This free plan has ended. For accounts created from mid-July 2025, the old 12-month free tier (e.g. 750 h/month t2/t3.micro) was replaced by up to $200 credits and a 6-month free plan.

Discontinued · Free VPS & Cloud

Free tier ended

AWS 12-month Free Tier (legacy): the free plan is gone

For accounts created from mid-July 2025, the old 12-month free tier (e.g. 750 h/month t2/t3.micro) was replaced by up to $200 credits and a 6-month free plan.

Official pricing for AWS 12-month Free Tier (legacy) (opens in a new tab)

Checked against AWS 12-month Free Tier (legacy)'s official pages on 1 Nov 2026. Free tiers change, so confirm before you commit.

What the free plan used to be

No free tier any more.

The catch

For accounts created from mid-July 2025, the old 12-month free tier (e.g. 750 h/month t2/t3.micro) was replaced by up to $200 credits and a 6-month free plan.

AWS 12-month Free Tier (legacy): questions

Is AWS 12-month Free Tier (legacy) still free?

No. For accounts created from mid-July 2025, the old 12-month free tier (e.g. 750 h/month t2/t3.micro) was replaced by up to $200 credits and a 6-month free plan.

What can I use instead of AWS 12-month Free Tier (legacy)?

Free options in the same lane include Google Cloud Free Tier, Oracle Cloud Free Tier, AWS Free Tier. Each has its limits and catch listed on its page.

Free alternatives to AWS 12-month Free Tier (legacy) that still work

  • Google Cloud Free Tier

    Cloud / IaaS

    85

    Google's cloud with one small always-free VM, free Cloud Run usage and a 90-day trial credit.

    Trial credit
    $300 for 90 days
    VM
    1 e2-micro (us-west1, us-central1, us-east1)
    Disk
    30 GB-months standard persistent disk

    The catch: Only 1 GB of outbound traffic per month is free, and the VM must be in one of three US regions.

    Card neededNo end date
    Paid from Usage-based

  • Oracle Cloud Free Tier

    Always-free VPS

    80

    Oracle's cloud with a set of always-free virtual machines and storage, plus a short trial credit.

    Arm VM (A1)
    2 OCPUs + 12 GB RAM total (1,500 OCPU-h / 9,000 GB-h per month)
    AMD micro VMs
    Up to 2, each 1/8 OCPU + 1 GB RAM
    Block storage
    200 GB total (boot + block)

    The catch: Free VMs must be in your home region, Arm capacity is often unavailable, and idle instances can be reclaimed.

    Card neededNo end dateSleeps when idle
    Paid from Usage-based

  • AWS Free Tier

    Cloud credits

    70

    Amazon's cloud gives new accounts credits and a 6-month free plan instead of the old 12-month tier.

    Sign-up credit
    $100
    Extra credit
    Up to $100 more for trying services
    Free plan length
    6 months or until credits run out

    The catch: The free plan account closes after 6 months (or when credits are gone) unless you upgrade to a paid plan.

    Card neededCredits: up to $200, free plan ends after 6 months
    Paid from Usage-based

  • Microsoft Azure Free Account

    Cloud / IaaS

    62

    Microsoft's cloud with a 30-day credit, 12 months of small free VMs and a set of always-free services.

    Credit
    $200 for 30 days
    VMs (12 months)
    750 h/month each of B1s, B2pts v2, B2ats v2
    Managed DB (12 months)
    750 h B1MS PostgreSQL / MySQL, 32 GB storage

    The catch: After 30 days you must switch to pay-as-you-go to keep the 12-month free services, or the account is disabled.

    Card needed12 months (credit: $200 for 30 days)
    Paid from Usage-based

Tools for your new site

Free tools for your domain and site

Check a name, set up DNS and test the site once it is live. All free, in the browser.

Site is live? Get it found

Where to list a new site so search engines and people find it.