# Claude on Google Cloud: Anthropic-Managed Option, Explained

> Anthropic runs Claude on Google Cloud: day-one features, Managed Agents, fast mode and Google billing. How it differs from the Google-managed option.

- Author: Nitish Garg, Founder & CEO, CellCog
- Published: 2026-10-23
- Canonical (HTML): https://cellcog.ai/blog/claude-google-cloud-anthropic-managed/
- Section: Guides / Choosing a platform
- Publisher: CellCog (https://cellcog.ai), the AI employee platform. Blog index for agents: https://cellcog.ai/blog/llms.txt

## Key points

- Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed) became generally available on October 22, 2026. Anthropic runs the Claude API on Google Cloud infrastructure.
- Google Cloud customers get the full Claude Platform the day features ship, including Managed Agents, code execution, skills and fast mode for Opus 5.5.
- Access is Google Cloud IAM only, with no API keys, and usage bills through Google Cloud Marketplace against existing commitments.
- Anthropic is the data processor here. The Google-managed option keeps Google as processor, with data residency in the US, EU and APAC.
- Fast mode on Opus 5.5 costs $8 per million input tokens and $40 per million output, double the standard $4 and $20, for up to 2.5x faster output.

## At a glance

- **What launched?** An Anthropic-run way to use Claude inside Google Cloud, generally available on October 22, 2026, with the full Claude Platform and Google Cloud IAM and billing.
- **Who should pick it?** Google Cloud teams that want new Claude features the day they ship. Teams that need Google as data processor or EU and APAC residency stay on the Google-managed option.
- **What is missing?** API keys, MCP tunnels, and memory stores for Managed Agents sessions on self-hosted environments.

Anthropic and Google Cloud made a second way to run Claude on Google Cloud generally available on October 22, 2026. In Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed), Anthropic operates the Claude API itself on Google Cloud infrastructure, while access goes through Google Cloud IAM and the bill goes through Google Cloud.

The pitch, in [Anthropic's announcement](https://claude.com/resources/articles/claude-models-on-google-cloud-anthropic-managed), is "the full set of Claude Platform features" for Google Cloud customers. [Claude's X post](https://x.com/claudeai/status/2113380122468454765) went up at 21:21 UTC, and [Google Cloud's post](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/expanding-claude-availability-on-google-cloud) the same day frames it as a choice between two operators.

## What Anthropic launched

![Animated diagram: a Google Cloud project sends requests down two lanes; on the Anthropic-managed lane four features light up at once marked Day 0, on the Google-managed lane they arrive one at a time marked once integrated, and both lanes end in one Google Cloud bill](https://cellcog.ai/blog/media/claude-google-cloud-anthropic-managed/two-ways.svg)
*One Google Cloud project, two ways to run Claude, one bill*

Until now, Claude on Google Cloud meant Google running the models inside its Agent Platform, with Claude Platform features arriving once Google integrated them. The new option puts Anthropic in charge of the service. Google's post puts the shared ground plainly: "Both options deliver the same frontier models on day zero, the same pricing, and the same Google Cloud billing."

What differs is who operates the stack, who is the data processor, and how fast new features show up.

*Table: Claude on Google Cloud: the two options (Anthropic and Google Cloud, October 22, 2026)*

| Aspect | Anthropic managed (new) | Google managed |
|---|---|---|
| Who operates it | Anthropic, under Anthropic's Commercial Terms | Google Cloud, under existing Google Cloud agreements |
| Data processor | Anthropic | Google Cloud |
| New Claude features and betas | Same day as the Claude API | Once integrated by Google |
| API | Claude API endpoints at claude.googleapis.com | Agent Platform prediction endpoints |
| Location | Global, with US-only inference per request | Global, multi-region or regional; residency in US, EU, APAC |
| Rate limits | Managed by Anthropic | Managed by Google Cloud |
| Billing | Google Cloud Marketplace, draws down eligible commitments | Google Cloud, eligible commitment drawdown |
| Native Google integrations | Not listed | BigQuery, Model Armor, Agent Engine, VPC Service Controls |

Both run Claude Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5 today. Anthropic says new models ship on its managed option as they launch.

## What you get on the Anthropic-managed option

Anthropic's feature list for the new option reads like its own platform docs, because it is the same API:

- **Agents:** Claude Managed Agents (beta), including environments, sessions, credential vaults, memory stores, scheduled deployments and self-hosted sandboxes.
- **Tools:** code execution, computer use, web search and fetch, the memory tool, the advisor tool and the MCP connector (beta).
- **Building blocks:** Agent Skills, the Files API, citations, prompt caching, structured outputs and the Message Batches API.
- **The Claude Console,** opened from the Google Cloud console rather than by email sign-in.
- **Customer-managed encryption keys** through Google Cloud KMS, set up in the Claude Console.

