Free Cloud Credits
Ten verified free cloud offers for AI projects - Oracle, Google Cloud, IBM, IONOS, UpCloud, Civo, Akamai and more - with credit size, card rules, and the catch.
A server for your AI side project does not have to cost anything at first, but cloud "free" comes in two shapes. A few providers keep an always-free tier after the trial: Oracle Cloud adds permanent Always Free resources (Ampere A1 compute with 2 OCPUs and 12 GB) to US$300 of 30-day credit, Google Cloud pairs $300 for 90 days with 20+ always-free products such as one e2-micro VM a month, and IBM Cloud gives $200 for 30 days plus 40+ Lite-plan products that stay free. The rest are one-time credits that run out: up to $500 at UpCloud (a 30-day promotion; the standard trial is 7 days), $250 at Civo, $200 for 30 days at IONOS, US$100 for 60 days at Akamai (Linode), 20 EUR/CHF at Exoscale, a $90 ECS credit for 3 months inside Alibaba Cloud’s trial catalog, and 3-month CVM trials at Tencent Cloud. For GPU time see free GPU cloud; funded startups get far larger grants through the programs in the startup AI credits hub.
| Option | What is free | Card | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Cloud Free Tier | US$300 in OCI credits for 30 days, then permanent Always Free resources | card | Catch: A credit or debit card is required for identity verification (not charged unless you upgrade); the $300 credit expires after 30 days. |
| Google Cloud Free Program | $300 in free Google Cloud credits for 90 days plus 20+ always-free products | card | Catch: A credit card or other valid payment method is required for the 90-day trial; after 90 days or once $300 is spent, the billing account closes and resources stop unless you upgrade. |
| IBM Cloud free tier | $200 credit + 40+ always-free products | card | Catch: The $200 credit expires after 30 days and the account is Pay-As-You-Go - usage beyond free tiers bills automatically if no card limit is set. |
| UpCloud Free Trial Up to $500 in Credits | New users get a free trial with up to $500 in credit (30-day promotion) | card | Catch: Credit card verification required (0/1 temporary authorization); the standard trial is 7 days — the 30-day/$500 offer is a promotion that can change. |
| Civo $250 Free Trial Credit | New customers get a $250 credit usable across Civo cloud services | card | Catch: A payment card must be added to receive the credit; the credit expires at the end of the month following issuance and is non-transferable with no cash alternative. |
| IONOS Cloud Free Trial Credit | IONOS Cloud gives new customers $200 in free credit for a 30-day trial | card | Catch: Payment details are required to activate the full version, and the $200 credit is time-boxed to 30 days. |
| Akamai Cloud $100 Free Credit | US$100 Akamai Cloud (Linode) credit for new customers; card required | card | Catch: Promotional credit is available only to new customers who have not yet signed up for a free trial; the credit expires after 60 days. |
| Exoscale 20 EUR/CHF Free Trial Credit | New Exoscale accounts get 20 EUR/CHF free credit with a saved card | card | Catch: Requires saving a credit card (20 EUR/CHF is pre-authorized, not charged) and choosing Post-paid Billing mode. |
| Alibaba Cloud Free Trial | Free trials on 80+ products, incl. USD 90 ECS credits and Model Studio tokens | card | Catch: The $90 ECS credit is valid only 3 months and many other product trials last just 1 month; you must add a payment method before claiming the free tier. |
| Tencent Cloud Free Tier | 30+ free trials for new Tencent Cloud users, including CVM and storage | no card | Catch: Trials are restricted to new users of each product; anyone who has already purchased or tried the corresponding product does not qualify. |
The 10 options, in detail
Oracle Cloud Free Tier
US$300 in OCI credits for 30 days, then permanent Always Free resources
- US$300 of credit for up to 30 days
- One Free Tier account per person
- Always Free: 2 OCPUs + 12 GB Ampere A1 (1,500 OCPU-hours/month); up to 2 AMD micro VMs
- 200 GB block volume storage; 2 Autonomous AI Databases; 10 TB/month outbound transfer
Catch: A credit or debit card is required for identity verification (not charged unless you upgrade); the $300 credit expires after 30 days.
Google Cloud Free Program
$300 in free Google Cloud credits for 90 days plus 20+ always-free products
- $300 Welcome credit, consumed within the original 90 days
- No automatic charges unless you explicitly upgrade to a paid account
- 20+ always-free products, e.g. 1 e2-micro VM/month, 30 GB disk, 5 GB Cloud Storage, 1 TiB BigQuery queries/month, 2M Cloud Run requests/month
- During trial: no GPUs, no Marketplace, no Windows Server images, no quota increases
Catch: A credit card or other valid payment method is required for the 90-day trial; after 90 days or once $300 is spent, the billing account closes and resources stop unless you upgrade.
IBM Cloud free tier
$200 credit + 40+ always-free products
- $200 credit valid for 30 days only
- 40+ Lite-plan products stay free indefinitely
Catch: The $200 credit expires after 30 days and the account is Pay-As-You-Go - usage beyond free tiers bills automatically if no card limit is set.
