The feature had been available in Preview since July 27, 2026.
A spend cap budget can be configured in the Google Cloud console's Budgets page or through the Cloud Billing Budget API. When estimated spending for a specified project exceeds the budget target, Google Cloud pauses new requests to eligible services. The cap can be lifted manually, or it is lifted automatically at the start of the next month.
The release notes describe the mechanism as a cost control, not a guarantee of zero overage. It uses gross estimated costs, enforcement is not instant, and costs incurred beyond the target before enforcement are billed normally. The source does not list every eligible service, specify availability by region or account type, or state how long enforcement takes.