A free tier is the usage a cloud provider does not charge for: always-free monthly allowances per service for eligible accounts, plus, for new accounts, introductory credits with an expiry date and, depending on the provider, a free account mode or allowances for the first months only. What matters for the invoice is the end: on a fixed date, or when the credit is used up, charging starts at list price with no change in usage. Until then reports show usage without cost, or cost that a credit cancels.
How it works
Three building blocks occur: always-free monthly allowances per service, with no carry-over and no end date; introductory credits, stated in US dollars at AWS, that cover cost beyond the allowances and expire; and free account modes that charge nothing until the customer moves to usage-based billing.
AWS
At sign-up AWS offers the Free account plan or the Paid account plan. New customers receive a credit on account creation under either plan and can earn more through activities in the "Explore AWS" widget on Console Home. The Free plan charges nothing but withholds services that would use up the credit quickly. It ends after six months or once the credit is gone; AWS then suspends the account, keeps the data for 90 days, and erases account and content unless it has moved to the Paid plan by then.
On the Paid plan every service is available, and usage beyond the credit is billed at pay-as-you-go prices. More than 30 services carry always-free monthly allowances; Paid plan accounts can also use short-term free offers on selected services, starting when the service is activated. Per AWS's FAQ, credit left after an upgrade expires six or twelve months from account creation; the account settings show the date. The credit balance shows in the Cost and Usage widget on Console Home and through the GetAccountPlanState API; usage against the Free Tier limits shows on the Free Tier page of the Billing and Cost Management console and through the GetFreeTierUsage API operation. An account that joins an AWS Organization earns no further activity credits.
Azure
The Azure free account is for new Azure customers only, one per customer, verified by credit or debit card. It comprises a credit for 30 days, free monthly amounts of more than 20 services for twelve months, and more than 65 always-free services that do not draw on the credit. Microsoft charges nothing until the customer moves to pay-as-you-go; after 30 days, or once the credit is used, the account and its services are disabled without that move. After the move, only usage beyond the free monthly amounts is billed.
Cost Management leaves out unbilled services such as free tier resources and ignores free or prepaid credits; for the free account offer (MS-AZR-0044P) and other credit-based offers, its historical data may not match the invoice.
Google Cloud
The Google Cloud Free Program has three parts. The Free Tier sets monthly usage limits per Cloud Billing account, with no end date and no carry-over; Google can change them with 30 days' notice, and some apply only in specific US regions. The Free Tier applies only to billing accounts in good standing without a negotiated pricing contract or custom rate card, except for products the limits table names. Selected products add product-specific free offers. The third part is a 90-day offer for new accounts with a credit Google calls the "Welcome credit"; upgrading to a paid billing account does not extend the 90 days. Until an upgrade, GPUs, Google Cloud Marketplace and quota increases are blocked, among others, and usage is capped at the credit. If it ends without an upgrade, Google disables billing, stops all resources and deletes the data after a 30-day grace period.
The Billing Overview page shows the remaining credit in the "Free credit" pane, and Cloud Billing reports put what credit and Free Tier covered in the "Other savings" column. In the export's credits struct, FREE_TIER marks services whose Free Tier Google implements as a credit, and PROMOTION promotional credits, the introductory credit included.
Startup credit programmes
AWS Activate, Microsoft for Startups and the Google for Startups Cloud Program grant credits to young companies on their own terms; AWS Activate requires a Paid plan account. They behave like other credits (credits, refunds and corrections).
What it means for your cost
| Provider | Always free | Allowance for a limited time | Introductory credit | At the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | More than 30 services | Short-term offers on the Paid plan | On account creation and for activities | Free plan suspended, data kept 90 days; Paid plan at list price |
| Azure | More than 65 services | More than 20 services for twelve months | For 30 days | Move to pay-as-you-go, or the account is disabled |
| Google Cloud | Free Tier limits per billing account | Product-specific offers on selected products | For 90 days | Resources stopped, deleted after 30 days |
A cost report on an account inside the free tier shows the usage cost before credits and zero after them. That choice decides whether the credit's end shows as a jump (list, billed, effective and amortized cost). A budget on cost after credits stays silent until the credit is gone; one on cost before credits shows how fast it is being used (cloud budgets).
Because eligibility belongs to the account, the account structure decides where an allowance applies: per billing account at Google, per new account at AWS. Who approves the move to paid billing is a matter of guardrails and approval thresholds.
Where it goes wrong
- The end of the credit read as a cost spike. Symptom: monthly cost jumps from zero while usage is flat. Cause: the credit is used up or expired, and the same usage now costs list price.
- One allowance per billing account. Symptom: Google Cloud projects incur cost although each stays under the limits. Cause: the limits apply per Cloud Billing account across all its projects.
- A free resource in the wrong region. Symptom: a small Compute Engine instance is billed. Cause: the Compute Engine Free Tier limit applies only in three US regions.
- Report and invoice disagree. Symptom: Azure Cost Management shows cost the invoice does not. Cause: it ignores free credits.
Example
Published offers from the US English pages, in USD, read on 2026-10-16; the offers apply in most countries (not in AWS's China regions; Azure lists the eligible countries at sign-up), and only the Compute Engine limit named here is tied to regions.
| Provider | Offer | Published figure |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | Credit for new accounts | USD 100 on account creation, up to USD 100 more for activities; Free plan at most six months, credit after an upgrade six or twelve months per the FAQ |
| Azure | Azure free account | USD 200 for 30 days |
| Google Cloud | Welcome credit | USD 300 for 90 days |
| Google Cloud | Free Tier | one e2-micro VM per month in us-west1, us-central1 or us-east1 |
| AWS | AWS Activate | Activate Founders up to USD 5,000, Activate Portfolio up to USD 200,000 |
| Microsoft | Microsoft for Startups | up to USD 150,000 |
| Google Cloud | Google for Startups Cloud Program | up to USD 200,000 over two years from Pre-Seed to Series A, up to USD 350,000 for AI startups |
Sources
Read on 2026-10-16. AWS AWS Free Tier, Free Tier FAQs, Explore AWS services with AWS Free Tier, Earning additional credits, Avoiding unexpected charges after Free Tier, AWS Activate Credits; Microsoft Azure free account, Understand Cost Management data, Microsoft for Startups; Google Cloud Google Cloud Free Program, Structure of Standard data export, Startups.