Compare 15+ startup programs: AWS Activate, Google for Startups, Microsoft Founders Hub, Cloudflare, DigitalOcean Hatch, Stripe Atlas, Brex, Mercury, and more. Credit values, eligibility, vesting, and stacking strategies. Compiled 2026-03-27, last checked 2026-04-13.
Published 2026-03-27 · 15 programs compared · Figures compiled 2026-03-27, last checked 2026-04-13
Startup credits in April 2026: 15 programs across cloud infrastructure, fintech perks, developer tools, and AI — from $1K self-serve credits to $350K VC-backed packages. The cloud providers (AWS, Google, Microsoft, Cloudflare) offer the highest individual values, while fintech platforms (Brex, Mercury, Stripe Atlas) bundle credits from multiple providers into single sign-ups.
Key insight: A well-planned stacking strategy can unlock $500K+ in combined credits across platforms. The highest-value approach: apply to cloud providers directly (Google $200K, AWS $100K, Cloudflare $100K) then layer fintech banking perks for additional tool credits. Watch for overlapping perks — AWS credits from Brex and Stripe Atlas may be the same underlying allocation.
This guide covers: credit values, eligibility requirements, vesting schedules, hidden constraints, application difficulty, and optimal stacking strategies — compiled by hand from vendor pricing pages.
Compiled 2026-03-27, last checked 2026-04-13. Hover rows to highlight. Programs sorted by category.
| Program | Credit Value | Eligibility | Duration | Application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Activate | $1K (self-funded), $100K (VC-backed) | Any startup (Founders) / VC/accelerator-backed (Portfolio) | 1-2 years | Open application |
| Google Cloud for Startups | $200K (Scale) / $350K (Scale AI) | Equity-funded startups, Series A or earlier | 2 years | VC/funding required |
| Microsoft Founders Hub | $5K-$150K Azure credits | Any startup (basic) / investor-backed (premium) | 1 year | Open application |
| DigitalOcean Hatch | Up to $100K compute credits | Startups affiliated with VC/accelerator partners | 12 months | Accelerator required |
| IBM Cloud Startup | $12K (Builder) / $120K (Premium) | Builder: any startup | 12 months | Open application |
| Cloudflare Startup Program | $5K-$250K credits | 4 tiers based on funding: Bootstrapped ($5K), Up-and-Coming ($25K), Seed-Funded ($100K), High Growth ($250K) | 1 year | Open application |
| Stripe Atlas | $50K+ in founder perks | Atlas customers (incorporation via Stripe) | Varies by perk | Open application |
| Brex | $350K+ in partner perks | Brex cardholders (startups) | Varies by partner | Open application |
| Mercury | Banking perks bundle | Mercury banking customers | Varies by perk | Open application |
| Ramp | $5K AWS + partner discounts | Ramp cardholders | Varies | Open application |
| SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) | $5K AWS + $100K Google Cloud | SVB banking customers (startups) | Varies | Open application |
| PostHog YC Deal | $50K/year credits | Y Combinator companies (raised less than $25M) | Renews annually | Accelerator required |
| Segment Startup Program | $50K in Team plan credits | Early-stage startups (application required) | Up to 2 years | Open application |
| Amazon Kiro (AWS Startups) | 1 year free Pro+ ($480/yr value) | AWS Startups program members | 1 year | Accelerator required |
| Amplitude Startup Scholarship | 1 year free Growth plan | Startups building digital products | 1 year | Open application |
Startup credit programs fall into four categories, each targeting different needs and stages of growth.
Major cloud providers offering $5K–$350K in compute, storage, and AI credits. These are the highest-value programs — anchor your startup’s infrastructure budget here.
Credit value: $1K (self-funded), $100K (VC-backed)
Eligibility: Any startup (Founders) / VC/accelerator-backed (Portfolio)
Duration: 1-2 years
What's included: AWS credits, technical support, training. Business Support (1yr) for Portfolio tier. Separate program for each funding stage.
