Compare 13 free cloud iaas tools, free tiers, and developer deals. 1 requires an application or qualification. We could not confirm today's terms for 4 of them, and on all 4 the page we cite did not answer. Each row says why. Nothing on record contradicts our terms for AWS, Azure, DigitalOcean and more.

Free Cloud IaaS Tools

13 free tiers and developer deals. One of them is not on our ranked list — 1 requires an application or qualification. We also track 2 whose free tiers have ended. Catalogue dates here run to 2026-11-09.

What this name holds: Cloud accounts that rent compute by the instance or by credit — the hyperscalers and the resellers on top of them, not a deploy pipeline.

3 other names here answer “where do I run my code”, and each holds a different list: Cloud Hosting (64), Infrastructure (14), Server Management (7).

We track 12 cloud iaas services with a free tier we hold as current and 3 without. This category has seen some movement — 15 pricing changes recorded across vendors.

📊 Read our full Cloud IaaS Free Tier Comparison — 15 services compared side-by-side with cost scaling analysis →

Vendor	Tier	Description	Read / catalogue date
AWS	Free Tier	Always-free tier includes Lambda (1M invocations/mo), DynamoDB (25 GB), CloudWatch. New accounts get $100 credit at sign-up + up to $100 more via activities, free plan for 6 months AWS's Free Tier FAQ says most new customers need no payment method to sign up. AWS may ask for one to verify identity. (From aws.amazon.com/free/free-tier-faqs, read 2026-10-23.) The sign-up without a card is Sign up for AWS (new), launched September 16, 2026, but AWS's docs say it is still being released to a limited number of customers, so a new customer may not be able to use it yet. (From docs.aws.amazon.com/accounts/latest/reference/sign-in-new.html, read 2026-10-23.) Anyone who has or has had an AWS account is not eligible for AWS's Free plan or Free Tier credits. They must give payment information and go on the Paid plan. (From aws.amazon.com/resources/create-account, read 2026-10-23.) On the paid plan of Sign up for AWS (new), each project can have a monthly spend limit starting at $20. AWS pauses the project when spend reaches it. Advanced sign-up accounts have no spend limits. (From aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/aws-reimagines-the-getting-started-experience, read 2026-10-23.)	2026-11-05 / 2026-08-22
Azure	Free Tier	65+ always-free services: Functions (1 million requests/month, Consumption plan), Container Apps (180,000 vCPU seconds, 360,000 GiB seconds, 2 million requests), SQL Database (10 serverless databases, 100,000 vCore seconds and 32 GB each a month), Cosmos DB (1,000 RU/s, 25 GB), App Service (10 apps), Entra ID (50,000 objects), DevOps (5 users). 12 months for new customers: B2pts v2 and B2ats v2 VMs (750 hours each), Database for PostgreSQL and Database for MySQL (750 hours each of a B1MS Flexible Server, 32 GB storage), Blob Storage (5 GB), Disk Storage (2 64 GB P6 SSDs). $200 credit for 30 days, spending limit on by default; move to pay-as-you-go to continue.	2026-10-28
DigitalOcean	Credits	New accounts get a $5 signup credit, applied automatically to the first team and expiring 90 days after signup; a payment method is required before creating resources. Basic Droplets from $4/mo (1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 10 GB SSD). Per-second billing (min 60s or $0.01). App Platform: 3 free static sites (1 GiB outbound/mo each). Functions: 90,000 GiB-seconds/mo free. Spaces: 250 GB + 1 TB transfer for $5/mo. Managed databases start at $15/mo (not free). No perpetual free compute tier A powered-off Droplet is still billed, because its resources stay reserved; only destroying it ends billing. (From docs.digitalocean.com/products/droplets/details/pricing, read 2026-10-07.)	2026-10-31
