Free Cloud Notebooks and Google Colab Alternatives
Which cloud notebooks a startup can run Python, data analysis and ML experiments in for free today, how much GPU time and compute the free tier gives, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Cloud notebooks change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
Cloud notebooks a startup can use for free today include Google Colab (Free GPUs and TPUs, no charge), Jupyter (Free, open source software), Kaggle Notebooks (Free P100 GPU notebooks), marimo (Free, open source notebook), and Deepnote (Free forever plan). Each of the 10 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, its GPU or compute allowance, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Exploring a dataset, testing a model or prototyping an AI feature is fastest in a notebook. Cloud notebooks run Jupyter-style notebooks in the browser, several with free GPUs, and open-source notebooks run free on your own computer or server.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free GPUs come with weekly hour caps or unpublished limits, sessions stop after a set number of hours, and some free tiers are for non-commercial or public projects only. Each notebook below shows what is free, its main limit, its GPU and compute allowance, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which notebooks we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which notebooks are listed or where.
Cloud notebooks with a free tier
Run Jupyter-style notebooks in the browser, some with free GPUs.
- 1
Google Colab
Python and ML experiments with free GPUs and TPUs
Colab is free of charge and gives access to GPUs and TPUs. Its usage limits are not published, and a notebook can run for at most 12 hours on the free version.
- GPU and compute
- GPU usage limits not published (source: research.google.com)
Start free at Google ColabTerms read on research.google.com on Google Colab: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Kaggle Notebooks
Data science and GPU training with a free weekly quota
Kaggle gives free access to P100 GPUs on a weekly quota of 30 hours, and a notebook session runs for up to 12 hours.
- What's free
- Free P100 GPU notebooks (source: kaggle.com)
- GPU and compute
- 30 GPU hours a week (source: kaggle.com)
Start free at KaggleTerms read on kaggle.com on Kaggle Notebooks: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Deepnote
Small teams that want shared notebooks at no cost
The free plan is free forever with up to 3 editors and 5 projects on Basic machines with 5 GB RAM. The Team plan is $39 per editor a month billed yearly.
- What's free
- Free forever plan (source: deepnote.com)
- GPU and compute
- Unlimited Basic machines, 5 GB RAM (source: deepnote.com)
- First paid plan
- Team: $39 per editor a month, yearly (source: deepnote.com)
- 4
Lightning AI
A GPU starter with one free Studio and no card
One Studio runs free 24/7 with no credit card, and up to 30 free credits give about 80 GPU hours. Free Studios restart every 4 hours, and Pro is $20 a month billed annually.
- GPU and compute
- About 80 GPU hours on interruptible (source: lightning.ai)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $20 a month billed annually (source: lightning.ai)
Start free at Lightning AITerms read on lightning.ai on Lightning AI: the free allowance and how to start Lightning AI for Startups: what startups get - 5
Paperspace Gradient
Free GPU notebooks for learning, on public projects
The free GPU plan includes Basic instances and 5GB of storage, with public projects only. Pro is $8 a month plus usage costs on paid instances.
- First paid plan
- Pro: $8 a month plus usage costs (source: paperspace.com)
Start free at PaperspaceTerms read on paperspace.com on Paperspace Gradient: the free allowance and how to start - 6
Databricks Free Edition
Learning and personal projects, not company work
Free Edition is forever free with daily usage limits and needs no payment. Its accounts may not be used for commercial purposes, so company work does not fit this plan.
Start free at DatabricksTerms read on docs.databricks.com on Databricks Free Edition: the free allowance and how to start Databricks Startup Program: what startups get - 7
Observable
Small notebooks and embedded charts on a free plan
The free plan includes a few AI tokens a day, and embeds show a watermark. Pro is $22 a month, or $25 billed monthly.
Start free at ObservableTerms read on observablehq.com on Observable: the free allowance and how to start
Open-source notebooks you run yourself
Install a notebook on your computer or server, free.
- 1
Jupyter
Running your own notebook server on your own machine
Jupyter is free software for interactive computing across all programming languages. You install JupyterLab yourself.
Start free at Project JupyterTerms read on jupyter.org on Jupyter: the free allowance and how to start - 2
marimo
Python notebooks you run yourself
The marimo notebook is free and open source. Its hosted marimo cloud is still in closed beta, so you run the notebook yourself.
- 3
Apache Zeppelin
Teams with their own Spark or SQL cluster
Apache Zeppelin is Apache2 Licensed software, and you configure it for your own cluster.
Start free at Apache ZeppelinTerms read on zeppelin.apache.org on Apache Zeppelin: the free allowance and how to start
AI startup programs
Programs from AI and data companies that give startups credits on paid usage.
Also useful for founders
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
ScraperAPIScraping API that handles proxies, browsers and CAPTCHAs for you1,000 API creditsReferral link
Parallel AIAutonomous AI agents for sales, marketing and support50 free credits, no cardReferral link
ColdIQOne API and MCP server for B2B sales data from 40+ providers300 free creditsReferral linkHow this comparison is built
The list covers cloud notebooks a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each notebook's terms. Every term comes from the notebook's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. GPU hours capped a week or a session, idle timeouts, private notebooks or more memory kept for paid plans can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these notebooks pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a notebook appears, and no notebook pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free Google Colab alternative?
By the terms each provider states, Kaggle Notebooks give free P100 GPUs for 30 GPU hours a week, Lightning AI gives 1 free Studio with about 80 GPU hours on interruptible machines, and Deepnote has a free forever plan with up to 3 editors.
Is Google Colab free?
Yes. Colab offers free GPUs and TPUs at no charge, with notebooks running at most 12 hours; Google does not publish its GPU usage limits.
Can I use Databricks Free Edition for my startup?
Not commercially. Databricks Free Edition is forever free with daily usage limits, but for non-commercial use only.
Is there a free open-source notebook?
Yes. Jupyter is free open-source software, marimo is a free open-source notebook, and Apache Zeppelin is free under the Apache 2.0 license.
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