Oracle Cloud Free Trial Credit

How much credit does Oracle Cloud give new accounts?

Oracle's Free Tier starts with a “US$300 cloud credit”, and you get “30 days to use it to test your applications on all OCI services”. Oracle says the credit is “available in select countries”, and the Always Free services come on top of it.

The trial ends at whichever comes first: “The Free Trial services may be used until your US$300 of free credits are consumed or the 30 days has expired, whichever comes first.” Unused credit does not carry over: “Any credits that are unused at the end of the 30-day period will automatically expire.”

Oracle says “during the Free Trial period of 30 days, your usage rates are discounted.” Its capacity estimates assume you put the whole credit on one service, and “The maximum capacity per service you get can be less if you consume multiple services.”

Source: Oracle Cloud Free Tier page, Oracle Cloud Free Tier FAQ

Who can get the Oracle Cloud Free Tier credit?

Anyone, one account per person. Oracle says “Oracle Cloud Free Tier services are for everyone”, startup founders included, and “One Oracle Cloud Free Trial or Always Free account is permitted per person.” For identity checks “most users need a mobile phone number and a credit card to create an account”.

Oracle accepts “credit cards and debit cards that function like credit cards” but not “debit cards with a PIN or virtual, single-use, or prepaid cards.” The card check is a temporary hold that does “not result in actual charges to your account”.

Extra accounts are out: “Creating or attempting to create multiple free accounts is prohibited.” Some countries cannot sign up online: “For some countries, you might not be able to request a free promotion from the Oracle Cloud website.” There Oracle's guide says to contact its sales team.

Source: Oracle Cloud Free Tier FAQ, Oracle docs: Oracle Cloud's Free Tier, Oracle docs: sign up for the free promotion

Is there an Oracle Cloud promo code or coupon?

Not one to type in. Oracle's Free Tier page, FAQ and sign-up guide describe no code: the credit comes with the new account, and “Oracle Cloud Promotion is another term for Free Trial.” Sign-up checks your email for other offers: “you'll be prompted to select a special offer from a list of applicable offers.”

The credit is tied to the one account a person may open, and Oracle requires that “All contact and billing information provided must be accurate, valid, and used with consent for the duration of the account.”

More credit or time goes through Oracle's sales team: “Sales representatives have the authority to extend trials or issue additional credits if appropriate.”

Source: Oracle Cloud Free Tier FAQ, Oracle docs: sign up for the free promotion

How do I claim the Oracle Cloud credit?

Sign up for the Free Tier, verify your email, add a card and select “Start my free trial”. Oracle's guide says the verification link is “valid for 30 minutes”, and the home region you pick is one you “can't change this after signing up”.

Choose the region with care: “You can provision Always Free Autonomous AI Databases and compute instances only in the home region.” Oracle adds “Your credit card will not be charged unless you upgrade your account.”

You can follow the credit afterwards: “You can monitor billing and usage and check your balance directly in the Cost analysis widget on the Console home page.”

Source: Oracle docs: sign up for the free promotion, Oracle docs: Oracle Cloud's Free Tier, Oracle docs: monitor the credit balance

What happens when the Oracle Cloud credit runs out or expires?

The account stays, but paid resources made with the credit do not. Oracle gives “a grace period of 30 days” to upgrade, and if you do not, “your Free Trial service instances and data will be deleted.” Always Free resources are not reclaimed.

Upgrading keeps what you built: “if you upgrade during the Free Trial period, you won't be billed until you've reached the end of your 30-day trial or used all of your Free Trial credits”. A paid account has “No minimums and no prepayment”.

Two traps for the Always Free part. Arm instances above the limit are disabled and later deleted, so keep “no more than 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of memory in total across all the OCI Ampere A1 Compute instances in your tenancy”. And “Idle Always Free compute instances may be reclaimed by Oracle.” Oracle's docs say free accounts stay active “as long as the account has been used within the past 60 days”, while its FAQ says “Accounts left idle for 30 days or more may be deemed abandoned and become eligible for suspension or termination.”

Source: Oracle Cloud Free Tier FAQ, Oracle docs: Oracle Cloud's Free Tier, Oracle docs: Always Free resources, Oracle docs: what happens when the promotion expires

Is Oracle Cloud free after the trial, and is there a startup program?

Within limits, yes: “Always Free services are available for an unlimited time. Some limitations apply.” Oracle's page for startups sends founders to the same place (“Start with Oracle Cloud Free Tier”) and states no startup credit amount.

There is no support or SLA on Always Free: “Customers using only Always Free resources are not eligible for Oracle Support.” and “Oracle Cloud Free Tier does not include SLAs.”

Source: Oracle Cloud Free Tier FAQ, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure for Startups page, Oracle Cloud Free Tier page, Oracle docs: Always Free resources