Oracle Cloud	Always Free	Always Free includes 2 AMD VMs (1/8 OCPU, 1 GB each), Arm Ampere A1 at 2 OCPUs and 12 GB total across 1-2 VMs, 200 GB block volumes, 20 GB object storage, 2 Autonomous Databases, Load Balancer Oracle may reclaim Always Free compute instances if CPU utilization is less than 20% for 95% of the time, network utilization is less than 20%, and memory utilization is less than 20% (A1 shapes only) during a 7-day period. (From docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/FreeTier/freetier_topic-Always_Free_Resources.htm, read 2026-10-10.) An account left idle for 30 days or more may be deemed abandoned and become eligible for suspension or termination. (From oracle.com/cloud/free, read 2026-10-10.) Oracle accepts credit cards and debit cards that function like credit cards, but not debit cards with a PIN, virtual, single-use, or prepaid cards. The card check places a temporary authorization hold that is not a charge. (From oracle.com/cloud/free, read 2026-10-10.) The $300 trial ends after 30 days or when the credit is used up. An account that does nothing keeps its Always Free services. (From oracle.com/cloud/free, read 2026-10-10.) Always Free compute instances must be created in the tenancy's home region. (From docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/FreeTier/freetier_topic-Always_Free_Resources.htm, read 2026-10-29.) An "out of host capacity" error means a temporary lack of Always Free shapes in the home region. Try another availability domain, or wait and try again. Upgrading to Pay as You Go gives access to more compute types. Oracle does not charge for Always Free resources after the upgrade, only for usage above the Always Free limits. (From docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/FreeTier/freetier_topic-Always_Free_Resources.htm, read 2026-10-29.) Always Free includes one standalone MySQL HeatWave DB system with a single-node HeatWave cluster in the home region. It has 50 GB of storage for data and logs and another 50 GB for backups. (From docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/FreeTier/freetier_topic-Always_Free_Resources.htm, read 2026-10-29.) One Oracle Cloud Free Tier account is permitted per person. Creating multiple free accounts is prohibited. (From oracle.com/cloud/free/faq, read 2026-10-29.) Oracle Cloud Free Tier does not include SLAs. Customers using only Always Free resources are not eligible for Oracle Support. Community support is available through Oracle's forums. (From oracle.com/cloud/free/faq, read 2026-10-29.)	2026-10-24
CloudDev	Open Source	Open-source LocalStack alternative for running AWS services locally. Supports S3, DynamoDB, Lambda, SQS, and API Gateway in one command. Written in Go. Very early stage (launched March 2026, 8 GitHub stars). Single binary, no Docker requiredThe page we cite for this offer states no amount, tier or rate we can read when we last looked, on 2026-10-10, so we cannot confirm these terms today.	2026-10-10 / 2026-08-15
Vera AWS	Open Source	Open-source local AWS emulator. v0.1 supports 89 resource types including VPCs, EC2 instances, security groups, and EBS volumes — EC2 emulation is unique among LocalStack alternatives. Includes awscli drop-in wrapper and terlocal terraform wrapper. No AWS account or Docker required. Runs entirely on your machineThe page we cite for this offer states no amount, tier or rate we can read when we last looked, on 2026-10-10, so we cannot confirm these terms today.	2026-10-10 / 2026-08-14
Floci	Open Source	Open-source AWS service emulator — the leading community replacement for LocalStack CE. 20+ AWS services supported with 408/408 SDK tests passing. 90 MB Docker image (vs LocalStack's 1.0 GB), 24ms startup (vs 3.3s). MIT license, no auth token required. v1.0.4 released March 2026The page we cite for Floci states in words that it is free, which confirms the price — the limits stated here come from our own record rather than from that page.	2026-10-31
Startup with IBM	Retired	There is no startup program: developer.ibm.com/startups/ redirects to the IBM Build Partners Technical Group, a community forum with threads, blogs and a member directory. Checked 2026-09-02, the destination states no credit amount, application or eligibility rule. The former offer was $120,000 in IBM Cloud credits.	2026-10-21 / 2026-09-02
Heroku for Startups Program	Retired	There is no startup program: heroku.com/accelerate redirects to heroku.com/startups/, a marketing page on which the word program returns zero occurrences. Checked 2026-09-02, the page states no credit amount, application or eligibility rule. The former offer was platform credits, technical support and networking.	2026-10-29 / 2026-09-02
Google AI Pro/Ultra	Conditional	Google Cloud and GenAI credits that come with Google AI subscriptions, per the Google Developer Program: Google AI Pro ($19.99/month) includes $10 a month, Google AI Ultra (20TB, $99.99/month) $40 a month, and Google AI Ultra (30TB, $199.99/month) $100 a month, for use in AI Studio and other Google products. These plans replaced the standalone Google Developer Program Premium, which no longer takes sign-ups.Restricted to subscription (Google AI Pro/Ultra) applicants — not generally available.Eligibility: Requires a Google AI Pro ($19.99/month) or Google AI Ultra ($99.99 or $199.99/month) subscriptionThe page we cite for this offer names the platform it runs on and not the offer itself when we last looked, on 2026-10-16, so we cannot confirm these terms today.	2026-10-16 / 2026-04-15
