# Google Colab review, pricing and alternatives

Source: https://listme.name/software/google-colab
Website: https://colab.research.google.com/

Hosted Jupyter notebooks with free GPU and TPU access

Google Colab is a hosted Jupyter notebook service from Google that runs Python code in the cloud, with free access to GPUs and TPUs within usage limits. Pro and Pro+ plans give more compute units.

Colab runs notebooks on Google's servers, so nothing needs to be installed on the user's computer. Notebooks can be shared and connected to Google Drive, and Gemini helps refresh, optimize and document code inside the editor. Colab's FAQ describes the service as free of charge, with access to GPUs and TPUs.

Usage limits are not guaranteed and can change, and the FAQ says they fluctuate. Pro and Pro+ give more compute units per month and longer runs. Colab suits machine learning practice, teaching and quick experiments. For work that needs fixed hardware or long, predictable jobs, a dedicated cloud service is usually the safer choice.

- Free plan, paid upgrades | Web
- Price: Free to use; Pro and Pro+ add more compute units
- Checked: 2026-10-10

## Strengths

- Free access to GPUs and TPUs within limits
- Notebooks can be shared through Google Drive

## Limits

- Usage limits are not guaranteed and can change
- Needs a Google Account to sign in

## Rankings

- #2 of 6 in [best Data science notebooks](https://listme.name/best/data-science-notebooks), score 90.0: Hosted Jupyter notebooks with free GPU and TPU access within usage limits, plus Pro and Pro+ plans for more compute. Limits are not guaranteed, so long or fixed-schedule jobs need a more predictable service.

## Alternatives

- [JupyterLab](https://listme.name/software/jupyterlab), score 91.5
- [Deepnote](https://listme.name/software/deepnote), score 86.5
- [Hex](https://listme.name/software/hex), score 85.0
- [Kaggle](https://listme.name/software/kaggle), score 84.0
- [marimo](https://listme.name/software/marimo), score 82.5