"Cloud Functions" or "Cloud Run Functions"?

Google Cloud Functions is a popular serverless compute service similar to AWS Lambda that runs code (functions) in response to events.

As of 2025/10, you might encounter the following names when searching for the Google Cloud Functions services:

Why are there so many names for this service? Understanding the history of the service will shed some light on this.

The relevant timeline is as follows:

So in 2018 we had

Then in 2022 we had

Finally in 2024 and onward we have ([4])

2 points that might cause confusion here.

First, Cloud Functions (1st gen) became Cloud Run functions (1st gen) even though it is NOT built on top of Cloud Run. I suppose since 2nd gen was built on top of Cloud Run, they wanted to move it under the Cloud Run branding umbrella, and as a byproduct the 1st gen also had to be moved. You have to "upgrade" your 1st gen functions to 2nd gen to actually run them on Cloud Run. Not sure if "upgrade" is the most fitting word since what actually happens is the recration of your function as a 2nd gen function using the provided upgrade tool [5]. It will create a 2nd gen duplicate, then redirect traffic from the 1st gen to the 2nd gen and then finally delete the 1st gen one.

Second, the 2nd gen became the standard and as such is now just called "Cloud Run functions", whereas the 1st gen has to have the "1st gen" suffix to distinguish it. Just mapping "Cloud Functions (2nd gen)" to "Cloud Run functions (2nd gen)" would have been less confusing, but I suppose Google wanted to emphasize that the 2nd gen is now the main offering, and perhaps prepare for the day where 1st gen will be deprecated.

We essentially only have 2 offerings, 1st gen & 2nd gen. Originally just called Cloud Functions, but later both were rebranded under the Cloud Run umbrella. Only 2nd gen actually runs on top of the Cloud Run platform, but the 1st gen offering was also rebranded as Cloud run functions. Currently, 2nd gen is the default and main offering, so it is just called Cloud Run functions, while the 1st gen has to have the "1st gen" suffix to distinguish it.

I hope this clarifies the naming confusion around Google Cloud Functions / Cloud Run functions!

[1] Google Cloud - Cloud Functions serverless platform is now generally available

[2] Google Cloud - Cloud Functions 2nd gen is GA, delivering more events, compute and control

[3] Cloud Functions is now Cloud Run functions - event-driven programming in one unified serverless platform

[4] Google Cloud - Compare Cloud Run functions

[5] Google Cloud - Upgrade 1st gen functions to Cloud Run functions