If you are building a startup in 2026, cloud costs can feel like a tax on every experiment. You want to ship fast, but every new microservice, database, or AI model adds to the bill. That is exactly where AWS credits for startups come in.
AWS credits are basically prepaid vouchers that pay part or all of your AWS bill for a period of time. You still use the same AWS account and services, but instead of cash leaving your bank account, the credits are consumed first. When they run out or expire, you start paying the full bill again.
Founders chase “free AWS credits” because they stretch the runway, make it safer to test ideas, and help close fundraising with lower burn numbers. The good news is that there are safe, official ways to get them, and you do not have to touch shady offers or hacks.
This guide walks through those official paths, from AWS Activate Founders and Portfolio to partner programs, and shows how trusted platforms like Spendbase help startups unlock larger credit amounts, extra AWS discounts, and long term savings on SaaS and cloud costs, without fluff or scams.
What Are AWS Credits for Startups and Why Are They Free?
At a basic level, AWS credits are promotional balances that reduce what you pay for eligible AWS services. You still get a normal invoice, but AWS applies a credit line that subtracts from the total.
You do not pay for the credits themselves, which is why they are called “free,” but they are not unlimited. Credits have rules, a capped amount, and an expiry date, usually 1 to 2 years from grant.
Typical ranges look like this:
- Early self-funded startups: around $1,000 in credits through AWS Activate Founders
- Startups with partners, accelerators, or VCs: $5,000 to $100,000 or more through AWS Activate Portfolio and related programs
These credits usually cover core services like EC2 (compute), S3 (storage), RDS and DynamoDB (databases), and many managed services like Lambda or SageMaker. Some third-party tools from the AWS Marketplace might not be fully covered, so you always need to check the promo terms.
How AWS Credits Work on Your Bill
Your AWS bill still shows usage per service every month. Credits sit in the background and get applied after AWS calculates usage.
A simple example:
- Your monthly AWS usage is $900
- You have $5,000 in active promotional credits
- AWS applies $900 in credits, so your amount due is $0, and your remaining credit balance drops to $4,100
Once the credits are fully used or expired, you pay the full amount again. Nothing about your technical setup changes, only who pays for it.
Why AWS Gives Free Credits to Startups
This is not a trick. AWS is playing a long game.
If a promising startup chooses AWS early, builds their product there, and grows, that company is very likely to stay with AWS for years. Offering credits is a marketing and growth tool for AWS:
- It reduces early cloud costs, so startups are more likely to choose AWS
- Teams can run bigger experiments, proofs of concept, and MVPs without every dollar hurting
- When the company scales, it already has infrastructure, tooling, and skills on AWS
So yes, the credits are free to you, but AWS expects that a share of funded, high-growth startups will become long term, high value customers.
Main Way to Get Free AWS Credits: AWS Activate
For most startups in 2025, AWS Activate is the key entry point. It is the official startup program AWS runs, with two main tracks:
- Activate Founders for self-funded or very early teams
- Activate Portfolio for startups backed by VCs, accelerators, or official partners
Both share similar basics: you need to be founded within the last 10 years, pre-Series B, and have a working public website.
AWS Activate Founders: For Bootstrapped and Early Startups
Activate Founders is ideal if you are building your first product, have little or no funding, and you are not yet part of a big accelerator or VC portfolio.
Typical requirements include:
- Company is less than 10 years old
- Pre-Series B, often pre-seed or seed, sometimes bootstrapped
- Live website that clearly explains what your startup does
- You have not already used the same AWS Activate credit tier
The Founders package usually offers about $1,000 in AWS credits, plus some support and training content.
Basic steps to apply:
- Create an AWS Builder ID with your work or business email
- Sign in and open the AWS Activate portal
- Choose the Founders path and complete your startup profile
- Link your AWS account and submit your application
Approval often takes around a week, as long as your details are accurate.
AWS Activate Portfolio: Larger Credit Packages Through Partners
Activate Portfolio is where the bigger numbers live, often $5,000 to $100,000 in credits, depending on your stage and which partner backs you.
