Introduction
If you're new to Amazon Web Services (AWS) or looking to sharpen your cloud computing skills, the AWS Free Tier is an excellent way to get started without spending a penny. As the leading cloud provider globally, AWS offers over 85 Free Tier services across compute, storage, databases, machine learning, networking, and more. However, with 200+ AWS services available, figuring out what’s truly free and what might rack up unexpected charges can be overwhelming.
In this guide, we’ll break it down for you, step by step:
- What is the AWS Free Tier?
- The three key categories of the Free Tier.
- Key AWS Free Tier services by category (compute, storage, databases, AI/ML, networking, and more).
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them.
- Pro tips for staying within the Free Tier limits (including projects within the free tier + a way to get unlimited free tier accounts…)
What is the AWS Free Tier?
- When you sign up for an AWS account, you automatically gain access to the Free Tier, but you’ll need to provide a credit card during the sign-up process.
- The Free Tier is a great way to gain practical experience with AWS services, letting you explore and experiment in a real-world environment without upfront costs.
- While the Free Tier is cost-free, exceeding the usage limits or guidelines can result in charges.
- The Free Tier is divided into three categories - each with different benefits and regulations:
- Always Free
- 12-Month Free
- Trial Offers
The Three Key Categories of the Free Tier
1. Free Trials
Some advanced AWS services are available for a limited time, usually for 30, 60, or 90 days. These trials are great for exploring specialized use cases.
Examples:
- Amazon SageMaker: 250 hours of ML model training (valid for two months).
- AWS Redshift: 750 hours of usage (valid for two months).
2. Always Free
These services are available forever at no cost, regardless of when your account was created, making them perfect for low-usage scenarios or continuous experimentation. However, they do come with specific usage limits.
Examples:
- AWS Lambda: 1 million requests per month.
- Amazon DynamoDB: 25 GB storage with 25 WCU (write capacity units) and RCU (read capacity units).
3. 12-Month Free
This category provides new AWS customers free access to foundational services for the first 12 months after account creation.
Examples:
- Amazon EC2: 750 hours/month of t2.micro or t4g.micro instances (for 12 months).
- Amazon S3: 5 GB of storage on the Standard storage tier (for 12 months).
Key AWS Free Tier Services by Category
Here is a breakdown of some of the popular AWS Free Tier services, but not an exhaustive list of all of the AWS free tier resources.
🔗 Check out this link for all the AWS Free Tier services
1. Compute 🖥️
AWS offers free compute resources ideal for running applications, testing environments, or learning.
- Amazon EC2 (12-Month Free):
- 750 hours/month of t2.micro or t4g.micro instances.
- Perfect for hosting websites or testing applications.
- AWS Lambda (Always Free):
- 1 million requests/month and 400,000 GB-seconds of compute time.
- Ideal for building serverless applications.
- Elastic Beanstalk (Trial):
- 30-day free trial to deploy and manage applications without manual provisioning.
📚Hands-on Free Tier Compute projects to gain experience
2. Storage 📦
Store files, data backups, or even host static websites with AWS storage solutions.
- Amazon S3 (12-Month Free):
- 5 GB of storage, 20,000 GET requests, and 2,000 PUT requests/month.
- Great for hosting static websites or creating backups.
- Amazon Glacier (Always Free):
- Retrieve up to 10 GB/month of archived data.
- Ideal for long-term data storage at low cost.
- Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store, 12-Month Free):
- 30 GB of general-purpose SSD storage/month.
- Suitable for storing virtual machine instances or application data.
📚Hands-on Free Tier Storage projects to gain experience
3. Databases 📊
Experiment with AWS databases, from relational options to NoSQL solutions.
- Amazon RDS (12-Month Free):
- 750 hours/month of db.t2.micro instances for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, or SQL Server.
- Great for building and testing relational database applications.
- Amazon DynamoDB (Always Free):
- 25 GB of storage with 25 RCU (Read Capacity Units) and WCU (Write Capacity Units).
- Perfect for NoSQL database experiments.
- Amazon Aurora (12-Month Free):
- 750 hours/month for a managed relational database built for the cloud.