UpCloud Free Trial Up to $500 in Credits
New users get a free trial with up to $500 in credit (30-day promotion)
- Standard trial: 7 days; promotions may extend (currently advertised as 30 days)
- Trial servers capped at 2 cores / 4 GB memory; Windows OS excluded
- Block storage: 60 GB each of Archive, Standard, and MaxIOPS
- SMTP (port 25) blocked; SSH inbound-only during trial
Catch: Credit card verification required (0/1 temporary authorization); the standard trial is 7 days — the 30-day/$500 offer is a promotion that can change.
Civo $250 Free Trial Credit
New customers get a $250 credit usable across Civo cloud services
- $250 credit, non-transferable, no cash alternative
- Payment card must be added within 3 months of signup to claim the credit
- Credit expires at the end of the month following issuance
- Valid against any Civo services
Catch: A payment card must be added to receive the credit; the credit expires at the end of the month following issuance and is non-transferable with no cash alternative.
IONOS Cloud Free Trial Credit
IONOS Cloud gives new customers $200 in free credit for a 30-day trial
- $200 free credit for 30 days
- Starts as a limited-access test account
- Payment details required to activate the full version
- No setup fees or minimum contract term; cancel anytime
Catch: Payment details are required to activate the full version, and the $200 credit is time-boxed to 30 days.
Akamai Cloud $100 Free Credit
US$100 Akamai Cloud (Linode) credit for new customers; card required
- New customers only; no prior free trial signup
- US$100 credit, valid 60 days (per Akamai's referral program terms)
- A temporary pre-authorization may be sent to the payment method
Catch: Promotional credit is available only to new customers who have not yet signed up for a free trial; the credit expires after 60 days.
Exoscale 20 EUR/CHF Free Trial Credit
New Exoscale accounts get 20 EUR/CHF free credit with a saved card
- 20 EUR or 20 CHF depending on account currency
- Credit card must be saved; Post-paid Billing mode required
- 20 EUR/CHF pre-authorized on the card, released by the issuer (usually ~30 days)
- Exoscale may deny the credit for multiple registrations or expire the offered credit
Catch: Requires saving a credit card (20 EUR/CHF is pre-authorized, not charged) and choosing Post-paid Billing mode.
Alibaba Cloud Free Trial
Free trials on 80+ products, incl. USD 90 ECS credits and Model Studio tokens
- 80+ products, most trials running 1-12 months
- ECS: USD 90 free credits valid 3 months
- Model Studio: Free Tokens across 400+ models
- Quick BI AIPro: USD 125 credits for 1 month
Catch: The $90 ECS credit is valid only 3 months and many other product trials last just 1 month; you must add a payment method before claiming the free tier.
Tencent Cloud Free Tier
30+ free trials for new Tencent Cloud users, including CVM and storage
- New users of each product only
- CVM S5 2C4G free for 3 months
- Lighthouse 2C2G free for 3 months
- COS 50GB free for 6 months (standard storage capacity)
Catch: Trials are restricted to new users of each product; anyone who has already purchased or tried the corresponding product does not qualify.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between always-free and a free trial?
- A trial credit is a balance that expires: Oracle’s US$300 after 30 days, Google Cloud’s $300 after 90 days, IBM’s $200 after 30 days. An always-free tier is a set of small resources that stays free afterwards. Of the ten here, Oracle Cloud (Always Free compute, 200 GB block storage, 10 TB a month outbound), Google Cloud (20+ always-free products) and IBM Cloud (40+ Lite-plan products) have one.
- Which free cloud credit needs no credit card?
- Tencent Cloud’s new-user trials and the IONOS Cloud $200 trial do not ask for a card up front, though IONOS needs payment details to activate the full version. Oracle, Google Cloud, IBM, UpCloud, Civo, Akamai, Exoscale and Alibaba Cloud ask for a card, mostly for verification: Oracle does not charge unless you upgrade, and Google Cloud makes no automatic charges unless you explicitly upgrade.
- Can I get a free GPU with these cloud credits?
- Mostly not. Google Cloud’s trial excludes GPUs, and UpCloud limits GPU servers to spot instances during the trial. For free GPU hours, use Kaggle, Hugging Face ZeroGPU or the other options in the free GPU cloud comparison.
- Which free cloud tier can run a small AI app permanently?
- Oracle Cloud’s Always Free Ampere A1 allowance (2 OCPUs, 12 GB memory, 1,500 OCPU-hours a month) is the largest permanent one here, but Oracle reclaims idle Always Free compute when CPU, network and memory all stay below 20% for 7 days. Google Cloud’s always-free e2-micro VM is enough for a small API that calls a hosted model.
- I run a startup - are there bigger cloud credits?
- Yes, through applications rather than signups. AWS Activate grants up to $5,000 on the Founders tier and up to $200,000 on the Portfolio tier for pre-Series B startups founded in the last 10 years. See the startup AI credits hub and the guide on applying for AI startup credits.