To qualify, you must:
- Be backed by an AWS Activate Provider, such as a VC, accelerator, incubator, or partner platform
- Get that provider’s Organization ID (Org ID)
- Stay within core rules: under 10 years old, pre-Series B, and not already given equal or higher AWS credits
Many well-known programs like Y Combinator, Techstars, or top VCs are Activate Providers. In 2025, Spendbase also acts as an Activate Provider, so startups that join through their program can access Portfolio-level packages.
The process is:
- Confirm your VC, accelerator, or platform is listed as an AWS Activate Provider
- Ask them for their Org ID
- Go to the AWS Activate page, select Portfolio, and enter that Org ID
- Fill in company, funding, and product details accurately
- Wait around 7 to 10 business days for AWS to review
If approved, credits are attached to your AWS account and start offsetting bills almost right away.
Step-by-Step Checklist to Apply for AWS Activate Successfully
To keep your odds of approval high, use this short checklist:
- Website ready: Make sure your website is live, clear, and shows your product or mission
- Business email: Use a company domain instead of a personal Gmail if you can
- Clean AWS account: Verify your email, phone, and payment card in AWS first
- Accurate funding info: Be honest about your funding round and date, AWS does check
- Right tier: Do not apply for Portfolio without a valid Org ID from a partner
- Company details: Double check company name, address, and country match any legal docs
If you get rejected, it is often for issues like missing website details or wrong funding data. Fix those gaps and you can reapply once you qualify.
Common Reasons Startups Lose or Waste AWS Credits
Getting credits is only half the story. Many teams waste a lot of value by:
- Letting credits expire without using them on meaningful work
- Spinning up big instances or clusters for tests and forgetting to turn them off
- Never setting budgets or alerts, so they do not see usage spikes
- Assuming credits will renew on their own, which they usually will not
Most credit grants last 12 to 24 months. Time your application around your roadmap and fundraising so you hit your heaviest experimentation while credits are active.
Other Legit Ways to Get More Free AWS Credits in 2025
AWS Activate is central, but it is not the only option. Many extra credits still flow through official AWS channels, just triggered by different partners or programs.
You can often stack or sequence these over your first few startup years.
Leverage VCs, Accelerators, and Startup Programs for Extra Credits
Lots of VCs and accelerators have their own AWS credit perks. They usually plug into AWS Activate Portfolio, but at higher tiers.
Examples include:
- Global accelerators like Y Combinator or Techstars
- VC-backed startup programs or venture studios
- Regional accelerators and incubators with AWS partnerships
If you already have investors, ask them directly whether they are an AWS Activate Provider and how much cloud support they offer. You want the Org ID and any timing rules, such as “apply within 6 or 12 months of funding.”
Even smaller local funds often have access to these perks, so do not assume only big-name firms can help.
Use University and Community Programs if You Are a Student or Alumni Founder
If you or a co-founder is a student or recent graduate, check for:
- University startup accelerators or incubators
- Computer science or engineering departments that hand out AWS credits
- Entrepreneurship centers or hackathons that use AWS sponsorships
These often give smaller amounts, like $50 to a few hundred dollars for projects, but they can be enough to validate an idea or run an MVP. Some plug straight into AWS Activate, others give stand-alone promo codes with shorter expiry periods.
How Third-Party Platforms Help You Unlock More AWS Credits
There is a growing group of official advisors and resellers that guide startups through AWS credits and discounts. They do not sell credits. Instead, they help you reach the best AWS Activate tier you actually qualify for.
Typical benefits:
- Quick eligibility check based on age, funding, and current AWS usage
- Fewer application mistakes, so you are less likely to be rejected
- Access to their partner-level Org ID if they are an Activate Provider
Spendbase fits in this group, but with an extra twist. It does not only help you claim credits. It also brings SaaS and cloud optimization tools so the savings continue after credits expire.
If you want a deeper breakdown of these options, the How to get free AWS credits – 2026 guide on the Spendbase blog is a useful companion.
How to Get Free AWS Credits for Startups With Spendbase
Spendbase is a cost optimization platform and discount marketplace that works closely with AWS, SaaS vendors, and startups. On the AWS side, it acts as a helper and Activate Provider, which lets eligible startups unlock serious credit bundles.
