AWS Free Credits: How New Accounts Get Up to $200

AWS is not free, but a new account can start with a useful credit balance. The current free plan combines credits at sign-up with additional credits for completing onboarding activities, and the total can reach $200 in eligible accounts.

The important word is eligible. The offer depends on your country, the account creation date, and the terms shown at sign-up. Treat the number as a starting point, not a promise.

Free plan vs paid plan

When you create an account, AWS asks you to choose a plan.

• Free plan: limited to a period, with credits and a set of free-tier services. At the end of the period, the account is limited or closed unless you upgrade.
• Paid plan: full access, normal pay-as-you-go billing, and the free-tier allowances still apply where eligible.

If you are learning, the free plan is the safer default. If you need to keep resources running, understand that the paid plan starts billing when the credits or allowances end.

Step 1: Create the account

Use an email you control. You will need:

• A valid email address
• A phone number for verification
• A payment method for identity verification
• A billing address

The payment method is used for verification even if you stay on credits. A small temporary authorization may appear and then drop off.

Complete the identity verification. If it fails, the account stays limited and some services remain unavailable.

Step 2: Choose the free plan

Read the plan comparison before you click. The free plan has a time limit and a credit balance. The paid plan has no time limit but bills normally.

Do not upgrade just to remove a limit unless you have a concrete reason. Upgrading is easy later. Downgrading is not.

Step 3: Complete the onboarding activities

The activity credits are tied to specific actions in the console, such as exploring a service, launching a small resource, or completing a tutorial. The exact list appears in your account.

A practical approach:

1. Open the free-plan dashboard and list the activities.
2. Do the ones that match what you want to learn.
3. Check the credit balance after each one.
4. Stop when the activities expire or the list is done.

Do not launch large resources just to earn a credit. The activity credits are smaller than the cost of leaving an oversized instance running.

Step 4: Check your balance

Open the Billing console and look for credits. You should see:

• The credit amount
• What it applies to
• The expiry date
• Any remaining balance

Take a screenshot or note the expiry date. Credits that expire are gone, and support will not restore them.

What credits do not cover

Credits are not a universal coupon. Common exclusions include:

• Marketplace subscriptions
• Some third-party services
• Taxes and certain fees
• Charges in accounts that are not eligible
• Resources launched after the credit expires

Read the terms on the free-plan page. If a service is critical to your project, check whether it is covered before you build around it.

Staying safe

• Create a budget with an alert at a low amount, such as $1.
• Use the smallest instance size that works.
• Delete resources when you finish an experiment.
• Check the Billing dashboard weekly.
• Do not store access keys in a public repository.
• Enable MFA on the root account.

A budget alert does not stop spending. It only notifies you. Treat it as a smoke alarm, not a firewall.

Common mistakes

• Choosing the paid plan by accident. Read the plan screen.
• Assuming the full $200 is available everywhere. Check your account's offer.
• Leaving an instance running after the tutorial. Delete it.
• Ignoring the expiry date. Credits do not roll over.
• Using the root account for daily work. Create an IAM user or role.
• Forgetting that free-tier limits are monthly. Some reset, some do not.

Alternatives if you are not eligible

If the sign-up offer is not available in your region, look at:

• AWS Educate, for students
• AWS startup credits, for eligible startups
• Community and event credits
• The always-free service allowances, which are separate from the promotional credits

Each has its own eligibility rules. Do not create duplicate accounts to farm credits. AWS links accounts and can suspend them.

Final thoughts

The credit program is a good way to learn AWS without an immediate bill. Create the account, choose the free plan, finish the activities, and check the balance and expiry. Then build small, delete what you do not need, and keep a budget alert on from day one.