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AWS Free Tier vs Google Cloud Free Tier: which free plan?
Google Cloud Free Tier has fewer strings attached on its free plan (score 85 vs 70). AWS Free Tier can still be the better choice for the cases below.
Both checked against their official pricing pages on 1 Nov 2026.
| Type | Cloud credits | Cloud / IaaS |
|---|---|---|
| Free-tier score | 70 / 100 | 85 / 100 |
| Card to sign up | Required | Required |
| Free plan ends | Credits: up to $200, free plan ends after 6 months | Never for free tier (trial credit: $300 for 90 days) |
| Sleeps when idle | No | No |
| Commercial use | Allowed | Allowed |
| Own domain on free | Yes | Yes |
| Free subdomain | None | None |
| Free limits |
|
|
| The catch | The free plan account closes after 6 months (or when credits are gone) unless you upgrade to a paid plan. | Only 1 GB of outbound traffic per month is free, and the VM must be in one of three US regions. |
| Paid from | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Source | Official pricing for AWS Free Tier (opens in a new tab) | Official pricing for Google Cloud Free Tier (opens in a new tab) |
Which one should you pick?
Pick AWS Free Tier if…
- your project is: learning cloud engineering
Pick Google Cloud Free Tier if…
- you want a free plan with no end date
- your project is: cloud Run and managed services
Questions
Which is better for free, AWS Free Tier or Google Cloud Free Tier?
Google Cloud Free Tier has fewer strings attached on its free plan (score 85 vs 70). AWS Free Tier can still be the better choice for the cases below.
Does AWS Free Tier or Google Cloud Free Tier need a credit card?
AWS Free Tier: yes. Google Cloud Free Tier: yes.
What is the catch with AWS Free Tier and Google Cloud Free Tier?
AWS Free Tier: The free plan account closes after 6 months (or when credits are gone) unless you upgrade to a paid plan. Google Cloud Free Tier: Only 1 GB of outbound traffic per month is free, and the VM must be in one of three US regions.