AWS recently released a new free tier, the Free Account plan, which allows for a test account suitable for experimenting with AWS services and building proofs of concept at no cost for up to six months, without incurring billable risks or cost commitments.
With the Free Account Plan, users will not incur any charges during this period until they upgrade to a paid account plan. Furthermore, the free account plan expires after 6 months or when users exhaust their credits, whichever comes first. Channy Yun, a Principal Developer Advocate for AWS Cloud, explains:
While on the free account plan, you won’t be able to use some services typically used by large enterprises. You can upgrade to a paid plan at any time to continue building on AWS. When you upgrade, you can still use any unused credits for any eligible service usage for up to 12 months from your initial sign-up date.
(Source: AWS News blog post)
Initially, users receive $ 100 in credit and can earn an additional $ 20 up to a total of $100 by completing exploration activities, such as launching an EC2 instance and terminating it, or building a straightforward web application consisting of a Lambda function with a function URL.
A user on Reddit thread noted:
This will be great to help monitor/limit undesired charges and potentially sandbox accounts in enterprise. From a security perspective: time to restrict `freetier:UpgradeAccountPlan` to avoid unwanted charges and also to avoid a sneaky way of potentially impacting resources.
This new AWS approach positions it more closely with other leading cloud providers. Both Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) also offer comprehensive free tiers, mirroring AWS’s approach to enable exploration and development without immediate cost. Azure’s free account provides $200 in credits for the first 30 days, along with over 25 “always free” services and a selection of popular services available for free for 12 months, including specific allowances for Virtual Machines, SQL Database, Cosmos DB, and App Service. Similarly, GCP offers a 90-day, $300 Free Trial for new customers applicable across most products, complemented by an “Always Free” tier that grants ongoing access to core services like Compute Engine (e2-micro VM), Cloud Storage (5 GB-months), BigQuery (1 TB querying), Cloud Run, and Cloud Functions up to specified monthly limits, ensuring users can experiment and build proofs of concept on both platforms with controlled or no initial expenditure.
Angela Andrews, a Solution Architect at Red Hat, tweeted:
Looks like we’re losing the AWS 12 month free tier! AWS is moving to the credit model after 7/15/2025 like GCP and Azure before them.
However, Corey Quinn writes in a blog post:
This marks a return to product-led growth rather than focusing on enterprise revenue to the exclusion of all else. Let’s be honest: big companies don’t care about the free tier. Big companies don’t give a shit. But students, hobbyists, and the next generation of developers who are currently starting on simpler platforms? They care deeply.
Lastly, the enhanced AWS Free Tier program provides users with notifications when their AWS credits reach 50%, 25%, and 10%, along with alerts for the final 15, 7, and 2 days of their 6-month free period. Once this period concludes, users will receive instructions on how to upgrade to a paid plan, with a 90-day window to reopen their account. The free account grants access to over 30 always-free services, whereas paid accounts can utilize all AWS services, with further details available on the AWS Free Tier page. Moreover, accounts created before July 15, 2025, remain in the legacy Free Tier, which offers short-term trials, 12-month trials, and access to the always-free services available in both tiers.