Alongside credits, Spendbase tracks and optimizes your SaaS and cloud spend, so your total software bill can shrink by double-digit percentages, not just for a few months but sustainably.
You can explore AWS-focused deals on the AWS cost‑saving offers page in their marketplace.
What Spendbase Offers: Up to 3% Off AWS and Big Credit Bundles
Spendbase combines multiple benefits into one flow:
- Free AWS credits for startups, often up to $100,000 in promotional credits for eligible teams, aligned with AWS Activate Portfolio limits
- Extra AWS billing discounts, such as up to 3% off your AWS spend as long as you stay under their umbrella
- Extra credits for things like Well-Architected Framework Reviews or proof-of-concept work, sometimes equal to two months of your AWS bill
Through the Up to $100k free AWS credits from Spendbase page, you can see current offers, including startup-specific packages.
Spendbase does not replace AWS Activate. Instead, it routes you to the best official AWS offer you qualify for, then adds its own cost optimization service on top. Its pricing with AWS is success-based, often taking a share of the savings they help you unlock, so you do not pay heavy fees upfront.
Who Qualifies for Free AWS Credits Through Spendbase
Spendbase targets early and growth-stage startups that:
- Are built on AWS and expect usage to grow
- Are pre-Series B and founded within the last 10 years
- Have a live website on a company domain
- Either have not used AWS credits before, or are ready for a new tier through a partner
The exact credit amount depends on your stage, funding, existing AWS history, and partner network. Since Spendbase is connected to AWS programs directly, they can check your profile and quickly map you to the right bracket instead of you guessing which portal to use.
Beyond AWS, the wider SaaS discounts marketplace – startup deals includes big savings on tools like Slack, HubSpot, and many more, which helps cut overall burn.
How to Apply for AWS Credits With Spendbase (Simple Flow)
The flow is simple for founders:
- Open the Spendbase AWS offer page and submit a form with company details
- Share your current AWS setup, such as spend level and whether you already used Activate
- The Spendbase team or platform checks eligibility and selects the most suitable AWS program
- You receive guidance on next steps, including Org ID and application instructions
- After AWS approves the credits, Spendbase can also help track and trim your ongoing cloud and SaaS costs
This saves you time compared to researching every VC, accelerator, or cloud reseller on your own.
If you want to see how much discount or credit you might qualify for, the AWS discount calculator – estimate savings gives a quick estimate based on your inputs.
Smart Tips to Maximize Your Free AWS Credits and Avoid Surprises
Getting credits is exciting, but you do not want a giant bill spike when they end. A bit of planning turns credits from a quick win into a real growth boost.
Plan Your Product Roadmap Around Credit Expiry Dates
As soon as you receive credits, check:
- Total amount
- Start date
- Expiry date
You can see this inside the AWS Billing console under credits or promotional balances.
Use heavy experiments, migrations, or data-heavy tasks while credits are live. For example, train large AI models or run intensive analytics pipelines while your credit balance is high. Aim to reach a stable, efficient baseline before expiry, so your paid bill does not feel like a shock.
Use Budgets, Alerts, and Cost Optimization Tools From Day One
Even with free credits, treat your AWS spend like real money.
Simple steps:
- Set AWS Budgets and email or Slack alerts at key thresholds
- Regularly shut down dev and test resources at night or on weekends
- Right-size instances instead of always choosing the largest one
- Review your bill monthly to catch unused services or odd spikes
A cost platform such as Spendbase can amplify this by tracking not just AWS but all your SaaS subscriptions in one place. Over time, customers have reported saving a large share of their software spend through better visibility and vendor discounts, not only through one-time credits.
Avoid Red Flags and Unsafe “Free AWS Credits” Offers
You will see tempting offers online: people selling credits, reselling accounts, or asking for full root access to your AWS account.
Avoid all of that.
Legitimate free credits always flow through official AWS programs, hackathons, recognized partners, or platforms that clearly link back to AWS rules. Buying or trading credits between accounts can break AWS terms and even get your account suspended.
If you are not sure about an offer, ask:
- Is it tied to AWS Activate, an AWS event, or a named partner?
