Free cloud credits compared: Google Cloud, AWS, Azure, DigitalOcean

Four clouds, four very different trials, and the biggest number isn’t always the best deal. Google Cloud gives $300 to spend in 90 days, AWS gives up to $200 over six months on a free account plan, Azure gives $200 for 30 days, and DigitalOcean’s signup credit is $5 for 90 days. Every number here was checked on the providers’ own pages on November 2, 2026. We earn a commission if you sign up through some of our links; it doesn’t change your price.

The comparison table

Provider	Trial credit	Window	Card at signup	Charged after the trial	Always-free tier	Startup ceiling
Google Cloud	$300	90 days	Yes, with a $0 to $1 hold	No, you must upgrade by hand	Yes, including one e2-micro VM	Up to $350,000 over two years
AWS	$100 at signup plus up to $100 for activities	6 months on the free plan	Not required for most new customers	No, the free plan account closes	Yes, 30 or more services	Up to $200,000 via Activate Portfolio
Azure	$200	30 days	Yes, non-prepaid credit or debit card	No, services are disabled unless you upgrade	Yes, 65 or more services	Up to $150,000 via Microsoft for Startups
DigitalOcean	$5	90 days	Yes	Yes, usage after the credit bills to the card	No, Droplets start at $4 per month	Varies, Hatch applications paused

Google Cloud gives $300 for 90 days

Google gives a $300 Welcome credit valid for 90 days from signup, with no pause or extension. You need a credit card or another valid payment method, and Google places a temporary authorization of $0 to $1 that’s released later. You aren’t billed for anything during the trial.

Two restrictions matter for anyone chasing a free cloud VM. Trial billing accounts can’t attach GPUs, request quota increases or create Windows Server VMs, and the $300 can’t pay for the Gemini API in AI Studio.

When you spend the $300 or hit day 90, the trial billing account closes on its own. Resources stop, data on Compute Engine is marked for deletion, and you get a 30-day grace period to upgrade and recover what you can. Our Google Cloud credits page tracks the current terms.

AWS replaced the 12-month free tier with credits

AWS changed its model on July 15, 2025. A new account receives $100 in credits at signup and can earn up to $100 more by completing five activities in the Explore AWS widget, each worth $20: launch and terminate an EC2 instance, configure an RDS database, build a Lambda web app with a function URL, send a prompt in the Bedrock playground, and set a cost budget.

At signup you pick a free account plan or a paid account plan. The free plan can’t incur charges, but it ends six months after you open the account or when the credits run out, whichever comes first. The account then closes automatically, AWS keeps your content for 90 days, and you can upgrade inside that window to keep access. The free plan also locks out Savings Plans, Reserved Instances and some Marketplace offers.

On the paid plan the same credits apply to your bill automatically, and AWS says unused credits can be used for up to 12 months from signup. Most new customers aren’t asked for a payment method at signup. Accounts created before July 15, 2025 stay in the legacy program with its 12-month trials. More on our AWS credits page.

Azure gives $200 for 30 days plus a year of free services

Azure gives a $200 credit to use within 30 days, one per new customer, which can’t be spent on Marketplace offers. Signup requires a phone number, a non-prepaid credit or debit card, and a Microsoft or GitHub account. Microsoft places a temporary $1 authorization and says the card isn’t charged.

Azure differs in what sits alongside the credit. For 12 months you get monthly allowances such as 750 hours each of B1s, B2pts v2 and B2ats v2 burstable VMs and 750 hours of a Flexible Server B1MS database for PostgreSQL or MySQL. The always-free list includes 1 million Azure Functions requests, a Cosmos DB allowance of 1,000 request units per second with 25 GB of storage, 2 million Container Apps requests and up to 10 App Service web apps.

The catch is the 30-day clock. You must move to pay-as-you-go within 30 days or when the credit runs out, or the account and its services are disabled. A free account also carries a spending limit equal to the credit, which stops and deallocates your VMs when it’s reached. See our Azure credits page for the current eligibility rules.

DigitalOcean answers “How does the $5 free credit work?” in its own pricing FAQ. The credit is applied automatically to a new account, lasts 90 days, and any remainder is lost at the 90-day mark. Your card is charged only after you’ve used the credit or after it expires, and a pre-authorization of typically $1 is placed and canceled.

There’s no always-free tier, but Droplets start at $4 per month, so $5 buys roughly a month of the smallest VM. For a longer runway, DigitalOcean’s Hatch program offers credits that vary by partner, cover 12 months and generally carry a $10,000 monthly usage limit. Hatch applications are paused right now, with a new program scheduled for early 2027. Details are on our DigitalOcean credits page.

