Estimate the cost of a BigQuery on-demand query that will scan many bytes. What should you do?
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Correct answer: Run a dry run via CLI to estimate bytes read, then convert that bytes estimate to dollars with the Pricing Calculator..
Why this is the answer
BigQuery on-demand pricing is based on the amount of data scanned by the query. A dry run query (using the --dryrun flag in the CLI) will estimate the number of bytes that would be read without actually executing the query and incurring costs. This byte estimate can then be input into the Google Cloud Pricing Calculator to determine the approximate cost. Switching to Flat-Rate pricing for a single query is impractical and not how Flat-Rate pricing is intended to be used; it's for sustained, predictable workloads. Estimating bytes returned is incorrect because BigQuery charges for bytes read, not bytes returned. Running SELECT COUNT() only estimates rows, not the actual bytes scanned, which can vary significantly based on column types and query structure.
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