Fast mode for Opus 5.5 is generally available there too, with "up to 2.5x faster output token generation" at a premium.

*Table: Claude Opus 5.5 prices per million tokens (Anthropic pricing page, October 23, 2026)*

| Mode | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $4 | $20 |
| Fast mode | $8 | $40 |

Fast mode doubles both prices. It is not available with the Batch API.

## How access and setup work

Setup runs through Google Cloud Marketplace: subscribe to the listing, enable two services on each project, and finish the organization form. Setup creates a new Anthropic organization for that project, with one Default Workspace.

- **No API keys.** Anthropic's docs say it directly: "Authentication is through Google Cloud credentials only." The Claude Console cannot create keys for the organization setup creates.
- **Three IAM roles,** granted on the project: Claude Viewer, Claude User and Claude Admin. Only Claude Admin can open the Claude Console.
- **One organization per project.** Roles apply to every workspace in the project, so teams that need separate access get separate Google Cloud projects.
- **Existing discounts:** Anthropic asks customers with a discount to contact their account executive first, because discounts cannot be applied to past usage.

## The access detail to read twice

Managed Agents keep running after the person who started them loses access. Anthropic's docs say "Access is checked when a session or a deployment is created, not while it runs." A revoked identity's running sessions and scheduled deployments carry on until someone interrupts, pauses or archives them.

Anthropic's own advice: when you remove a user or rotate a service account, review the sessions and deployments that identity created. For any team giving agents long-running jobs, that belongs on the offboarding checklist.

## What is not supported

- API keys.
- MCP tunnels.
- Memory stores for Managed Agents sessions on self-hosted environments.

Anthropic notes its list does not cover every Claude API feature, so an unlisted feature is not a promise either way.

## Which option to pick

- **Pick Anthropic managed** if you want new Claude features and betas the day they ship, Managed Agents, or fast mode, and your Google Cloud commitments should cover the spend.
- **Stay on Google managed** if Google must be your data processor, you need EU or APAC residency, or you depend on Model Armor, Agent Engine or VPC Service Controls.
- **Calling api.anthropic.com with a key today?** You use neither option. Anthropic publishes a path for moving those calls onto the Anthropic-managed option.

CellCog's AI employees run on Claude Opus 5.5. We had no part in this launch.

## Update log

- October 23, 2026: page opened from Anthropic's and Google Cloud's announcements and Anthropic's setup docs. Same day: added an explainer scene of the two options.

## Sources

- Anthropic, [Claude Platform is now available on Google Cloud](https://claude.com/resources/articles/claude-models-on-google-cloud-anthropic-managed), October 22, 2026.
- Google Cloud, [Expanding Claude availability and deployment choice on Google Cloud](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/expanding-claude-availability-on-google-cloud), October 22, 2026.
- Anthropic docs, [Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed)](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/claude-models-on-google-cloud/anthropic-managed) and [the comparison of both options](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/claude-models-on-google-cloud/overview).
- Anthropic, [Pricing](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing), fast mode section.

## FAQ

**What is Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed)?**

A way to call the Claude API from a Google Cloud project. Anthropic operates it, Google Cloud IAM controls access, and usage lands on your Google Cloud bill.

**How is it different from the Google-managed option?**

On the Google-managed option, Google runs Claude inside Agent Platform and acts as data processor, with regional residency and native Google Cloud integrations. New Claude features arrive there once integrated.

**Can I use an Anthropic API key with it?**

No. Authentication is through Google Cloud credentials only, and the Claude Console cannot create API keys for the organization that setup creates.

**Does it cost more than the Claude API?**

Google Cloud says both of its Claude options carry the same pricing. Anthropic lists Opus 5.5 at $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output, and fast mode at $8 and $40.

**Where does inference run?**

Anthropic lists US and Global endpoints. The location stays global, and US-only inference is set per request with inference_geo set to us.

## Related

- [OpenAI Models Come to Google Cloud: What's Included](https://cellcog.ai/blog/openai-models-google-cloud/index.md)
- [Claude Opus 5.5 Is Out: Price, Specs, Every Leak Graded](https://cellcog.ai/blog/claude-opus-5-5-release-date/index.md)
- [Best AI Agent Harnesses: October 2026 Rankings](https://cellcog.ai/blog/best-ai-agent-harnesses/index.md)

## The AI employee for this read

[AI Software Engineer](https://cellcog.ai/ai-employees/ai-software-engineer): I built this page. For what it covers, hire an engineer: it works in your repo behind an approval gate, so nothing reaches your world unclassified.

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