worked means paying the full scan cost again, so it waits. Compliance drift happens in the gap.
Incidents arrive on a budget
A 72-hour notification window is the worst moment to be pricing a scan of the compromised estate.
Cost questions.
How is per-GB scanning priced?
AWS Macie and Google Cloud DLP both bill for the volume of data inspected. The rate used on this page is $1 per GB for Macie and $1 to $3 per GB for Google Cloud DLP, which are the published list rates at the time of writing. Both providers offer volume discounts and free tiers that this comparison does not model, so treat the figures as a shape rather than a quote.
Why does scan frequency change the answer so much?
Under a per-GB model you pay again every time you scan the same data, so a 10 TB estate scanned ten times costs ten times as much. Scanner pricing is a fixed monthly rate, so rescanning the same data as often as you like costs nothing extra. That is why the gap widens with frequency rather than with volume alone.
What does the flat fee actually include?
$299 per month per scanner, covering unlimited scans, 250+ classifiers and OCR, running as a container in your own environment. Larger estates and tighter deadlines need more scanners running in parallel, which is what the calculator above works out. There is no per-GB component, so the volume of data you inspect never changes the rate. Exact Data Match sits in a higher tier.
Is this a fair comparison?
It compares cost, not capability. Macie is deeply integrated with AWS and Google Cloud DLP with Google Cloud, and if you operate entirely inside one of those clouds that integration has real value this page does not price. What the comparison does show is how a usage-based model behaves when you want complete coverage rather than a sample.
Scan everything. Pay the same.
No per-GB tax, no penalty for rescanning, no reason to sample.