Get Up to €6,900 in Free AI and Cloud Credits for Your Startup
Updated: November 2026 · Prices checked: November 2026
In short
- Microsoft for Startups is the easiest door: apply on the website, verify the business and unlock up to $5,000 (about €4,300) in Azure credits. More unlocks with usage, up to $150,000.
- AWS Activate Founders gives $1,000 (about €860) to self-funded startups with no investor code needed.
- Google’s Start tier gives $2,000 (about €1,720) to startups under 2 years old with a working product. The big Google tiers need venture funding.
- Agencies, consultancies and dev shops are excluded by Google and ElevenLabs. Anthropic’s Claude Startups program is full right now.
Cloud servers and AI APIs are often the second-biggest bill of a young tech business, right after people. The big providers will pay part of it for you. A small startup with a website and a business email can get several thousand euro of cloud and AI credits for free, in a few evenings of paperwork. Here is what is open in November 2026, who qualifies and how to apply.
What you save
Credits are not cash. They are a balance on your cloud account that pays for servers, storage, databases and AI models until it runs out or expires. Hosting, a database and some AI calls can easily run €100 to €300 a month once you have users.
The maths: say your app costs €150 a month to run. Google’s Start tier ($2,000, about €1,720) covers about 11 months. Microsoft’s verified $5,000 (about €4,300) covers more than two years at that level. Add AWS Founders ($1,000, about €860). That is roughly €6,900 of infrastructure you do not pay from your own pocket.
Credits also cover AI. Microsoft lets you use them on Azure OpenAI and Foundry. AWS says Activate credits work on third-party models in Amazon Bedrock. Google’s credits cover Gemini and Gemma, but not third-party models. If you are already comparing the cheapest AI API per million tokens, credits can push your real price to zero for months.
Which programs are open now
Only programs that accept applications in November 2026 are in the table.
| Program | What you get | Who qualifies | Investor needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft for Startups | Up to $5,000 (about €4,300) after business verification, up to $150,000 over time | Early-stage startups building software | No |
| AWS Activate Founders | $1,000 (about €860) | Self-funded startups new to Activate credits, with a working website | No |
| Google for Startups Cloud – Start tier | $2,000 (about €1,720) | Founded in the past 2 years, working MVP, plans to raise venture money | No |
| Google – Scale and Scale AI tiers | $200,000 to $350,000 over 2 years | Pre-Seed to Series A funding from a known investor | Yes |
| AWS Activate Portfolio | Larger amounts, set by your investor or accelerator | Startups linked to an Activate Provider | Yes (Org ID) |
| ElevenLabs Startup Grants | 12 months, 33 million credits | Startups and companies under 25 employees, no agencies | No |
One big name is missing on purpose. Anthropic’s Claude Startups page says the current cohort is full and it is not accepting new applications. If your VC is in Anthropic’s partner network, the page says you may get up to $100,000 in API credits through the VC.
How to apply step by step
- Get the basics ready. You need a live website that explains your product and team, and an email address on the same domain. A Gmail address will get you rejected at Google.
- Apply to Microsoft first. Go to microsoft.com/startups and click Get started now. Sign in, fill in the company form and complete business verification. That step is what unlocks up to $5,000.
- Apply to AWS Activate Founders. Create an AWS account, then apply for Activate credits and pick the Founders package. You do not need an Org ID for it. The Org ID is only for the Portfolio route through an investor or accelerator.
- Apply to Google if you are under 2 years old. First create a Google Cloud account with your business email. In the console go to Billing, then Manage your billing account, and copy the 18-character billing account ID. Then go to cloud.google.com/startup, click Apply now and paste the ID. Google says most answers come within a few business days, sometimes 10 days or more.
- Add the AI vendor grants you will really use. If voice is part of your product, apply for ElevenLabs Startup Grants with your business email. Recipients are asked to show an “ElevenLabs Grants” badge on their site.
- Set a budget alert on day one. In every cloud console, create a billing alert at 50% and 90% of your credit.
Tips for getting approved
- Make the website look like a company, not a placeholder. Product, team, contact. Google needs a working website even from founders in stealth.
- Apply with the founder’s account, not a freelancer’s. Credits can only be used by the original applicant and cannot be shared or resold.
- If you raised money from angels, friends or crowdfunding, say so honestly. Google says that does not qualify for Scale, but you may still be considered for Start.
- Plan your stack around the credits you get. A simple setup, like the one in our AI stack under €30 a month, stretches credits much further.
Limits and traps
- Service businesses are mostly out. Google excludes dev shops, consultancies, agencies, nonprofits and personal blogs. ElevenLabs excludes agencies and existing enterprise customers.
- Credits do not cover everything. Google’s credits pay for Google’s own pay-as-you-go products. Subscriptions, Marketplace products and third-party models in Model Garden are excluded. Workspace and Maps come as separate offers.
- After the credits, you pay normal prices. Microsoft says your workloads stay live and move to pay-as-you-go. Delete forgotten test servers.
- Big numbers need investors. The $200,000 to $350,000 headlines at Google are for funded startups. Most bootstrapped founders will see $1,000 to $5,000 per provider.
- Terms change every year. Google says qualifications change annually. Check the page again before you rely on a number, and expect AI capacity to be tight, as with Amazon’s AI compute shortage.
When to pay instead
Skip the forms if your AI spend is under €20 a month. A few free tiers and a cheap model will do, as listed in our 20 free AI tools for small business. Skip them too if you are a service business that only uses ChatGPT or Gemini in the browser. These credits pay for cloud usage, not for chat subscriptions.
Also think about lock-in. Building everything around one cloud because the first year is free can cost more later. Read our price-war playbook for cutting your AI bill before the credits end.
FAQ
Can a bootstrapped startup get free cloud credits?
Yes. Microsoft for Startups needs no investor and unlocks up to $5,000 after business verification. AWS Activate Founders gives $1,000 to self-funded startups. Google’s Start tier gives $2,000 if you were founded in the past 2 years and have a working product. The six-figure tiers need venture funding.
Can I use startup credits for AI models?
Mostly yes. Microsoft credits work on Azure OpenAI and Foundry services. AWS says Activate credits work on third-party models in Amazon Bedrock. Google credits cover Gemini and Gemma but not third-party models. Anthropic’s own startup credits only work on the Claude API through Claude Console.
Does a small agency or consultancy qualify?
Usually not. Google explicitly excludes dev shops, consultancies and agencies, and ElevenLabs excludes agencies. Microsoft targets startups building software products. If you build your own product inside an agency, set it up as a separate company with its own website and domain email.
How long does approval take?
Google says most applicants hear back within a few business days, and manual reviews can take 10 days or more. Plan for one to two weeks across all providers. Apply to all of them in the same week, so the credits start around the same time.
Read also: Make a Professional Presentation in 10 Minutes for €0 · Use Google AI Studio for €0 Instead of a Paid AI Subscription · OpenAI Lands on Google Cloud: Picking a Cloud Just Got Easier
Ivan’s Take
If you are building software, this is the best two hours of admin you will do this year. Start with Microsoft and AWS Founders, because they do not care about investors. Apply to Google only if you are under two years old. Then forget the big headline numbers and build lean, so a few thousand in credits carry you to your first paying customers.
Sources: Microsoft for Startups · AWS Activate credits · Google for Startups Cloud Program benefits · Google for Startups Cloud Program FAQ · Claude for Startups · ElevenLabs Startup Grants
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