DigitalOcean Hatch Startup Credits
DigitalOcean cloud credits for startups that raised $10M or less
What you get from DigitalOcean Hatch Startup Credits for free
Overview
DigitalOcean Startups, commonly known as Hatch, awards cloud credits to early-stage companies building on DigitalOcean. Credits are granted through approved DigitalOcean Startups partners, the amount varies by partner and startup, and the program runs for 12 months to scale.
Program Credits & Benefits
- Cloud credits: Amount varies. Participants generally receive a $10,000 monthly limit, and charges apply for usage in a month that exceeds it.
- Coverage: As of May 13, 2026, credits apply to any DigitalOcean service except GPU Droplets, NVIDIA H100 GPU Kubernetes, Bare Metal GPUs, Dedicated Inference, Serverless Inference using third-party models outside DigitalOcean infrastructure, Paperspace Machines, Cloudways services, and other third-party pass-through charges.
- GPU credits: A separate benefit; select startups are invited to apply for GPU credit packages.
- Support: Free access to Standard-tier paid support for 15 months, plus expert one-on-ones with product managers and engineers.
- Partner perks: Marketplace exposure and partner offers such as Cloud66 ($500 in credit), Notion ($1,000 credit), Airtable ($2,000 in credit), QuickNode (up to $5k in credit), and Stripe Atlas (20% off).
- Credits cannot be used for cryptocurrency mining, are not transferable, and unused credits are forfeited. The program does not grant extensions.
How to Apply
- Visit the DigitalOcean Startups page and open the application form.
- Unaffiliated founders apply through the same form, selecting the general option; approved partner organizations submit startups through the partner route.
- Provide company, funding, and website details, then submit.
Before you claim
- Funding cap: Startups that have raised $10M or less
- Other: Service-based businesses ineligible
- Verification: Company website and matching corporate email
- Verification: Registered DigitalOcean team account created with a business email and valid credit card
- Verification: Apply through a DigitalOcean Startups partner or select 'Other'
- Who can claim: Startups that have raised $10M or less; AI-native startups prioritized; service-based businesses ineligible
- Payment card: Required to claim.
- Account: Sign up with the provider.
Key limits
- 12-month program
- $10,000 monthly credit limit; overage billed
- Credits distributed via approved partners (or 'Other' selection)
- Excludes GPU Droplets, Bare Metal GPUs, Paperspace Machines, Cloudways, and third-party AI inference
- Non-transferable; unused credits forfeited; no extensions
- Standard-tier paid support included free for 15 months
Eligibility
Startups must have raised $10m or less, have a company website and an email address matching the corporate domain, a registered team account, and a valid credit card. Priority is given to AI-native startups, and the program targets new startups that have not used prior DigitalOcean credits. Service-based startups (consulting, web/app development services, marketing agencies) are not eligible.
As the provider states it on the date shown above. The provider decides who qualifies.
Not eligible? 3 alternatives open to everyone
This offer is only for startups. These API credit offers have no student, startup, nonprofit or country requirement.
- Alibaba Cloud Model Studio Free Token Quota — About 1M free tokens per model for 90 days on Model Studio (Singapore)alibabacloud.com · Verified · No card
- Context.dev Free Plan — 1,000 free API credits every month for scraping, extraction, and brand dataContext.dev · Verified · No card
- NaraRouter Free Tier — 7M free tokens/day across three models via an OpenAI-compatible API routerrouter.bynara.id · Verified · No card
Check everything you qualify for — five questions, no signup.
History
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