- Does it require unsafe access, like root credentials?
- Does it sound too good to be true with no mention of eligibility?
When in doubt, stick to known partners and marketplaces like Spendbase that clearly explain how their AWS credits and discounts connect to official AWS paths.
How AWS Credits Shape Early Technical Decisions
When we look back at early-stage startup infrastructure choices, cloud credits often influence decisions more than founders admit. Not in a reckless way, but in subtle architectural calls that later become permanent.
Most teams do not rebuild everything once they gain traction. What you deploy during the credit phase often becomes the foundation you scale on later.
This is why AWS credits do more than reduce invoices. They influence how systems are designed, which services are chosen, and how quickly teams move from prototype to production.
Service Selection Bias During the Credit Period
When credits are active, teams tend to favour managed services over self-hosted alternatives. This usually shows up in areas like databases, queues, and monitoring.
Examples we see often:
Using managed relational databases instead of self-hosted PostgreSQL on EC2
Choosing serverless compute instead of long-running instances
Relying on native monitoring and logging rather than third-party tools
These choices reduce engineering time and make sense while credits cover the cost. The risk appears later if workloads are not reviewed once credits taper off.
A common mistake is assuming that what was affordable during the credit phase will remain affordable at scale without adjustment.
Lock-In Is Not Always a Problem, But It Must Be Conscious
There is a lot of talk about cloud lock-in, but for startups, speed usually matters more than theoretical portability.
The real issue is unconscious lock-in.
If a team builds tightly around proprietary managed services without understanding cost behaviour, the bill shock comes later. Credits hide inefficiencies.
The solution is not to avoid managed services. It is to understand pricing mechanics early.
When teams know what drives cost for compute, storage, data transfer, and requests, they can design systems that remain predictable after promotional balances expire.
Understanding Which Costs Credits Do Not Protect You From
Credits do not behave like blanket coupons. Certain cost categories remain painful even when promotional balances are active.
This catches many founders off guard.
Data Transfer and Egress Surprises
One of the most misunderstood areas is data transfer.
Inbound traffic is usually free
Traffic between services in the same region is often cheap
Outbound traffic to the internet or other regions can add up fast
Credits may apply, but the usage pattern grows so quickly that balances disappear faster than planned.
This shows up in products dealing with media, APIs, or customer-facing dashboards with heavy data movement.
Teams that ignore this early often see their remaining balance drain months earlier than expected.
Marketplace and Third-Party Tools
Many teams assume everything inside their cloud account is covered. That is not always true.
Some marketplace products bill separately
Certain SaaS-style tools appear on the bill but are excluded from promotions
Support plans may have partial coverage
The safest habit is to treat any non-core service as paid until proven otherwise.
Before adopting a new tool during the credit phase, it helps to ask a simple question.
Would we still keep this if credits were gone tomorrow?
Credit Timing and Fundraising Strategy
One of the least discussed aspects of cloud credits is how they interact with fundraising conversations.
Investors care about burn, but they care even more about predictability.
Why Timing Matters More Than Total Credit Size
A smaller credit amount used at the right time can be more valuable than a larger package used too early.
Using credits before product-market fit can distort cost signals. It becomes harder to understand what your real infrastructure footprint looks like.
Many experienced founders delay heavy infrastructure until:
Core use cases are validated
Traffic patterns are clearer
Data models are stable
Then they apply credits to scale responsibly, not blindly.
Credits as a Narrative Tool in Investor Updates
When used correctly, credits strengthen your financial story.
Examples of how founders frame this well:
“We extended runway by six months through infrastructure optimisation and promotional cloud support.”
“Our cost per active user dropped after moving to managed services during the credit period.”
“We validated scaling assumptions while cloud costs were subsidised.”
This shows discipline rather than dependency.
Operational Discipline While Running on Credits
The most successful teams behave as if credits are already gone.
This mindset changes everything.
Treat Credits as a Temporary Buffer, Not a Budget
Credits are best viewed as insurance, not income.
Teams that succeed usually:
Set budgets as if paying cash
Review costs weekly, not monthly
Shut down unused resources aggressively
This prevents habits from forming that later feel impossible to reverse.
