Why caution:effective 2026-06-12 — Oracle halved the Always Free Ampere A1 allowance. Oracle's Always Free documentation changed between 2026-06-05 and 2026-06-12, and Oracle announced the new allocation on 2026-07-21. The AMD micro VMs, storage and databases did not change. Source ↗Full history ↓
A verdict here is not a fixed property of the vendor. A one-off pricing event demotes a vendor while its recorded date falls in the last 180 days and then lapses on its own, with nothing about the vendor having changed; a standing condition — a free tier withdrawn and not restored, a product retired — does not lapse with time. This one rests on a record effective 2026-06-12, so it lapses on 2026-12-10 unless we record something new first.
Limits, pricing history. Verified October 2026. Last updated 2026-10-24.
Oracle Cloud's free tier offers 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… We rate it caution — one recorded limit reduction, on 2026-06-12.
The day we last read the vendor's page, and the day we last confirmed the terms we publish.
Free Tier Details
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
We read that on 2026-10-24 from https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/, and our check recorded: the page names Oracle Cloud as "oracle cloud" and states amounts, none of which we matched to the terms we publish.
From oracle.com/cloud/free, read 2026-10-24:
Oracle Cloud Free Tier allows you to sign up for an Oracle Cloud account which provides a number of Always Free services and a Free Trial with US$300 of free credit to use on all eligible Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services for up to 30 days. The Always Free services are available for an unlimited period of time.
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.)
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.)
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.)
When You'll Outgrow Oracle Cloud's Free Tier
When your usage exceeds the free tier limits, you'll need to upgrade.
Data correction - Oracle's cut to the Always Free Ampere A1 allowance happened between 2026-06-05 and 2026-06-12, not on 2026-09-02, the day our reading noticed it, and Oracle announced it on 2026-07-21. Source ↗
Before: Recorded 2026-09-02 as: The description of the Always Free tier has changed. The tier still exists, the specific VM details are different. dated 2026-09-02
Oracle halved the Always Free Ampere A1 allowance. Oracle's Always Free documentation changed between 2026-06-05 and 2026-06-12, and Oracle announced the new allocation on 2026-07-21. The AMD micro VMs, storage and databases did not change. Source ↗
Before: "All tenancies get the first 3,000 OCPU hours and 18,000 GB hours per month for free for VM instances using the VM.Standard.A1.Flex shape"; "Processor: 4 OCPUs total", "Memory: 24 GB total" (Always Free Resources, capture of 2026-06-05)
After: "All tenancies get the first 1,500 OCPU hours and 9,000 GB hours per month for free for VM instances using the VM.Standard.A1.Flex shape"; "Processor: 2 OCPUs total", "Memory: 12 GB total" (Always Free Resources, capture of 2026-06-12, and as read on 2026-10-21)
We do not push notifications. Every change we record is readable the moment it lands, and the JSON answer carries an ETag — send it back as If-None-Match and an unchanged answer costs one 304.
Yes, Oracle Cloud offers a free tier: 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
What is Oracle Cloud's free tier?
Oracle Cloud's free tier is called "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 https://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 https://www.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 https://www.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 https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/, read 2026-10-10.) Always Free compute instances must be created in the tenancy's home region. (From https://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 https://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 https://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 https://www.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 https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/faq/, read 2026-10-29.)
Is Oracle Cloud's free tier reliable?
Oracle Cloud's free tier requires caution because of one specific recorded change, on 2026-06-12: Oracle halved the Always Free Ampere A1 allowance. Oracle's Always Free documentation changed between 2026-06-05 and 2026-06-12, and Oracle announced the new allocation on 2026-07-21. The AMD micro VMs, storage and databases did not change. Source: https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/FreeTier/freetier_topic-Always_Free_Resources.htm
Is Oracle Cloud's free tier good for production?
Oracle Cloud's free tier is usable for prototyping and development, but we rate it caution because of one recorded limit reduction, on 2026-06-12. Consider alternatives with more stable pricing for critical services.
What changed in Oracle Cloud's pricing?
Oracle Cloud has had 1 recorded pricing change. Most recently: Oracle halved the Always Free Ampere A1 allowance. Oracle's Always Free documentation changed between 2026-06-05 and 2026-06-12, and Oracle announced the new allocation on 2026-07-21. The AMD micro VMs, storage and databases did not change. Source: https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/FreeTier/freetier_topic-Always_Free_Resources.htm (2026-06-12).
When will I outgrow Oracle Cloud's free tier?
When your usage exceeds the free tier limits, you'll need to upgrade. When you outgrow the free tier, evaluate paid plans against alternatives — sometimes a competitor's free tier covers what you need.
What category is Oracle Cloud in?
Oracle Cloud is categorized under Cloud IaaS on AgentDeals.