Google Compute Engine	Always Free	Always Free: 1 non-preemptible e2-micro VM (us-west1, us-central1, or us-east1), 30 GB standard persistent disk, 1 GB of outbound data transfer a month from North America to all destinations except China and Australia. GPUs/TPUs excluded. Google Cloud's Free Tier requires a billing account. (From docs.cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features, read 2026-10-07.) A new Google Cloud user gets the billing account by signing up for the Free Trial, which requires a credit card or other payment method. Google uses it to verify identity and reduce fraud. (From docs.cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features, read 2026-10-23.) Usage beyond the Free Tier's monthly limits is billed at standard rates. (From docs.cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features, read 2026-10-07.) The e2-micro instance limit is by time, not by instance: all e2-micro instances together are free for the number of hours in the month. (From docs.cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features, read 2026-10-04.) An external IPv4 address in use on a VM, including the free e2-micro, costs $0.005 an hour. The free tier covers one hour a month. A VM running all month pays about $3.65 for it. External IPv6 addresses are free. (From cloud.google.com/vpc/network-pricing, read 2026-10-11.) The free tier covers 30 GB-months of standard persistent disk. A disk created in the Google Cloud console defaults to balanced persistent disk, which the free tier does not cover. Choose Standard persistent disk, or create the VM with the gcloud CLI, which defaults to standard. (From docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks/persistent-disks, read 2026-10-11.) If you do not upgrade to a Paid billing account by the end of the 90-day trial or after spending the $300 credit, your Free Trial billing account closes and all its resources stop, including a free e2-micro VM. They are permanently deleted after a 30-day grace period without an upgrade. After upgrading, the Free Tier still applies. (From docs.cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features, read 2026-11-02.) The Free Tier has no end date. Google may change or eliminate its usage limits with 30 days' advance notice. (From docs.cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features, read 2026-11-02.)	2026-11-02
OVHcloud	Credits	Public Cloud free trial: a €200 credit (US$200 on its international site) for a first Public Cloud project, valid for one month after activation; a payment method is required. VPS from €4.49/month ex-VAT without commitment (VPS-1 2027: 2 vCores, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe; €3.81 on 12 months). This is the range OVHcloud sells now. Discovery instances (d2-2) from ~€5/mo. Object Storage (S3-compatible). Managed Kubernetes (free control plane). 40+ regions across Europe, NA, APAC. From April 2026, OVHcloud raised VPS 2026 list prices 36-49% (VPS-1 €4.49 to €6.49). The VPS 2027 range launched after that rise. Public Cloud, Private Cloud and Bare Metal prices rose 9-11% on average for new deployments.	2026-11-01 / 2026-08-20
Vultr	Free	Free Tier Program: a free cloud instance (1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 10 GB SSD, IPv4 address) in Miami, Seattle or Frankfurt, for applicants Vultr admits. Vultr calls it early access in limited quantities and admits eligible applicants at random, weighted by a score built from what they say about themselves and their intended use. New customers can also claim promotional credit, up to $300, with codes on Vultr's coupons page; it applies to select products only, cannot be combined with other offers, and expires. Paid Cloud Compute starts at $2.50/mo for 1 vCPU, 512 MB and 10 GB SSD on IPv6 only (New Jersey and Atlanta), $3.50/mo for the same plan without the IPv6-only restriction (New Jersey), and $5/mo for 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM and 25 GB SSD. Billed hourly. Admission to the free instance is not guaranteed: Vultr grants it at random to eligible applicants in limited quantities, weighted by a score, and does not