📚Hands-on Free Tier Database projects to gain experience
4. AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) 🤖
Access tools to experiment with artificial intelligence and machine learning.
- Amazon SageMaker (Trial):
- 250 hours of ML model building and training over two months.
- Train and deploy machine learning models without managing infrastructure.
- Amazon Rekognition (Trial):
- Analyze 5,000 images/month for object and facial recognition.
- Ideal for experimenting with image and video analysis.
- Amazon Lex (Always Free):
- 10,000 text requests and 5,000 speech requests/month.
- Build conversational interfaces like chatbots or voice assistants.
📚Hands-on Free Tier AI/ML projects to gain experience
5. Networking and Content Delivery 🛜
Optimize your web and application performance with AWS networking tools.
- Amazon VPC (Always Free):
- Create and configure virtual private clouds for free.
- Enables secure and isolated networking environments for your applications.
- Amazon CloudFront (12-Month Free):
- 1 TB of data transfer/month.
- Ideal for delivering content globally with low latency.
- Elastic Load Balancer (12-Month Free):
- 15 GB of data processing with 750 hours of load balancer usage/month.
- Distribute traffic across multiple resources for high availability.
📚Hands-on Free Tier Networking projects to gain experience
6. Security and Identity Management 🔐
AWS provides tools to secure your applications and manage access, ensuring a strong security posture at no cost.
- AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management, Always Free):
- Manage users, roles, and permissions to control access to AWS services and resources.
- Essential for creating secure environments.
- AWS Shield (Always Free):
- Standard protection against DDoS attacks.
- Automatically enabled for all AWS customers at no cost.
- AWS KMS (Key Management Service, Always Free):
- Create and manage encryption keys with 20,000 free API requests/month.
- Protect sensitive data using encryption.
📚Hands-on Free Tier Security projects to gain experience
Common Mistakes to Avoid:
❌ Leaving Resources Running
Tip: Always stop or delete unused resources like EC2 instances to avoid unexpected charges.
❌ Forgetting the Expiry Date:
Tip: Remember, 12-Month Free Tier ends after one year, while trials may last shorter.
❌ Skipping Alerts and Budgets
Tip: Set up AWS Budgets and CloudWatch alerts to monitor usage and spending in real-time.
Pro Tips for Staying Within Free Tier Limits
✅ Use NextWork Hands-On Projects
- These projects are specifically designed to stay within AWS Free Tier limits.
- They include step-by-step guidance on building projects and automatically document your work so you have something to showcase.
- Built-in reminders help you delete unused resources, saving you from accidental charges.
✅ Set Budgets and Alerts
- Use AWS Budgets to set spending limits.
- Set reminders via email or Slack to monitor usage closely.
Once Your Free Tier Runs Out - What Should You Do?
When your AWS Free Tier expires, you have several options:
1. Leverage Plus Addressing
- Use plus addressing to create a new AWS account while still using your main email address.
- How it works: Add a "+" and any additional characters to your current email before the "@" symbol.
- Example: If your email is test@gmail.com, you can create a new AWS account with test+aws1@gmail.com.
- This allows you to take advantage of Free Tier services for another 12 months.
2. Downgrade Your Usage
- Use smaller instance types or lower storage limits to reduce costs.
- You'll still incur some charges, this can help minimize your expenses.
3. Use Always Free Services
- Focus on services like Lambda, DynamoDB, and CloudWatch that remain free for the lifetime of your account.
Conclusion
- What AWS Free Tier Is: The AWS Free Tier gives you access to many AWS services for free, letting you explore cloud computing with a limited amount of usage for 12 months or even indefinitely for certain services.
- Be Careful of Unexpected Charges: If you don’t monitor your usage or leave resources running, you could exceed the free limits and incur charges. Always double-check your usage and billing.
- Use NextWork for Hands-On Projects: NextWork provides free, beginner-friendly projects to help you learn AWS practically and avoid costly mistakes while gaining real-world experience.
- Extend Your Free Tier with Plus Addressing: If your Free Tier expires, use plus addressing (e.g., yourname+aws1@gmail.com) to create a new account and enjoy another 12 months of free AWS services.
