AWS Free Tier: 12-Month Free Access & 70+ Always-Free Services!

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Want to explore Amazon Web Services without spending a dime? The AWS Free Tier is your golden ticket. It offers new users a risk-free way to experiment with cloud computing, from hosting websites to running machine learning models—all at zero cost for up to 12 months, plus dozens of always-free services.

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What Is AWS Free Tier?

The AWS Free Tier is Amazon’s way of welcoming new users to its cloud ecosystem. It allows individuals, startups, and developers to access a wide range of AWS services at no cost for a limited time or within specific usage limits—forever. This program lowers the barrier to entry for cloud computing, making it accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a credit card.

How AWS Free Tier Works

The AWS Free Tier operates on three main models: 12-month free, always free, and free trial. Each model caters to different needs and service types, ensuring flexibility for users.

12-Month Free: Available to new AWS accounts, this includes popular services like EC2, S3, and RDS with limited usage per month for one year.
Always Free: These services have no time limit and are available indefinitely as long as usage stays within defined limits (e.g., 1 million Lambda requests per month).
Free Trials: Some services offer short-term trials (e.g., 30 days) that don’t require a long-term commitment.

Understanding these models helps you maximize your free usage without unexpected charges.

Eligibility and Account Requirements

To qualify for the AWS Free Tier, you must be a new AWS customer. This means you’ve never had an AWS account before or haven’t used the Free Tier in the past. You’ll need to provide valid payment information (credit/debit card) during registration, even though you won’t be charged as long as you stay within free limits.

According to AWS’s official Free Tier page, the program starts the moment you create your account and lasts for 12 months. After that, standard rates apply unless you cancel services.

“The AWS Free Tier gives you free access to AWS services for 12 months, plus ongoing access to select services for free.” — AWS Official Website

Top 7 Services Included in AWS Free Tier

The AWS Free Tier includes over 70 services across compute, storage, databases, analytics, and machine learning. Here are seven of the most valuable and widely used services available under the Free Tier.

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)

Amazon EC2 is the cornerstone of AWS compute services. Under the Free Tier, new users get 750 hours per month of Linux or Windows t2.micro or t3.micro instances for 12 months. This is enough to run a small web server continuously.

Perfect for hosting websites, APIs, or development environments.
Includes 30 GB of EBS (Elastic Block Store) storage.
Bandwidth allowance: 100 GB of data transfer out per month.

For developers, this is a game-changer. You can deploy a full-stack app using EC2, route traffic via Route 53, and scale as needed—all starting free.

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)

Amazon S3 is one of the most popular object storage services globally. The Free Tier includes 5 GB of standard storage, 20,000 Get Requests, and 2,000 Put Requests per month—forever.

Ideal for storing backups, static website assets, or user uploads.
Supports versioning, lifecycle policies, and encryption.
Integrates seamlessly with CloudFront for content delivery.

Even after the 12-month period, you can continue using S3 within the always-free limits, making it a cost-effective solution for small-scale storage needs.

Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service)

Running a database in the cloud has never been easier. AWS Free Tier offers 750 hours per month of a single-db.t2.micro instance using MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, or SQL Server for 12 months.

Includes 20 GB of General Purpose (SSD) storage.
10 million I/O requests per month.
20 GB of backup storage included.

This is perfect for small applications, blogs, or learning SQL in a real-world environment. Just remember to delete snapshots after testing to avoid charges.

AWS Lambda

AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that runs your code in response to events. It’s part of the always-free tier, offering 1 million free requests and 400,000 GB-seconds of compute time per month—forever.

No servers to manage—ideal for microservices and automation.
Triggers from S3, DynamoDB, API Gateway, and more.
Pay only for execution time, down to the millisecond.

With Lambda, you can build event-driven architectures without worrying about infrastructure. It’s a favorite among developers building scalable apps on a budget.

Amazon DynamoDB

DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database. The Free Tier includes 25 GB of storage, 25 units of write capacity, and 25 units of read capacity—available indefinitely.

Great for mobile apps, gaming backends, and IoT data.
Automatic scaling and built-in encryption.
Low-latency performance with single-digit millisecond response times.

Because it’s always free, DynamoDB is a smart choice for startups testing their data models before scaling up.

Amazon CloudFront

CloudFront is AWS’s content delivery network (CDN). The Free Tier offers 1 TB of data transfer out and 10 million HTTP/HTTPS requests per month for 12 months.

