Message Queue Cost Comparison
Compare the same async workload across Amazon SQS, Cloudflare Queues and Google Cloud Tasks. Scenario A (side project, 1M msgs): SQS $0.80, CF $0.80, Tasks $0.40. Scenario B (prod, 30M msgs): SQS $35.60 (FIFO $44.50), CF $35.60, Tasks $23.60. Unit prices rhyme at $0.40/M but units differ — requests vs ops per message vs create+delivery. Estimates only; provider pages prevail.
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| Provider | Billable units | After free / included | Total / mo | Math |
|---|
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Scenario A (1M msgs/mo): SQS Standard 3M req − 1M free → $0.80; Cloudflare Queues 3M ops − 1M → $0.80; Cloud Tasks 2M ops − 1M → $0.40. Scenario B (30M msgs/mo): SQS Standard $35.60 (FIFO $44.50); Cloudflare Queues $35.60; Cloud Tasks 60M − 1M → $23.60. Unit prices rhyme at $0.40/M, but what counts as a unit differs: SQS = every API request (64 KB chunks; empty long-poll receives count), CF Queues = 3 ops per message (64 KB), Cloud Tasks = create + each delivery attempt (32 KB chunks). Apples for async-queue $, not feature parity (FIFO ordering, exactly-once, HTTP push, Workers binding). Handler compute is billed separately — see serverless compute.
Estimates only. Official list prices as of 2026-11-03 (Asia/Shanghai); provider pages prevail. Sources: Amazon SQS · Cloudflare Queues · Cloud Tasks
Amazon SQS Cost Calculator · Cloudflare Queues Cost Calculator · Google Cloud Tasks Cost Calculator · Redis / Cache Cost Comparison · Serverless Postgres Cost Comparison · Serverless Compute Cost Comparison · Object Storage Cost Comparison · CDN Bandwidth Cost Comparison
More in this group
- Amazon SQS Cost Calculator Amazon SQS Standard / FIFO requests → monthly $.
- Cloudflare Queues Cost Calculator Cloudflare Queues operations → monthly $.
- Google Cloud Tasks Cost Calculator Cloud Tasks create + delivery ops → monthly $.
- Redis / Cache Cost Comparison Upstash vs ElastiCache vs Cloudflare KV monthly $.
- Serverless Postgres Cost Comparison Neon vs Supabase vs PlanetScale Postgres monthly $.
- Serverless Compute Cost Comparison Workers vs Lambda vs Vercel Fluid monthly compute $.
- Object Storage Cost Comparison R2 vs S3 vs B2 storage + egress monthly bill.
- CDN Bandwidth Cost Comparison Bunny vs Cloudflare vs CloudFront vs Fastly monthly CDN $.
How it works
- Which is cheapest on Scenario A (1M messages/mo)?
- Cloud Tasks ≈ $0.40 (2M ops − 1M free). Amazon SQS Standard ≈ $0.80 (3M requests − 1M free) and Cloudflare Queues ≈ $0.80 (3M ops − 1M included). Free tiers dominate at low volume.
- What does Scenario B (30M messages/mo) show?
- SQS Standard 89M × $0.40/M = $35.60 (FIFO $44.50); Cloudflare Queues 89M ops = $35.60; Cloud Tasks 59M ops = $23.60.
- Why do $0.40/M prices give different totals?
- The unit differs: SQS bills every API request (send, receive, delete, empty receives; 64 KB chunks); Cloudflare Queues bills 3 ops per message (64 KB); Cloud Tasks bills create + each delivery attempt (32 KB chunks).
- Is this feature parity?
- No. FIFO ordering, exactly-once processing, HTTP push targets and Workers bindings differ. Compare async-queue $ only; handler compute (Lambda, Workers, Cloud Run) is billed separately.
- Are rates dated?
- Yes. List prices verified 2026-11-03 Asia/Shanghai from Amazon SQS (us-east-1 Price List), Cloudflare Queues docs and Cloud Tasks pricing. Provider pages prevail.