Free GPU Cloud Credits
Which GPU clouds a startup can run AI training and inference on with free credits or a free tier today, how much GPU time the free part covers, whether a card is needed and what GPU time costs after, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . GPU clouds change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
GPU clouds a startup can use with free credits today include RunPod (Bonus credit, $5 to $500, most get $5), Cerebrium (Hobby plan: free + compute per month), Novita AI ($100 in promotional Sandbox credits), Hugging Face ZeroGPU (ZeroGPU Spaces free to all users), and Crusoe ($5 in free credits). Each of the 9 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, how much GPU time it covers, whether a card is needed and what GPU time costs after.
Fine-tuning a model, serving an open-source LLM or generating images needs GPUs, and an hour on a top GPU costs dollars. Several GPU clouds give free sign-up or bonus credits, and serverless GPU platforms have a free tier or free credits to start.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free credits usually cover a few GPU hours at most, some need a deposit or a card first, and serverless free tiers limit GPU time or which models you can run. Each GPU cloud below shows what is free, its main limit, the GPU time it covers, whether a card is needed and what GPU time costs after, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it. For larger startup programs, see our guide to GPU credits for startups.
Which clouds 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 clouds are listed or where.
GPU clouds with free sign-up or bonus credits
Get free credits when you sign up, then pay per GPU hour.
- 1
RunPod
Small GPU tests, for a new account that loads $10
RunPod adds a bonus credit once a new account loads at least $10. Non-European customers receive a random weighted bonus between $5 and $500.
- GPU price after
- H100 SXM: $3.99/hr (source: runpod.io)
Start free at RunpodReferral linkTerms read on docs.runpod.io on RunPod: the free allowance and how to start Runpod Startup Program: what startups get - 2
Novita AI
Trying Novita's agent sandboxes with no card
New users who complete a quick account setup survey get $100 in promotional Sandbox credits, and no credit card is required.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: docs.novita.ai)
Start free at Novita AITerms read on docs.novita.ai on Novita AI: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Crusoe
Trying serverless inference and fine-tuning on Crusoe
Crusoe gives $5 in free credits to explore Serverless Inference and Serverless Fine-Tuning on its cloud.
Start free at CrusoeTerms read on docs.crusoecloud.com on Crusoe: the free allowance and how to start
Serverless GPU platforms with a free tier
Run models on serverless GPUs with a free monthly allowance.
- 1
Cerebrium
A free plan for deploying models on serverless GPUs
Cerebrium's Hobby plan is listed as Free + compute / month, with up to 3 deployed apps and 500 containers with 5 concurrent GPUs. The H100 is $0.000944 a second.
- GPU price after
- H100: $0.000944 per second (source: cerebrium.ai)
- 2
Hugging Face ZeroGPU
Demos and Spaces that need a GPU, at no cost
ZeroGPU Spaces are available to use for free to all users, within a daily quota. A free account gets 5 minutes a day, and PRO users get x8 more daily usage quota.
- GPU time covered
- 5 minutes of GPU a day, free account (source: huggingface.co)
- GPU price after
- Dedicated T4 Space: $0.40/hr (source: huggingface.co)
Start free at Hugging FaceTerms read on huggingface.co on Hugging Face ZeroGPU: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Replicate
Testing a hosted model before paying for it
Models in Replicate's Try for Free collection run without buying credit, for a limited number of runs. After the limit, billing and credit are needed, and an H100 is $5.49 an hour.
- GPU price after
- H100: $5.49/hr ($0.001525/sec) (source: replicate.com)
Start free at ReplicateTerms read on replicate.com on Replicate: the free allowance and how to start - 4
Baseten
Trying dedicated GPU deployments on a new account
Baseten's pricing FAQ says new accounts come with credits to try deployments for free, without stating an amount. Dedicated H100 80 GiB GPUs are billed per minute at $0.10833.
- GPU price after
- H100 80 GiB: $0.10833 a minute (source: baseten.co)
- 5
fal
Approved teams in Europe and Asia with traction
fal's Startup Program starts approved teams with $1,000 in credits and grows them to $5,000 as their usage scales. Teams must be based in Europe or Asia.
- GPU price after
- H100 as low as $2.49/hr (source: fal.ai)
- 6
WaveSpeedAI
Image and video model APIs, paid per output
Eligible new WaveSpeedAI accounts get $1 in free credits with no credit card required, then pay per output with no monthly fees: Seedream 5.0 Pro is $0.045 an image, about 22 images for $1.
- GPU time covered
- About 22 Seedream 5.0 Pro images for $1 (source: wavespeed.ai)
- Payment card
- No credit card required (source: wavespeed.ai)
- GPU price after
- Seedream 5.0 Pro: $0.045 an image (source: wavespeed.ai)
Start free at WaveSpeedAIReferral linkTerms read on wavespeed.ai on WaveSpeedAI: the free allowance and how to start
Cloud startup programs
Programs from cloud companies that give startups credits on paid usage.
Also useful for GPU compute
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.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers GPU clouds 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 cloud's terms. Every term comes from the cloud's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. Sign-up credits that run out after a few GPU hours, a monthly free allowance with smaller GPUs, credits that expire, a card needed to claim them can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these clouds pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a cloud appears, and no cloud pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
Where can I get free GPU credits?
By the terms each provider states, Novita AI gives new users $100 in promotional Sandbox credits, Crusoe $5 in free credits for serverless inference and fine-tuning, RunPod a bonus credit of $5 to $500 after you load $10, and Hugging Face ZeroGPU free GPU time on Spaces.
Is there a free GPU for AI?
Hugging Face ZeroGPU Spaces are free to all users, with 5 minutes of GPU a day on a free account, and Cerebrium's Hobby plan is free, with only the compute you use billed.
Does RunPod give free credits?
RunPod gives a one-time bonus credit after a new account loads its first $10: $5 for most people, up to $500, and the sign-up must use Google sign-in. An H100 SXM costs $3.99 an hour.
How much does a GPU cost after the free credits?
An H100 costs $3.99 an hour on RunPod (H100 SXM), $5.49 an hour on Replicate and from $2.49 an hour on fal, and Cerebrium bills it at $0.000944 a second.
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