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Oracle Cloud Free Tier vs AWS Free Tier: which free plan?
Oracle Cloud Free Tier has fewer strings attached on its free plan (score 80 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 | Always-free VPS | Cloud credits |
|---|---|---|
| Free-tier score | 80 / 100 | 70 / 100 |
| Card to sign up | Required | Required |
| Free plan ends | Never (trial credit: $300 for 30 days) | Credits: up to $200, free plan ends after 6 months |
| Sleeps when idle | Idle VMs can be reclaimed (under 20% CPU, network and memory over 7 days); idle accounts after 30 days may be suspended | No |
| Commercial use | Allowed | Allowed |
| Own domain on free | Yes | Yes |
| Free subdomain | None | None |
| Free limits |
|
|
| The catch | Free VMs must be in your home region, Arm capacity is often unavailable, and idle instances can be reclaimed. | The free plan account closes after 6 months (or when credits are gone) unless you upgrade to a paid plan. |
| Paid from | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Source | Official pricing for Oracle Cloud Free Tier (opens in a new tab) | Official pricing for AWS Free Tier (opens in a new tab) |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Oracle Cloud Free Tier if…
- you want a free plan with no end date
- your project is: self-hosting and Docker stacks
Pick AWS Free Tier if…
- your app must not sleep when idle
- your project is: learning cloud engineering
Questions
Which is better for free, Oracle Cloud Free Tier or AWS Free Tier?
Oracle Cloud Free Tier has fewer strings attached on its free plan (score 80 vs 70). AWS Free Tier can still be the better choice for the cases below.
Does Oracle Cloud Free Tier or AWS Free Tier need a credit card?
Oracle Cloud Free Tier: yes. AWS Free Tier: yes.
What is the catch with Oracle Cloud Free Tier and AWS Free Tier?
Oracle Cloud Free Tier: Free VMs must be in your home region, Arm capacity is often unavailable, and idle instances can be reclaimed. AWS Free Tier: The free plan account closes after 6 months (or when credits are gone) unless you upgrade to a paid plan.