easyMultiple Choice
Google PCA Practice Question: A startup wants to run a containerized web…
A startup wants to run a containerized web application that scales to zero when not in use and charges only for request processing time. Which compute service is most appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
PCA often tests the confusion between serverless container platforms that scale to zero (Cloud Run) and managed Kubernetes or VM offerings that bill for provisioned capacity even when idle.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Cloud Run
Cloud Run is a fully managed serverless container platform that scales to zero when idle and bills only for request processing time (and CPU/memory during request handling). It is purpose-built for containerized HTTP workloads with automatic scaling, making it the exact match for the startup's requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Google Kubernetes Engine (Autopilot)
Why it's wrong here
Autopilot bills for provisioned pod resources continuously and maintains a minimum node footprint, so it cannot scale to zero or charge purely per request. It suits teams wanting managed Kubernetes orchestration without node administration, not request-driven, zero-idle workloads.
- ✗
Compute Engine with preemptible VMs
Why it's wrong here
Preemptible VMs are ordinary instances that can be reclaimed at any time and bill per second while running, so they never scale to zero. They suit fault-tolerant batch processing at low cost, not request-driven web serving that must stay available.
- ✓
Cloud Run
Why this is correct
Cloud Run runs containerised workloads on a fully managed, request-driven model, scaling to zero instances when idle and billing only for CPU and memory consumed during request processing. This directly satisfies the startup's two constraints: zero-cost idle periods and per-request charging, without cluster or node management overhead.
- ✗
App Engine Standard
Why it's wrong here
App Engine Standard runs source code in language-specific sandboxes, not arbitrary container images, so it cannot host this containerised application. It is tempting because it does scale to zero and bills per request, but that model applies to its supported runtimes rather than custom containers.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
Key term
HTTP
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the set of rules web browsers and servers use to communicate and transfer web pages over the internet.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
This PCA practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCA exam.