Free startup credits you can claim in 2026
These programs hand early founders free credits for cloud, AI models and developer tools. Most need only a working product or a custom-domain email, not funding or a registered company. Bursary matches the ones you qualify for and drafts the application.
Check what you qualify for →Start here · fastest to claim
No company needed, rolling deadlines, low effort — the quickest wins on this list.
42 programs · updated 2026-07-12
Google for Startups Cloud Program
Start $2K → up to $250K/yr (AI-first)
Two tracks: self-serve Start ($2K credits; needs an incorporated entity + working site) and the AI-first program — up to $250K Google Cloud credits year 1 (+~$100K year 2) for startups whose core product uses Gemini/Google Cloud AI, raised Pre-seed/Seed within 5 years or Series A within 12 months. Third-party models billed separately. Verified 2026-06-26.
Needs companyNeeds website
Stripe Atlas (perks bundle)
~$220K partner perks
$500 to incorporate a DE C-corp -> unlocks Anthropic $500, AWS $5K, Azure $5K, etc.
No company needed$500 to start
Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub
Up to $150,000 Azure credits + AI model access
Self-serve "Get started" application, no investor or partner referral needed. Up to $150K in Azure credits unlocked in stages, plus access to Azure OpenAI and other AI models and dev tools (verified 2026-06-26). Build a software product and have not exhausted the benefit before; no external funding required and you can start pre-incorporation, though higher tiers verify your startup.
No company needed
DigitalOcean Hatch
up to $100,000 credits over 12 months
Raised $10M or less; needs a company website with a matching corporate email. Credits issued monthly, no rollover.
Needs companyNeeds website
Datadog for Startups
up to $100,000 credits (1 year free)
Series A or earlier and must be referred through an official VC/accelerator/hyperscaler partner; activate within 30 days.
Needs companyNeeds website
Deepgram Startup Program
Up to $100,000 voice-AI credits (12 months)
Voice/speech-to-text credits (transcription, summarization, sentiment) for NEW Deepgram customers only: company-domain email + live website, under $10M raised (pre-Series A), actively building or launching within 6 months. Credits valid 12 months; review ~1 week, deposited 24-48h after acceptance. $100K is the ceiling tier, actual award is set on acceptance.
No company neededNeeds website
Retool for Startups
100% off Team/Business for 1 year (~$60K) + partner deals
New customers under $10M raised, founded under 10 years ago; upgrade to a paid plan before applying (discount back-applied).
No company needed
Together AI Startup Accelerator
$15,000 to $50,000 platform credits
Tiered by funding: up to $15K (under $5M raised), $30K, $50K (over $10M); for AI-native app startups.
Needs companyNeeds website
Mixpanel Startup Program
First year free Startup plan (~$50K)
Incorporated under 5 years ago, under $8M funding, never on a paid plan; start sending data within 90 days.
Needs company
Baseten AI Startup Program
Up to $27,500 inference + API credits
AI-native startups founded under 5 years ago; must be a brand-new Baseten customer.
No company needed
Modal Startup Program
up to $25,000 GPU credits
Pre-seed to Series A; use a company-domain email and a real website. Personal Gmail / thin sites are common rejections.
Needs companyNeeds website
Amplitude Startup Scholarship
1 year free Growth plan (~$24K)
No entity required; under $10M funding and under 20 employees; about 96% approval in 2 business days.
No company needed
GitLab for Startups
Free Ultimate (up to 20 seats) for 1 year (~$24K)
Externally-funded only (self-funded excluded); seed under $5M or Series A/B under $20M, must show funding proof.
No company needed
Cloudflare for Startups
$10,000 credits (up to $250K partner-gated)
Self-serve $10K tier for bootstrapped/under-$1M startups under 10 years old; needs a public website + active social/GitHub. Approval ~48h.
Needs companyNeeds website
GitHub for Startups
$10,000 platform credits (12 months) + Enterprise & Copilot
$10K flexible credits over 12 months plus GitHub Enterprise, Copilot and Advanced Security. Apply THROUGH a GitHub for Startups partner (VC/accelerator); needs external funding (Series B or earlier), new to Enterprise, no prior GitHub credits.
Needs company
Algolia Startup Program
$10,000 in credits for 12 months
New customers only, under 7 years old and under $15M raised; no entity required but a live product site helps.
No company neededNeeds website
Render Startup Program
$10,000 in credits for 1 year
Base tier (under $1M funding) is self-serve; the $25K+ tiers need an accelerator/VC referral.
No company neededNeeds website
Vercel for Startups
Free Vercel Pro + up to $10,000 platform credits
Free Vercel Pro plus platform credits for 12+ months for early-stage startups. Most founders get in through an accelerator or VC partner code, but direct applications are considered; credit size scales with your tier and partner.
No company needed
Intercom Early Stage
93% off year 1 + 1 year of Fin AI free
Qualify with under $10M raised, fewer than 15 employees, new Intercom customer; approval in 1 to 2 business days.
No company needed
HubSpot for Startups
Up to 90% off year one (50% y2, 25% y3)
Up to 90% off year one for pre-seed/seed/Series A (not Series B+) verified via a HubSpot partner or Crunchbase/PitchBook; or 30% off via ~4,000 approved entrepreneurial orgs. Applies to net-new Professional/Enterprise products only.
