💡 On July 15, 2025, the new AWS Free Tier went live! Discover the best services, get up to $200 in free credits, and gain firsthand experience with the cloud—but with some new guidelines. Everything you need to know is right here 👇
🧭 What's Changed in AWS Free Tier (Post–July 15, 2025)?
Welcome to the updated Free Tier program if you're registering for AWS after July 15, 2025:
- $200 in AWS credits 🎁
- A 6-month Free Plan period ⏳
- Account auto-expiry unless upgraded 🔒
- 30+ always-free services ✅
Let’s dive into the key benefits, usage paths, and how to maximize all $200 like a pro 👇
🎯 Get Up to $200 Credits — In Action!
When you sign up for either Free or Paid Plan, you receive:
- ✅ $100 credit instantly
- 🏆 Up to $100 more by completing 5 beginner-friendly AWS activities (Each one gives $20)
🛠️ Activities to Earn Extra Credits:
AWS Service | Activity |
---|---|
Amazon EC2 | Launch & terminate an EC2 instance |
Amazon RDS | Learn to configure and deploy an RDS DB |
AWS Lambda | Build a basic web app using a Lambda function with a URL |
Amazon Bedrock | Submit a prompt using Bedrock Text Playground |
AWS Budgets | Set a cost budget that alerts you when you exceed it |
👉 Start with AWS Budgets — it's fast and easy:
- Go to [Billing Console → Budgets].
- Choose
Use a template (simplified)
→Monthly cost budget
. - Set your budget amount (e.g. $5 or $10).
- Save and confirm.
You’ll start getting alerts when your spending exceeds the budget, and $20 credits will appear on your [Credits page] within ~10 minutes.
After completing all 5 activities, you’ll unlock the full $200 in credits to explore AWS services or build your first cloud app!
📦 Free Plan vs. Paid Plan — Choose Wisely
Feature | Free Plan | Paid Plan |
---|---|---|
Initial Credits | $100 | $100 |
Extra Activity Credits | ✅ | ✅ |
Account Duration | 6 months or till credits used | No limit |
Access to Services | Limited (30+ services) | Full access |
Auto Deletion | Yes (after 90 days if not upgraded) | No |
Upgrade Option | Available anytime | Already upgraded |
📬 Notifications and Expiry Timeline
- 🔔 Credit Usage Alerts:
- Email at 50%, 25%, and 10% remaining
- 🕒 Plan Expiry Alerts:
- 15, 7, and 2 days before your Free Plan ends
- ❗ After 6 months:
- You’ll get an email to upgrade to a Paid Plan
- 90 days to upgrade and reopen account before it's deleted
✅ Always-Free Services (Both Plans)
These 30+ services remain always free:
Service | Free Tier Limit |
---|---|
AWS Lambda | 1M requests/month |
Amazon S3 | 5 GB |
DynamoDB | 25 GB |
CloudWatch | 10 custom metrics |
API Gateway | 1M REST API calls/month |
🔗 Full list: AWS Always Free
Legacy Accounts (Before July 15, 2025)
If your AWS account was created before July 15, 2025, you're still on the Legacy Free Tier:
- 12-month trials (e.g. EC2, RDS, S3)
- Always-Free Tier services
- No credit program, but no service restrictions
- No auto-deletion
💡 Pro Tip
If you're a student, startup, or cloud beginner:
- Start with the Free Plan, complete all 5 activities
- Upgrade before the 6-month window closes
- Use your $200 credits smartly: build a small project, test services, learn cloud economics
👨💻 About Me
Hi! I'm Utkarsh, a Cloud Specialist & AWS Community Builder who loves turning complex AWS topics into fun chai-time stories ☕