How much credit does the Google Cloud free trial give?
New customers get a $300 Welcome credit to spend over 90 days. It is loaded onto a Free Trial billing account at sign-up and, in Google's words, “you won't be billed” during the trial. Free Tier usage of 20+ products sits alongside it and is “not charged against your $300 free credit”.
The trial's own terms count its end three ways: the day fees for usage “exceed the $300 credit provided under the Free Trial”, 3 months after the start, or the day you upgrade to a paid account.
Some products add a trial of their own on top of the credit. Google's Free Program page lists, for example, a “90-day Spanner free trial instance with 10 GB of storage at no cost” and a 30-day Cloud SQL free trial instance.
Source: Google Cloud docs: Free Trial and Free Tier, Google Cloud Free Program page, Google Cloud Free Trial terms and conditions
Who qualifies for the Google Cloud free trial credit, and how do I claim it?
Only new customers. You qualify if “You've never been a paying user of Google Cloud, Google Maps Platform, or Firebase” and “You haven't previously signed up for the Free Trial.” To claim it, sign up for the Free Trial in the Google Cloud console with a payment method; the trial starts once your identity and payment method are verified.
The credit is per person, not per company. Google's sign-up FAQ says “More than one user at an organization can sign up for the Google Cloud Free Trial”, and “A corporate credit card is not required to start the Google Cloud Free Trial.”
The payment method is a check, not a charge: Google's docs call the authorization request a temporary hold and say “it isn't an actual charge”. Depending on your country, you might also need to verify your bank account.
Government customers are excluded: “U.S. and/or Mexican federal, state, or local government entities are not eligible to participate in the Free Trial unless agreed to by Google in writing.”
Source: Google Cloud docs: Free Trial and Free Tier, Google Cloud Free Trial FAQs, Google Cloud Free Trial terms and conditions
Is there a Google Cloud promo code or coupon for the free trial?
No code is needed for the trial: the credit comes “preloaded” on the billing account when you sign up, and Google's Free Trial pages mention no code. Google does issue codes for other offers: emailed coupons for education credits, promo codes for Google Skills training subscriptions, and incentive codes inside its startup program.
Education credits are redeemed with a coupon. Google says “Credit coupons are distributed by email.” and that “Your credits are valid for one year after you redeem them.”
Google Skills is Google's training site. Its help page says “Promo codes can be used to get discounts on Google Skills subscriptions.” Those codes discount training, not Google Cloud usage.
Google's pages describe no way to buy a code for the trial. For the incentive codes in its startup program, Google's terms say the incentives “may not be sold, purchased, or bartered” and that a company “may redeem only one Incentive(s) promotional code”.
Source: Google Cloud docs: Free Trial and Free Tier, Cloud Billing docs: get and redeem education credits, Google Skills Help: redeem a promotional code, Google Cloud startup program terms
What can the Google Cloud $300 credit not pay for?
Google's docs say “The $300 credit can't pay for” Gemini API costs in AI Studio, and you “can't access or use the $300 credit for a generative AI partner model” offered as a managed API. While the account is a free trial account you also can't add GPUs, use Google Cloud Marketplace or request a quota increase. Upgrading unlocks those, but the credit still only pays for products the Free Trial covers.
Two more limits come from the terms: “Customer's use of Google Compute Engine is restricted to only eight cores of concurrent usage per Free Trial”, and “Customer may not use the Services to engage in mining cryptocurrency.”
For the Gemini API, Google points to other routes: “Consider using the Gemini API Free tier, or sign up for a Prepay billing plan.”
Source: Google Cloud docs: Free Trial and Free Tier, Google Cloud Free Trial terms and conditions
What happens when the Google Cloud free trial credit runs out or expires?
The trial ends when you spend the $300 or 90 days pass from sign-up, and Google says it “can't be paused or extended”. Without an upgrade the billing account closes and resources stop, with a 30-day grace period to upgrade before they are permanently deleted. If you upgrade earlier you keep unused credit until it expires 90 days from sign-up.
Google recommends upgrading before the end: “We recommend upgrading to a Paid billing account during your Free Trial to prevent loss of service and access to resources when the Free Trial ends.” Its FAQ adds that “you won't be charged unless you manually upgrade to a paid account”.
Google can also change the offer: “Google may terminate or modify the Free Trial at any time with or without notice to Customer.”
Source: Google Cloud docs: Free Trial and Free Tier, Google Cloud Free Trial FAQs, Google Cloud Free Trial terms and conditions
How is the free trial different from the Google for Startups Cloud Program?
The trial is open to any new customer with no application: $300 for 90 days. The Google for Startups Cloud Program is a separate application. Its Start tier offers “Up to $2,000 USD in Google Cloud credits, valid for one year” and its Scale tier up to $200,000 for startups with a qualifying funding round. The Start tier asks that you have “Not yet received Google Cloud credits (beyond the free trial)”.
The Start tier is for a “Technology startup planning to seek venture funding soon” that was “Founded within the last 24 months”. Its credit rule names the free trial as the one kind of Google Cloud credit you may already have had.
Source: Google Cloud docs: Free Trial and Free Tier, Google for Startups Cloud Program: eligibility and benefits