No company neededNeeds website
AWS Activate Founders
up to $5,000
Redeemable for Claude on Bedrock. Needs a custom-domain email (Gmail auto-rejects).
No company neededNeeds website
NVIDIA Inception
Free cloud credits + GPU discounts (no equity)
Free, no fees or equity; incorporated company under 10 years old with at least one developer + a working website (revenue not required). Free NVIDIA + partner cloud credits, preferred GPU/software pricing, DLI training, and investor intros via Inception Capital Connect. Excludes consultancies, crypto, cloud resellers and public companies. Verified 2026-06-26.
Needs companyNeeds website
MongoDB for Startups
$5,000 Atlas credits
Under 7 years old, Series A or earlier, building one scalable product (no agencies); needs an active website. No incorporation strictly required.
No company neededNeeds website
Sentry for Startups
$5,000 in credits
Founded in the last 2 years, raised under $5M, new to paying for Sentry; requires a free Sentry account (give your org slug).
No company neededNeeds website
Fireworks for Startups
Up to $5,000 credits + higher rate limits
Rolling program for early-stage AI-native startups: serverless inference build credits + higher rate limits + access to applied-AI engineers. Credit size is set on acceptance; some credits are distributed via Google Cloud for Startups. Use a company-domain email.
No company neededNeeds website
Perplexity for Startups
$5,000 API credits + 6 months Enterprise Pro (50 seats)
Early-stage startups under $10M raised and under 5 years old, affiliated with an approved Perplexity startup partner (accelerator/VC). Gives $5,000 in Sonar API credits plus 6 months of Enterprise Pro for up to 50 seats. Apply through your partner; if your investor is not a partner yet they can ask to join.
No company neededNeeds website
Pinecone for Startups
Free Standard tier + ~$5,000 credits
Must be Series A or earlier with fewer than 100 employees.
No company needed
Lambda Research Grant
Up to $5,000 GPU cloud credits
Built for researchers; frame a genuine research project. Indie hackers are a weak fit.
No company needed
Clerk for Startups
Discounted Clerk Pro for early-stage teams
Create a Clerk app in the dashboard before applying; eligible up to 1 year post-launch with under $5M funding.
No company neededNeeds website
WorkOS for Startups
AuthKit + User Management free up to 1M MAUs
No approval needed, free via signup; use a company-domain email to avoid rejection.
No company needed
ElevenLabs Startup Grants
33M characters free for 12 months (~$4,000)
Under 25 employees with a monetized product; agencies excluded, and you must display the ElevenLabs Grants badge for 12 months.
No company neededNeeds website
Supabase Startup Program
6 months Team plan free (~$3,600)
Apply from a company-domain email, not personal Gmail; that is the top rejection cause.
No company neededNeeds website
Carta Launch
Free cap-table software (cap table, SAFEs, e-securities)
Free for under $1M raised and up to 25 stakeholders; requires a certificate of incorporation.
Needs company
Anthropic for Startups
Claude credits
Funding not required to apply; bigger tiers favor funded startups. (Now hosted at claude.com after the Anthropic→Claude rebrand.)
No company needed
Groq for Startups
GroqCloud free tier + inference credits
Start on GroqCloud at the console for instant free-tier inference; the standalone startup-credits form is no longer linked, request higher rate limits and credits from inside the console. No entity required.
No company neededNeeds website
Notion for Startups
Up to 6 months free Business + Notion AI (up to ~$12K)
Non-paying Notion customer with a work email (Gmail/Outlook auto-rejected) and under 100 employees; apply directly, no partner code required. Startups building scalable tech products get the longest free term (up to 6 months); smaller teams get 1-3 months.
No company neededNeeds website
RunPod Startup
$1,000 GPU credits
Explicitly welcomes bootstrapped/pre-funding. For self-hosted models.
No company needed
Linear for Startups
Up to 6 months free Basic/Business
Up to 6 months of Linear Basic or Business free for non-paying startups under 50 employees that are affiliated with a Linear partner (investor/accelerator). Enter your partner code as a workspace admin; if your investor is not a partner, ask them to apply to join.
No company needed
Framer for Startups
Framer Pro free for 1 year
New pre-seed/seed users only; must not already have an active plan or published project.
No company needed
Oracle Cloud Free Tier
$300 credits + Always Free services
Fully self-serve: $300 for 30 days plus an Always Free tier (4 ARM CPUs / 24GB) that never expires. No entity needed.
No company needed
Find the ones you qualify for
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Find my money →Frequently asked questions
Who qualifies for startup credits?
These programs hand early founders free credits for cloud, AI models and developer tools. Most need only a working product or a custom-domain email, not funding or a registered company. Bursary matches the ones you qualify for and drafts the application.
Do free startup credits expire?
Most cloud and AI credits run on a 12 to 24 month clock and unlock with a working product or a custom-domain email, not funding. Bursary flags each program expiry and what it takes to activate.
How much funding is available?
Programs on this list go up to $250,000. Bursary ranks them by what you actually qualify for.
How many programs are on this list?
42 verified programs, re-checked continuously.
Is it free to apply?
Most are free to apply. Bursary reads the fine print and flags any program that charges a fee before you start.
Do I need a registered company?
Not for all of them. Bursary matches programs to your situation and tells you which require a registered entity and which accept individuals.