Speeds up website loading by caching content globally.
Integrates with S3, EC2, and Lambda@Edge.
Includes DDoS protection and SSL/TLS encryption.

If you’re hosting a blog or portfolio site, CloudFront ensures fast delivery to users worldwide—without extra cost during the first year.

Amazon Route 53

Route 53 is AWS’s DNS web service. The Free Tier includes 1000 free queries per month for DNS lookups—forever.

Register and manage domain names.
Route traffic based on latency, geolocation, or failover.
Health checks to monitor endpoints.

While the free tier is limited, it’s sufficient for small websites or personal projects. For higher traffic, pricing is predictable and pay-as-you-go.

How to Sign Up for AWS Free Tier

Getting started with the AWS Free Tier is simple and takes less than 10 minutes. Whether you’re a student, developer, or entrepreneur, the process is designed to be user-friendly.

Step-by-Step Registration Process

Follow these steps to activate your AWS Free Tier:

Go to aws.amazon.com and click “Create an AWS Account.”
Enter your email address and create a password.
Provide your personal or business information.
Enter a valid credit card for identity verification (you won’t be charged unless you exceed free limits).
Select a support plan (Basic is free).
Complete identity verification (may include a phone call or SMS).
Once verified, you’ll gain immediate access to all Free Tier-eligible services.

After registration, you can explore the AWS Management Console and start launching services.

Verifying Your Free Tier Eligibility

After signing up, it’s crucial to confirm that your account is eligible for the Free Tier. You can do this by:

Navigating to the Billing & Cost Management Dashboard.
Checking the “Free Usage” section to see which services are active.
Reviewing the “Usage Summary” to monitor your consumption.

AWS automatically applies Free Tier benefits to your account. However, if you’ve had an AWS account before, you may not qualify. Only one Free Tier per customer is allowed.

Maximizing Your AWS Free Tier Benefits

To get the most out of the AWS Free Tier, you need a strategy. Many users unknowingly exceed limits and receive surprise bills. Here’s how to stay within bounds and make the most of your free access.

Monitor Usage with AWS Budgets and CloudWatch

AWS provides tools to help you track your usage in real time. AWS Budgets lets you set custom alerts when usage approaches free tier limits.

Create a budget for EC2 hours, S3 storage, or data transfer.
Set alerts at 80% and 90% of your free limit.
Receive email or SMS notifications when thresholds are reached.

Additionally, Amazon CloudWatch monitors resource performance and logs. You can set up alarms for CPU usage, network traffic, or Lambda invocations.

“Monitoring your usage is the single best way to avoid unexpected charges on AWS.” — AWS Well-Architected Framework

Use AWS Free Tier Calculator

Before launching services, estimate your costs using the AWS Pricing Calculator. This tool helps you simulate usage and see if you’re within free limits.

Add services like EC2, RDS, and S3 to your estimate.
Adjust usage hours, storage size, and data transfer.
Compare scenarios to optimize for free tier eligibility.

For example, running an EC2 instance 24/7 uses all 750 free hours. But adding a second instance—even for a few hours—will incur charges.

Best Practices to Avoid Charges

Many users get billed because they forget to terminate resources. Follow these best practices:

Always shut down EC2 instances when not in use (use Stop or Terminate).
Delete unused EBS volumes—they continue to accrue charges even after instance termination.
Remove old RDS snapshots and backups.
Disable services you’re no longer testing.
Use IAM roles to restrict permissions and prevent accidental launches.

Automation scripts or scheduled shutdowns can also help manage resources efficiently.

Common Mistakes to Avoid on AWS Free Tier

While the AWS Free Tier is generous, it’s easy to make costly mistakes. Here are the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Leaving EC2 Instances Running 24/7

Although the Free Tier includes 750 hours of EC2 usage per month, this equals one instance running non-stop. If you launch a second instance—even for an hour—you’ll be charged.

Solution: Use AWS Instance Scheduler or set up CloudWatch alarms to stop instances during off-hours.
Consider using AWS Lambda or Fargate for short-lived tasks instead.

Remember, stopped instances don’t incur compute charges, but terminated instances lose their data unless backed up.

Ignoring Data Transfer Costs

Data transfer out to the internet is limited to 100 GB per month on EC2. Exceeding this triggers charges. Many users forget that serving images, videos, or large files consumes bandwidth quickly.

Solution: Use Amazon CloudFront to cache content and reduce origin load.
Compress files and use efficient formats (e.g., WebP for images).
Monitor data transfer via CloudWatch metrics.