Always-free tiers side by side

For a free cloud server that outlives the trial, the always-free tiers decide the winner.

Google Cloud: one non-preemptible e2-micro VM per month in us-west1, us-central1 or us-east1, 30 GB-months of standard persistent disk, 5 GB-months of regional Cloud Storage, 1 TiB of BigQuery queries, and 2 million Cloud Run requests per month. Limits don’t roll over, and Google can change them with 30 days’ notice.
AWS: more than 30 always-free services within monthly limits on both plans. AWS doesn’t list the limits inline, so filter the offers list by Always Free before you plan around a specific service.
Azure: the 65 or more always-free services continue for as long as you keep the account; the 12-month VM hours are for new customers only.
DigitalOcean: nothing is always free, but the $4 Droplet is the cheapest fixed-price VM in this group.

The free cloud VM with the fewest conditions is Google’s e2-micro, since Azure’s B-series hours end after a year and AWS no longer offers 12-month EC2 hours to new accounts. If we needed one box to run for years at no cost, that’s the one we’d pick.

Startup programs and who qualifies

Trial credits are for individuals. Startup programs are where the larger numbers live, and each one has an eligibility gate.

Google for Startups Cloud Program lists up to $350,000 over two years. For AI startups that’s 100% of spend up to $250,000 in year one, then a 20% credit on year-two spend up to an additional $100,000; other startups get up to $100,000 in year one with the same year-two terms. You need Pre-Seed to Series A funding, a company founded within the last three to five years, a verified company domain, and no more than $5,000 in prior Google Cloud credits.

AWS Activate Founders, for self-funded companies, starts at $1,000 and can reach $5,000. Activate Portfolio, for pre-Series B startups with an Org ID from an accelerator, angel or VC, goes up to $200,000. Both require a paid plan account and a company founded within the last 10 years.

Microsoft for Startups advertises up to $150,000 in credits, with starter credits to use while your application is reviewed, which typically takes up to three business days. When the credits run out, the sponsored subscription moves to pay-as-you-go. Our startup credits hub compares all three in one place.

Card rules and what happens after the window

None of the three hyperscalers bills a trial account automatically. Google closes the trial billing account, AWS closes the free plan account after a 90-day retention period, and Azure disables services until you upgrade. DigitalOcean is the exception because its credit sits on a normal pay-as-you-go account.

The real risk is upgrading early and forgetting what’s running, because every resource outside the always-free limits then bills to the card once credits are gone. Set a budget on day one, which we walk through in our guide to avoiding a surprise cloud bill.

Which trial fits your project

Google Cloud’s $300 suits a 90-day experiment with managed services. The AWS free plan is the longest window at six months, provided you can live without GPUs and Savings Plans. Azure’s 12-month VM hours outlast its 30-day credit, which helps Windows and database workloads. DigitalOcean’s $4 Droplet is the cheapest persistent box, and the $5 credit covers the first month. See the Google Cloud vs AWS breakdown and the Google Cloud, AWS, Azure and DigitalOcean reviews before you commit a card.

The short version

Google Cloud: $300 for 90 days, card required, no automatic billing, always-free e2-micro.
AWS: $100 plus up to $100 more, six months on a free plan that closes at the end, no card for most signups.
Azure: $200 for 30 days, card required, spending limit stops resources, 12 months of VM hours.
DigitalOcean: $5 for 90 days on a pay-as-you-go account that bills the card afterward.
Startup programs go to $350,000 on Google Cloud, $200,000 on AWS and $150,000 on Azure, with funding and age gates.

FAQ

Which cloud gives the most free credits

Google Cloud’s $300 trial is the largest individual trial credit of the four. For funded startups, Google for Startups Cloud Program lists the highest ceiling at $350,000 over two years, followed by AWS Activate Portfolio at $200,000.

Does AWS free tier require a credit card

AWS doesn’t require a payment method to sign up for most new customers on the free account plan, although some accounts are asked for one to verify identity. You’ll need one to move to the paid plan.

Does google cloud charge automatically after free trial

No. Billing starts only if you manually upgrade to a paid billing account. If you do nothing, the trial billing account closes when the $300 is spent or 90 days pass, and your resources stop.

Is there a free cloud server that lasts forever

Google Cloud’s e2-micro, 30 GB of persistent disk and 5 GB of storage are always free within monthly limits in three US regions. Azure’s and AWS’s always-free services continue as long as the account exists, but neither includes a full-time VM for new accounts.

How much are AWS startup credits

AWS Activate Founders starts at $1,000 and can go to $5,000 for self-funded startups. Activate Portfolio goes up to $200,000 for pre-Series B startups referred by an accelerator, angel investor or VC firm.