Why FinOps Habits Should Start Early
Financial operations are often postponed until later stages. That delay is expensive.
Early FinOps does not require complex tooling. It requires habits.
Basic examples:
Naming resources clearly so ownership is obvious
Tagging by environment and project
Scheduling regular clean-up reviews
These habits take minutes early on and save thousands later.
Common Architectural Patterns That Waste Credits Quietly
Not all waste is dramatic. Most waste is silent.
Over-Provisioned Development Environments
Development and staging environments often mirror production but do not need to.
Teams forget to downsize or shut them down
Instances run 24/7 despite limited usage
Old test environments are never removed
Credits absorb the cost until they do not.
A simple rule helps.
If no one has logged into it in two weeks, question why it exists.
Logging and Monitoring Overload
Logging feels cheap at first. It rarely is.
High-volume logs
Verbose debug settings
Long retention periods
These quietly consume storage and processing costs.
The fix is not less observability. It is intentional observability.
Log what you will actually read. Retain what you will actually analyse.
Security and Compliance During the Credit Phase
Security corners are often cut early, especially when speed feels urgent.
Credits can help here if used correctly.
Using Credits to Fund Proper Security Posture
Instead of treating security as overhead, teams can use promotional balances to set it up properly.
Examples include:
Identity and access separation
Encrypted storage by default
Audit logging enabled from day one
These steps are easier to implement early than retrofitting later.
Compliance Readiness Without Overbuilding
Not every startup needs enterprise compliance on day one.
But basic readiness helps when opportunities arise.
Having:
Clear access controls
Documented infrastructure patterns
Predictable deployment processes
makes later audits far less painful.
Credits give breathing room to do this properly instead of rushing it under pressure.
How Teams Transition After Credits Expire
The moment credits end should not feel dramatic.
If it does, something went wrong earlier.
Smooth Transition Patterns That Work
Teams that handle the transition well usually:
Gradually reduce reliance on heavy services
Replace temporary experiments with stable systems
Already know their monthly baseline cost
When the first full bill arrives, it matches expectations.
What to Do If the Bill Suddenly Spikes
If costs jump unexpectedly, the solution is rarely panic.
The steps are usually:
Identify top cost drivers
Check for unused or forgotten resources
Review recent traffic or usage changes
Downsize or refactor where necessary
Most issues are fixable within weeks if addressed calmly.
Long-Term Cost Thinking Beyond Promotional Periods
The smartest founders think beyond the credit window.
They ask questions like:
What does this cost at ten times usage
Which components scale linearly versus exponentially
Where can architecture absorb growth cheaply
This mindset separates teams that struggle later from those that scale comfortably.
Cost Awareness as a Competitive Advantage
Infrastructure efficiency compounds.
Teams with disciplined cost control can:
Price more competitively
Survive market downturns longer
Reinvest savings into product and growth
Cloud credits start the journey, but awareness sustains it.
When External Help Makes Sense
There is a point where internal guesswork becomes expensive.
Signs You Should Get Outside Review
It may be time to get help if:
Costs rise faster than usage
No one can clearly explain the bill
Engineers and finance see different numbers
An external review often uncovers simple fixes that internal teams overlook due to familiarity.
Balancing Independence and Guidance
Getting help does not mean handing over control.
The best outcomes happen when:
Founders stay involved
Teams learn from the process
Changes are documented and repeatable
The goal is clarity, not dependency.
Conclusion
Free AWS credits for startups are one of the simplest ways to cut burn and move faster in 2025. The main routes are clear: AWS Activate Founders for early, self-funded teams, AWS Activate Portfolio through partners for bigger packages, plus extra stacks from universities, investors, and trusted advisors.
The key is to treat AWS credits as a fuel boost, not permanent free money. Use them to run the right experiments, watch your costs with budgets and reviews, and keep optimizing so you stay lean after credits expire.
A practical next step is simple: check your eligibility, apply to the right AWS Activate tier, review your investor or school perks, then explore Spendbase’s AWS offers and AWS credit offer for startups to unlock extra credits, discounts, and long-term savings across your cloud and SaaS stack.
