How Data Engineers Can Use SQL to Estimate BigQuery Storage Costs

For data engineers, SQL’s applications go beyond analysis; it can be a powerful tool for determining resource allocations.

Share

Data engineers can leverage SQL statements to fetch database metadata in order to calculate costs incurred with PaaS products like BigQuery.

Below, you’ll learn:

  • How to access table metadata in BigQuery
  • How to use standard SQL to convert bytes to GB and TB
  • How to calculate per gigabyte rates

Note: The price per gigabyte rates used in any of the below calculations are current as of the publication date, but may change in the future.

Build Your Pipeline To A Data Engineering Career

You’ve reached the limit of the public preview. The full version of this post includes the implementation details: The code, the edge cases, and the "why" behind the architecture.

When you join PipelineToDE, you get:

  • The DA → DE Pathway Course: A structured roadmap to bridge the gap between analysis and engineering.
  • Weekly Senior Deep Dives: Fresh, tactical insights on Python, Cloud (GCP/AWS), and modern orchestration delivered every week.
  • Production-Ready Blueprints: Access to 80+ protected stories and code repos from my time in the trenches as a Senior DE
  • The DE Job Board (Coming Soon): Exclusive access to a curated board of high-agency Data Engineering roles.