Internal transfers (e.g., between EC2 and S3 in the same region) are free, so design your architecture accordingly.

Forgetting About EBS Volumes and Snapshots

When you delete an EC2 instance, the attached EBS volume is not automatically deleted. These orphaned volumes continue to incur storage charges.

Solution: Manually delete unattached EBS volumes from the EC2 dashboard.
Delete old RDS and EBS snapshots—each snapshot consumes storage.
Use AWS Backup or Lifecycle policies to automate cleanup.

Regular audits of your resources can prevent “zombie” assets from draining your wallet.

Real-World Use Cases for AWS Free Tier

The AWS Free Tier isn’t just for learning—it’s powerful enough to run real applications. Here are practical examples of how individuals and startups leverage it.

Hosting a Personal Website or Blog

You can host a fully functional website using only free-tier services:

Use Route 53 for domain registration (first year free with some domains).
Host static content on S3 with website hosting enabled.
Use CloudFront for faster delivery and HTTPS support.
Add a custom domain and SSL certificate via AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)—also free.

This setup is scalable, secure, and costs nothing for the first year.

Building a Serverless API with Lambda and API Gateway

Developers can create RESTful APIs without managing servers:

Write functions in Node.js, Python, or Go using AWS Lambda (1M free requests/month).
Expose endpoints via API Gateway (1M free calls/month).
Store data in DynamoDB (25 GB free storage).
Trigger workflows from S3 uploads or scheduled events.

This architecture is ideal for mobile backends, chatbots, or automation tools.

Running a Development or Testing Environment

Startups and developers use the Free Tier to test applications before going live:

Spin up EC2 instances for staging environments.
Use RDS for database testing.
Simulate traffic with AWS Step Functions or EventBridge.
Automate deployments using CodePipeline and CodeBuild (limited free minutes).

By testing in the cloud, teams ensure compatibility and performance without upfront costs.

What Happens After 12 Months?

The 12-month Free Tier eventually expires, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop using AWS. Understanding what changes helps you plan your next steps.

Services That Transition to Paid

After 12 months, services like EC2, RDS, and CloudFront no longer qualify for free usage. You’ll be charged standard rates unless you:

Downgrade to always-free services.
Terminate unused resources.
Migrate to lower-cost alternatives.

For example, instead of running an EC2 instance, you might switch to Lambda for event-driven tasks.

Always-Free Services You Can Keep Using

Many services remain free indefinitely, including:

AWS Lambda (1M requests/month)
Amazon S3 (5 GB storage)
DynamoDB (25 GB storage)
CloudFront (limited free tier for 12 months, then pay-as-you-go)
Route 53 (1000 queries/month)

These services allow you to maintain lightweight applications at no cost.

Cost Management Tips Post-Free Tier

After the Free Tier ends, cost optimization becomes critical. Use these strategies:

Right-size your EC2 instances (e.g., switch from t3.micro to t4g.micro for better performance).
Use Reserved Instances or Savings Plans for predictable workloads.
Enable S3 Intelligent-Tiering to automatically move data to cheaper storage classes.
Use AWS Cost Explorer to analyze spending trends.

With careful planning, you can continue using AWS affordably even after the free period ends.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is AWS Free Tier really free?

Yes, the AWS Free Tier is completely free for new users within specified usage limits for 12 months, plus a number of services that are always free. You only pay if you exceed the free usage tiers or use services not included in the program.

Do I need a credit card to sign up for AWS Free Tier?

Yes, AWS requires a valid credit or debit card to verify your identity during registration. This is to prevent abuse of the free services. You won’t be charged as long as you stay within the Free Tier limits.

Can I extend my AWS Free Tier beyond 12 months?

No, the 12-month Free Tier cannot be extended. However, many services like AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, and S3 have always-free tiers that you can continue using indefinitely.

What happens if I exceed the Free Tier limits?

If you exceed the usage limits, AWS will automatically charge your card at standard rates. To avoid surprises, set up billing alerts and monitor your usage through the AWS Management Console.

Can I use AWS Free Tier for commercial projects?

Yes, you can use the AWS Free Tier for commercial purposes as long as you stay within the usage limits. However, once your project grows, you’ll need to plan for paid services and cost management.

Getting started with cloud computing has never been easier. The AWS Free Tier empowers learners, developers, and startups to innovate without financial risk. By understanding the services, monitoring usage, and avoiding common mistakes, you can fully leverage this powerful offering. Whether you’re building a personal blog or prototyping a startup idea, AWS gives you the tools to succeed—starting from zero.