Vesting: Founders: lump sum. Portfolio: annual tranches
Credit value: $200K (Scale) / $350K (Scale AI)
Eligibility: Equity-funded startups, Series A or earlier
Duration: 2 years
What's included: Google Cloud credits, Firebase, Google Workspace, technical training, partner perks. Scale AI includes $100K extra for AI/ML workloads.
Vesting: $100K Y1 + $100K Y2 (Scale); $250K Y1 + $100K Y2 (Scale AI)
Credit value: $5K-$150K Azure credits
Eligibility: Any startup (basic) / investor-backed (premium)
Duration: 1 year
What's included: Azure credits, M365 Business Premium, GitHub Enterprise, LinkedIn Premium, technical mentoring, Visual Studio Enterprise.
Vesting: Lump sum on approval
Credit value: Up to $100K compute credits
Eligibility: Startups affiliated with VC/accelerator partners
Duration: 12 months
What's included: Compute credits, GPU Droplets at $1.90/GPU/hr (H100 equivalent), dedicated support, technical architecture review.
Vesting: Lump sum per partner agreement
Credit value: $12K (Builder) / $120K (Premium)
Eligibility: Builder: any startup. Premium: VC/accelerator-backed
Duration: 12 months
What's included: IBM Cloud credits ($1K/mo Builder, $10K/mo Premium), Watson AI services, Red Hat OpenShift, technical mentoring.
Vesting: $1K/mo (Builder) or $10K/mo (Premium)
Credit value: $5K-$250K credits
Eligibility: 4 tiers based on funding: Bootstrapped ($5K), Up-and-Coming ($25K), Seed-Funded ($100K), High Growth ($250K)
Duration: 1 year
What's included: Cloudflare credits covering Workers, R2, CDN, security, analytics. Access to startup community and events.
Vesting: Lump sum per tier
Startup-focused banks and financial platforms bundling cloud credits and SaaS perks with their banking products. Often the easiest way to unlock credits from multiple providers at once.
Credit value: $50K+ in founder perks
Eligibility: Atlas customers (incorporation via Stripe)
Duration: Varies by perk
What's included: $5K AWS credits, $5K DigitalOcean credits, 1yr GitHub, $2.5K Stripe processing credits, legal perks, banking setup.
Vesting: Available on Atlas completion
Credit value: $350K+ in partner perks
Eligibility: Brex cardholders (startups)
Duration: Varies by partner
What's included: $5K AWS credits, $2.5K OpenAI credits, $200K Google Cloud credits, partner discounts on Notion, Slack, and 50+ tools.
Vesting: Per-partner activation
Credit value: Banking perks bundle
Eligibility: Mercury banking customers
Duration: Varies by perk
What's included: 1 year free Datadog (up to $100K value), $5K AWS credits, up to $200K Google Cloud credits, 30% off QuickBooks Online.
Vesting: Per-partner activation
Credit value: $5K AWS + partner discounts
Eligibility: Ramp cardholders
Duration: Varies
What's included: Up to $5K AWS credits, partner discounts on Notion, and other tools. Part of $350K+ total partner rewards program.
Vesting: Per-partner activation
Credit value: $5K AWS + $100K Google Cloud
Eligibility: SVB banking customers (startups)
Duration: Varies
What's included: $5K AWS credits, up to $100K Google Cloud credits (annual cap), $5K MongoDB credits, $9K off Slack, $50K+ in total partner value.
Vesting: Annual cap on cloud credits
SaaS companies offering generous startup plans for analytics, data, and developer infrastructure. Smaller individual values but stack well with cloud credits.
Credit value: $50K/year credits
Eligibility: Y Combinator companies (raised less than $25M)
Duration: Renews annually
What's included: Full PostHog platform: product analytics, session replay, feature flags, experimentation. Auto-renews each year.
Vesting: Annual renewal
Credit value: $50K in Team plan credits
Eligibility: Early-stage startups (application required)
Duration: Up to 2 years
What's included: $50K toward monthly Team plan. Access to $1M+ in partner deals (AWS, Google, Intercom). Analytics Academy training.
