AWS Free Tier FAQs

The AWS Free Tier program allows new customers to build and experiment with AWS at no cost for up to 6 months. New customers receive up to $200 in AWS credits, $100 upon sign-up and up to $100 more as you explore foundational AWS services. All customers, new and existing, can access over 30 services with always free offers. Services with an Always Free usage allow you to use the product for free up to specified limits as long as you are an AWS customer.

The AWS Free Tier is available to all new customers. All customers are welcome to sign up online.

Click on “Create an AWS Account” to start the sign-up process. With AWS Free Tier, you can receive up to $200 in AWS credits and access over 30 always-free services that offer free monthly usage. Visit compare sign-up options to choose the option that works for your needs.

No. A payment method isn't required to sign up for most new customers. In some cases, we may request additional information, such as a payment method, to verify your identity.

Refer to AWS Free Tier for the list of eligible services for your account type.

Free Tier credits expire 6 months from the date you create your AWS account. You can view the credit expiration date in the Settings Portal. If you signed up for AWS prior to the launch of the new sign-up experience in October 2026, use the Credits page in the AWS Billing and Cost Management Console.

You would be ineligible for the Free plan or Free Tier credits if you have an existing AWS account or have previously had one. The Free plan and Free Tier credits are available only to new AWS customers.

No, your credits cannot be transferred to another AWS account.

If you exceed the free usage limits of Always Free services while on the Free plan, your remaining Free Tier credits will automatically apply to the charges. Once your credits are exhausted, you will need to upgrade to a Paid plan to continue using your account and associated services. If you are already on a Paid plan, standard service rates apply to usage that exceeds your Free Tier credit balance.

You are automatically enrolled in the Free plan when you create a new AWS account. However, if you have an existing AWS account or have previously had one, you will be ineligible for the Free plan or Free Tier credits. The Free plan lets you experiment with AWS services and build proof-of-concepts at no cost for up to 6 months, or until you exhaust your Free Tier credits, whichever comes first. You can upgrade to a Paid plan at any time.

You can monitor your Free plan credit balance and days remaining through the Cost and Usage widget in the AWS Management Console Home or programmatically through the AWS SDK and command line at no cost. Please refer to the GetAccountPlanState API Reference for more details on obtaining information related to the state of your Free Tier account plan. You will also receive periodic email alerts regarding your credit balance and when you are approaching the end of your Free plan period.

Your Free plan expires the earlier of (1) 6 months from the date you opened your AWS account, or (2) once you have exhausted your Free Tier credits.

No, you cannot extend your Free plan beyond 6 months.

When your Free plan expires, AWS suspends your account and any associated projects, and you will lose access to your resources and data. AWS will retain your data for 90 days after your Free plan expires. During this period, you have the option to upgrade to Paid plan to reopen your account and restore access to your resources. If you don’t upgrade your account within 90 days, AWS will permanently erase your AWS account and all its content.

You have 90 days after your Free plan expires to upgrade to a Paid plan and recover your data. Once you upgrade, you can download your data and access your resources. Once you’ve retrieved your data, we recommend closing your AWS account to prevent any future billing charges.

To upgrade your Free plan to Paid plan, log into your AWS account, go to your Settings Portal, then click “Billing”. Select “Upgrade,” then follow the guide.

When you upgrade to Paid plan, your remaining Free Tier credits will automatically apply to future AWS bills until they expire. Free Tier credits expire 12 months after you create your account.

No, you cannot downgrade your Paid plan to the Free plan.

Your Free plan is limited from accessing a subset of AWS services and offerings that would immediately consume the entire Free Tier credit amount or require hardware purchases. To see which AWS services are available under the Free plan, visit AWS Free Tier. Additionally, your Free plan is ineligible for other promotional credits or incentive offers, such as AWS Activate credits. These limitations are removed by upgrading to a Paid plan.

Basic AWS support is included with the Free plan. For more information, visit AWS Free Tier.

The paid plan gives you full access to AWS services and features to build production applications that scale beyond the Free Tier credit amount. You will be automatically charge for any usage beyond the credit balance or when you access a service where credits don’t apply. Additionally, you will have access to all always free services and short-term trials. Always free services allow you to use the product for free up to specified limits as long as you are an AWS customer, while short-term trials are free to use for a specified period or up to a one-time limit depending on the service selected. Visit AWS Free Tier for list of always free services and short-term trials. 

When you upgrade to a Paid plan, you can set a monthly spend limit for your project starting at $20. You receive notifications at 50%, 75%, and 90% of your project’s spend limit. You can also set early cost controls that stop new resource launches or pause your idle or most expensive resources. If your project reaches its spend limit, AWS will pause your project and stop its resources until the next month, unless you increase the spend limit.

You can track your actual usage against short-term trial and always free limits by using the Free Tier GetAccountPlanState API. Please refer to the GetAccountPlanState API Reference to learn more. You can also see current month activity by service, usage type and region by logging into your account and going to the Free Tier page in the Billing & Cost Management console. This allows you to understand when your free usage will switch to pay-as-you-go pricing each month.

Advanced features give you access to the full AWS experience, including multiple regions, granular permissions, and enterprise-focused services. You can activate advanced features at any time at no cost, with no migration or downtime. Your existing resources and projects remain unchanged.

The Free Tier credits you have already earned will automatically apply to future AWS bills until they expire. Free Tier credits expire 6 months after you create your account.

No. Once you activate advanced features, you cannot revert to the Free plan.

You can earn up to an additional $100 Free Tier credits by completing activities in the Explore AWS widget by their specified completion date. To view activities, visit the Explore AWS widget found on your AWS Console Home dashboard and set the filter to “Earn AWS credits” or visit Earning additional credits.

You will need to complete the activities within 6 months from the date you open your AWS account to earn Free Tier credits. However, the activities will expire immediately, and you will become ineligible to earn more credits when you join an AWS Organization or set up an AWS Control Tower landing zone. You can find an activity’s complete by date in the Explore AWS widget in the AWS Console home. 

To verify if you received credits, visit the Credits page in the Billing and Management Console. Your credits may take up to 30 minutes to appear in your account. 

You are eligible to earn additional Free Tier credits when you create an AWS account online, regardless of whether you choose the Free plan or Paid plan. However, you cannot earn additional credits once you activate advanced features.

The credits you earned from completing activities expire 12 months from the date you create your AWS account. To view the expiration date for each credit, navigate to the Billing page in AWS Settings, and click on the “Credits remaining” amount in the Current Plan container.

The AWS Free Tier credit applies to participating services across global regions. Your usage is calculated each month across all regions. Your credits under AWS Free Tier will be in USD and automatically applied to your bill. The AWS Free Tier credits and account plan selections are not available in the China (ZHY) and China (BJS) regions. Please refer to the ZHY and BJS AWS Free Tier page for more information. The AWS Free Tier is not available in the AWS GovCloud (US) regions, with the exception of certain services such as Lambda for AWS GovCloud (US).

You must upgrade your Free plan to the Paid account plan before you can create an AWS GovCloud account or join an AWS GovCloud with AWS Organizations.