Bill horror stories
Real runaway bills that developers and companies published themselves. Each one is summarised in our own words, linked to its source, and ends with what would have stopped it.
October 21, 2026 · 3 min read
$72,000 in two hours: the Cloud Run and Firestore test that ran away
A scraper bug, Cloud Run's scaling and a $7 budget that only alerted: how a startup's overnight test turned into a bill just under $72,000.
October 21, 2026 · 3 min read
$30,356 in 72 hours: one line that read a whole Firestore collection
A viral campaign and a page that loaded every payment on each visit: billions of Firestore reads before anyone noticed.
October 21, 2026 · 3 min read
$82,314 in 48 hours: a public Maps key that could call Gemini
A startup spending $180 a month enabled Gemini on a project whose browser key was public. Two days later the bill was over $82,000.
October 21, 2026 · 3 min read
€54,000 in 13 hours: a Firebase browser key used for Gemini
After enabling Firebase AI Logic, automated traffic used the project's unrestricted browser key. The €80 budget alert fired hours late.
October 21, 2026 · 3 min read
$67,000 in 19 hours: a Firebase Android key from 2016
A botnet called Gemini with an Android key Firebase had created ten years earlier, never restricted. The charges were disputed and still pending.