Vesting: Monthly against Team plan
AI coding tools and ML platforms offering startup-specific credit programs. A newer category driven by the AI tool boom.
Credit value: 1 year free Pro+ ($480/yr value)
Eligibility: AWS Startups program members
Duration: 1 year
What's included: Kiro Pro+ with expanded credits. Three tiers: Starter (2 users), Growth (50 users), Scale (100 users). Includes SWE-1.5 model access.
Vesting: Monthly credit allocation
Credit value: 1 year free Growth plan
Eligibility: Startups building digital products
Duration: 1 year
What's included: Growth plan with 200K MTUs or 100M events/month. Behavioral Cohorts, Pathfinder, and all Growth features.
Vesting: Full plan for 12 months
The credit value is rarely the full story. These are the constraints that catch founders off guard after committing to a program.
Most credits expire 12–24 months from activation, not application. Unused credits are lost — no extensions. Google splits $200K into $100K/year; AWS Founders gives all $1K at once but expires in 12 months.
Google, IBM, and some others release credits in monthly or annual tranches. You can’t front-load usage. IBM Builder gives $1K/month — if you need $12K in month 1, you only get $1K.
Google Scale requires equity funding. PostHog YC Deal has a $25M fundraising cap. Programs may retroactively check if you still qualify when renewing.
Credits only work on the issuing platform. After credits expire, you’re on production pricing with established data gravity. Migration costs can exceed the original credit value.
Brex, Mercury, SVB, and Stripe Atlas all offer AWS credits — but you can’t stack them. The $5K AWS credit from Brex and the $5K from Stripe Atlas may be the same underlying AWS Activate program.
Most startup programs can be combined across platforms. Here are optimal stacking strategies for different startup profiles.
Google for Startups ($200K) + AWS Activate Portfolio ($100K) + Cloudflare Seed-Funded ($100K) + DigitalOcean Hatch ($100K) = $500K+ across 4 platforms. Requires VC backing for most.
AWS Activate Founders ($1K) + Microsoft Founders Hub Basic ($5K) + Cloudflare Bootstrapped ($5K) + Stripe Atlas perks = $15K+ with zero funding requirement.
Full AWS Portfolio ($100K) + Google Scale ($200K) + PostHog ($50K/yr) + banking perks via Brex/Mercury = $400K+ first year.
Google Scale AI ($350K with AI credits) + Amazon Kiro free year + AWS Activate = $450K+ with dedicated AI/ML credits.
Sign up for Brex + Mercury + Stripe Atlas to unlock overlapping cloud perks. Careful: some AWS credits from different programs don't stack.
Startup credit programs change frequently. Here are the changes we've tracked. See full change timeline for all tracked changes.
| Date | Vendor | Change | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| effective Oct 7, 2026 | AWS | AWS Proton end of support. Infrastructure-as-code provisioning service being retired. All environments, services, and templates will stop working. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Sep 30, 2026 | AWS | AWS App Mesh end of support. Service mesh for ECS/EKS being fully retired. All configurations, virtual nodes, and routes will stop functioning. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 9, 2026 · effective date unknown | Segment | Retracted — this record was our error (2026-09-10). Segment's own page now redirects to twilio.com. The Startup Program with $50,000 in credits is no longer listed. Instead, Segment offers a $120/month discount to non-profits. Retracted 2026-09-10: the record's own summary reads "The Startup Program with $50,000 in credits is no longer listed", which is a removal, and it is typed startup_program_expanded. The cited URL now redirects to twilio.com/docs/segment/guides/usage-and-billing/discounts-for-startups-npos, where "startup" and "$50,000" each appear zero times and the only offer is a $120/month non-profit discount. The 2026-08-28 free_tier_removed record on the same page states the same facts with the correct type. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Sep 9, 2026 · effective date unknown | Amplitude | The Startup Scholarship has been replaced with a general 'Early Stage Startup Pricing' offer. The limits are the same (100M events/month), but the description of included features is broader (includes MCP and agents). Year two is now 40% off the annual Plus plan, or the option to drop to a free 2M events/month plan. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 7, 2026 · effective date unknown | AWS Activate | The AWS Activate program now offers up to $200,000 in credits, an increase from $100,000 for VC/accelerator-backed startups. The description of credits for AI startups building on custom silicon is no longer present. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 5, 2026 · effective date unknown | Ramp | The AWS credit offer is now through the AWS Activate program, and the amount is up to $2,500 for OpenAI and $350 for Google Cloud Platform. There are many other partner rewards available, including discounts and free trials for a wide variety of tools. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Sep 3, 2026 · effective date unknown | Amazon Kiro | The tier names have changed. 'Pro+' is now 'Pro Max'. There is a new 'Pro Max' tier at $100/month for 5,000 credits. The sign-up bonus is now $20 towards a paid plan, instead of 500 bonus credits. Add-on credits are available for all paid tiers and cost $0.04/credit, with packs ranging from $5 to $100. Unused add-on credits roll over for 12 months. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 2, 2026 · effective date unknown | Cloudflare | The program now offers up to $350k in credits instead of $250k. Tier 1 now offers $350k, Tier 2 offers $100k, and Tier 3 offers $10k. Workers AI credit caps are now $2,500 for Tier 3, $10,000 for Tier 2, and $50,000 for Tier 1. AI Gateway is temporarily not covered by credits. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Aug 28, 2026 · effective date unknown | Segment | The Startup Program with $50,000 in credits is no longer listed. Instead, Segment offers a $120/month discount to non-profits. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Aug 28, 2026 · effective date unknown | Stripe Atlas | The page no longer lists specific partner perks ($5K AWS credits, $5K DigitalOcean credits, 1yr GitHub) and instead states over $50,000 in partner discounts, including Google, Xero and OAI. It states a $500 one-time setup fee and a $100 annual fee after the first year. The Stripe credit is stated at $2,500 in both states and is unchanged. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Aug 28, 2026 · effective date unknown | DigitalOcean | The description of credits has been updated. GPU Droplets are now explicitly excluded from core credits, and a separate application process is required for GPU credits. The program now has a $10,000 monthly credit limit. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Aug 28, 2026 · effective date unknown | Amplitude | Retracted — this record was our error (2026-09-10). The deal now offers 1.2 billion events instead of 100M events/month, and the MTU limit is 200,000. There are also additional scholarship programs available (Tech for Black Founders, Venture Portfolio Company). Retracted 2026-09-10: amplitude.com/startups states "Up to 100M events a month" and answers "What are the limits?" with "200K monthly tracked users or 100M events/month" — the allowance we already hold. "1.2 billion events" appears nowhere on the page; it is the same 100M/month restated over the twelve months of the free year. Nothing moved, so there is no increase. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Aug 28, 2026 · effective date unknown | Mercury | The Datadog offer is missing, the AWS credit is reduced to $5k, the Google Cloud credit is missing, and the QuickBooks Online discount is reduced to 90% off. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Aug 28, 2026 · effective date unknown | Microsoft Founders Hub | The page states up to $150,000 in credits are available. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| effective Jun 30, 2026 | AWS | AWS Fargate Platform Version 1.3.0 end of support. Tasks on PV 1.3.0 will stop running. Migration to Platform Version 1.4.0+ required. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective May 1, 2026 | Microsoft | Windows 365 Business list price decreasing 20% starting May 1, 2026. New 1-hour hibernation feature for idle Cloud PCs to reduce costs. Applies to all Windows 365 Business SKUs. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective May 1, 2026 | Microsoft | Microsoft 365 E7 SKU launching May 1, 2026. Bundles E5 + Entra Suite + Copilot + Agent 365. Positioned as premium enterprise tier for AI-first organizations. Source ↗ | LOW |