explain why an account was not admitted. (From vultr.com/free-tier-program, read 2026-10-06.) Coupon credit is for new customers only, applies to select products only, and cannot be combined with any other offer. (From vultr.com/coupons, read 2026-10-06.) A card or PayPal account must be linked to sign up and to be eligible for any promotion, Vultr allows one promotion per user, and promotional credit expires; the pages for the $200, $250 and $300 codes state no expiry period. (From vultr.com/faq, read 2026-10-06.) A stopped instance is still billed, because its CPU, RAM, storage and IP addresses stay reserved; only destroying it ends billing. (From docs.vultr.com/support/platform/billing/are-stopped-instances-still-billed-on-vultr, read 2026-10-07.) We could not read the page we cite for this offer when we last looked, on 2026-11-01, so we cannot confirm these terms today.	2026-10-06 · tried 2026-11-01, no read
Akamai Cloud	Credits	Akamai Cloud, formerly Linode: a new user who signs up through a referral link gets a $100, 60-day credit, applied once a valid payment method is on the account. Shared CPU plans start with the Nanode 1 GB at $5/mo in most regions (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB of storage, 1 TB transfer); the next plan, 2 GB RAM, is $12/mo. The $100 is a 60-day credit, applied only after a valid payment method is added to the new account. (From techdocs.akamai.com/cloud-computing/docs/referral-program, read 2026-10-06.) Every service on the account is billed even while powered off or unused; only removing it stops the charges. (From techdocs.akamai.com/cloud-computing/docs/understanding-how-billing-works, read 2026-10-07.)	2026-11-09
Amazon Lightsail	Credits	Virtual private servers billed by the hour, up to a fixed monthly price per bundle. No free trial for new customers: AWS replaced Lightsail's free trials (up to 90 days on select bundles) with the AWS Free Tier, whose credits ($100 at sign-up and up to $100 more) pay for Lightsail like any other service. Linux bundles with a public IPv4 address start at $5/mo for 2 vCPUs, 0.5 GB RAM, 20 GB SSD and 1 TB transfer, then $7/mo (1 GB RAM, 40 GB SSD, 2 TB) and $12/mo (2 GB RAM, 60 GB SSD, 3 TB). IPv6-only Linux bundles start at $3.50/mo (512 MB RAM, 20 GB SSD, 1 TB), and Windows bundles at $9.50/mo. Inbound and outbound transfer both count toward a bundle's allowance; outbound transfer beyond it costs from $0.09/GB, and bundles in Mumbai, Sydney, Jakarta, Malaysia, Hong Kong and São Paulo get half the allowance. Lightsail's own free trials are closed to new customers. A trial started before AWS removed them runs to the end of its period, and the resources then bill monthly. (From docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/amazon-lightsail-frequently-asked-questions-faq-billing-and-account-management.html, read 2026-10-06.) An instance or managed database is charged until it is deleted, including while it is stopped. (From docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/amazon-lightsail-frequently-asked-questions-faq-billing-and-account-management.html, read 2026-10-06.) A static IP is free only while attached to an instance: AWS charges $0.005 an hour for one left unattached for more than an hour, and an IPv6-only instance cannot take one. (From docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/amazon-lightsail-frequently-asked-questions-faq-billing-and-account-management.html, read 2026-10-06.)	2026-11-01

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free cloud iaas service?

We publish no ranking of these. Nothing we record measures popularity or generosity, so naming a best or a top few would be our preference rather than our data. We hold 15 Cloud IaaS services in our catalogue, listed in the table above with each one's tier, published terms and the read and catalogue dates we hold. 12 of them state a free tier we hold as current and 3 do not — the tier column says which. Our ranking rule is published at /criteria.

How many free cloud iaas tools are there?

We track 15 cloud iaas services on AgentDeals, 12 of which state a free tier we hold as current. These range from generous always-free tiers to limited trial periods. Of the 15 Cloud IaaS entries we hold, 7 carry terms a read confirmed in the last 90 days.

How stable are cloud iaas free tiers?

15 pricing changes have been recorded across cloud iaas vendors. Check our Stability Dashboard for per-vendor details.

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