| effective Apr 30, 2026 | AWS | AWS App Runner closed to new customers. Service enters maintenance mode with no new features. AWS recommends migrating to Amazon ECS Express Mode for simplified container deployment. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| effective Apr 30, 2026 | AWS | Node.js 20 AWS Lambda runtime 3-phase deprecation begins. Phase 1 (April 30): no new function creation. Phase 2 (June 30): no function updates. Phase 3 (August 30): no invocations. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| effective Apr 20, 2026 | AWS | AWS WorkSpaces Thin Client end of availability. AWS stopping sales of Thin Client devices. Existing devices continue working but no new hardware can be purchased. Source ↗ | LOW |
| effective Apr 13, 2026 | Amazon Kiro | Kiro pricing model clarified: uses credits (not interactions). Credits metered to 0.01 increments, model-dependent rates (Sonnet 4 costs 1.3x more than Auto). $0.04/credit overage (disabled by default). 500 bonus credits for new users (30 days). Enterprise tier with SAML/SCIM SSO. GovCloud ~20% premium, no free tier in GovCloud. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Apr 13, 2026 | Amazon Kiro (AWS Startups) | AWS Startups offers up to 1 year of free Kiro Pro+ (worth $480/year). Three tiers: Starter (up to 2 users), Growth (up to 50 users), Scale (up to 100 users). Eligible: early-stage to Series B companies. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Apr 9, 2026 | Amazon Kiro | Amazon Kiro launched GA with a free tier of 50 credits/month. Claude-powered IDE focused on spec-driven development. Pro $20/mo (1,000 credits), Pro+ $40/mo (2,000), Power $200/mo (10,000). Credits metered to 0.01 increments, model-dependent rates. $0.04 overage per credit. Enterprise tier available. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| effective Apr 7, 2026 | Amazon Kiro | Amazon Kiro AI coding assistant launched GA with tiered credit-based pricing: Free tier (50 credits/month), Pro ($20/month, 1,000 credits), Pro+ ($40/month, 2,000 credits). Credits metered to 0.01 increments, model-dependent rates. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Mar 30, 2026 | Google Developer Program annual subscription ending March 30. Replaced by Google AI Pro ($10/mo) and AI Ultra ($100/mo) tiers with bundled cloud credits and AI model access. Source ↗ | HIGH | |
| effective Mar 21, 2026 | DigitalOcean | Managed databases are not part of the free tier. Pricing starts at $15/month. Previous listing incorrectly included '1 basic cluster' as a free tier benefit Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Feb 4, 2026 | Cloudflare | Queues added to Workers free plan — message queuing now free Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Feb 1, 2026 | Stripe | Managed Payments (Merchant of Record) service entering general availability — Stripe handles tax, billing, fraud, and disputes Source ↗ | HIGH |
| effective Feb 1, 2026 | Cloudflare Startup Program | Startup program revamped to 4 tiers with up to $250,000 in credits (previously lower). Tiers: Bootstrapped $5K, Up-and-Coming $25K, Seed-Funded $100K, High Growth $250K. Credits expire within 1 year Source ↗ | HIGH |
| effective Jan 27, 2026 | Google Developer Program Premium merged into Google One AI Pro ($19.99/mo, includes $10 Cloud credits) and AI Ultra ($100 Cloud credits). Developer benefits now bundled into consumer AI subscriptions Source ↗ | MEDIUM | |
| effective Jan 4, 2026 | AWS | EC2 Capacity Blocks for ML GPU prices increased ~15% across regions. p5e.48xlarge went from $34.61 to $39.80/hr (US East) and $43.26 to $49.75/hr (US West N. California) Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Jan 1, 2026 | Google Cloud | Google for Startups Cloud Program now offers up to $350K GCP credits for AI-first startups, plus $10K Anthropic (Claude) partner credits via Model Garden Source ↗ | HIGH |
| effective Jan 1, 2026 | DigitalOcean | 20% price cut on Basic Droplets (cheapest now $4/mo from $5/mo). Per-second billing introduced (minimum 60 seconds or $0.01). Functions free tier increased to 25,000 GiB-seconds/mo Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Jan 22, 2025 | DigitalOcean | Hatch startup program expanded to up to $100K compute credits plus up to 3 months free H100 GPU access for AI/ML startups Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
Compare startup credit programs, check eligibility, and plan your stacking strategy — all from your AI coding assistant.
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