Are these AI credits really free?

Yes. Each offer is run by the provider itself. You apply or sign up on the provider's site. AskYard does not sell or resell credits.

How do I redeem an offer?

Open the official link, check the eligibility rules on that page, and apply or sign up there. Approval and amounts are up to the provider.

How current is this list?

Every offer was checked against the provider's own page on 2026-10-07. Offers change; the provider's page is the final word.

Which startup programs give the most AI credits?

Google for Startups Cloud lists up to $350,000 for AI-first startups, Cloudflare up to $350K, AWS Activate Portfolio up to $200,000, and Microsoft for Startups up to $150K. Most top tiers need VC or accelerator backing.

What if I'm bootstrapped?

Look at AWS Activate Founders ($1,000 to $5,000), Google's $2,000 pre-funded tier, Cloudflare's $10K tier, Neon's self-funded tier, and the free tiers from Gemini, Groq, Cohere, Supabase, and Cursor.

Free AI credits, trials and startup programs

30 offers from the providers' own pages. Open the official link and redeem on the provider's site. Offers change; checked 2026-10-07.

Anthropic: Claude Startups program — $1,000 Claude API credits, a free year of Claude Team, and up to $45K in partner offers. Who qualifies: Approved startup founders, subject to Anthropic's Startup Program Terms.
OpenAI: OpenAI for Startups — API credits unlocked through eligible VC partners (amount set per program). Who qualifies: Startups backed by an eligible VC partner; ask your VC how to unlock credits.
OpenAI: Researcher Access Program — Up to $1,000 in API credits, valid 12 months. Who qualifies: Researchers, with priority for limited financial and institutional resources; reviewed every 3 months.
Google Cloud: Google for Startups Cloud Program — $200,000 in Cloud credits, or up to $350,000 for AI-first startups. Who qualifies: Seed to Series A startups.
Google Cloud: Google for Startups Cloud Program (pre-funded) — $2,000 in credits to build an MVP. Who qualifies: Pre-funded startups.
Google: Gemini API free tier — Free of charge on the Standard free tier, with rate limits. Who qualifies: Anyone with a Google AI Studio API key.
AWS: AWS Activate Founders — $1,000 in Activate Credits to start; select participants up to $5,000. Who qualifies: Self-funded, pre-Series B, founded in the last 10 years, AWS account on a paid plan.
AWS: AWS Activate Portfolio — Up to $200,000 in Activate Credits. Who qualifies: Pre-Series B startups with an Org ID from an Activate Provider (VC or accelerator).
Microsoft: Microsoft for Startups — Startup credits on Azure, up to $150K over time. Who qualifies: Startups that apply on the website; credits grow as the startup shows progress.
Vercel: Vercel for Startups — Up to $30,000 in Flexible Commitment Amount, plus Enterprise-tier access. Who qualifies: Eligible startup teams.
Cloudflare: Cloudflare for Startups — $10K, $100K, or $350K in credits for a year, by tier. Who qualifies: $10K tier: bootstrapped or under $1M raised. Higher tiers by funding and partner.
ElevenLabs: ElevenLabs Grants — 12 months of platform access with 33,000,000 characters. Who qualifies: Startups under 25 employees with a monetized product use case; no agencies or consultancies.
Pinecone: Pinecone Startup Program — Usage credits and discounts (amount not published). Who qualifies: Fewer than 100 employees, Series A or earlier.
Together AI: Together AI Startup Accelerator — Up to $15K, $30K, or $50K in platform credits, by funding tier. Who qualifies: Selection-based. $15K tier: up to $5M raised.
Groq: GroqCloud free plan — Free API access with per-model rate limits. Who qualifies: Anyone with a GroqCloud account.
Cohere: Cohere trial API key — Free evaluation key, limited to 1,000 API calls a month. Who qualifies: Anyone with a Cohere account.
Mistral AI: Pro Education plan — Pro for $14.99/mo, up to 12 months. Who qualifies: Verified students at accredited higher-ed institutions who have not used the product before.
PostHog: PostHog for Startups — $50,000 in PostHog credits for 12 months, plus partner perks. Who qualifies: Early-stage teams; criteria on the application page.
Neon: Neon Startup Program — Up to $1,000 in Neon credits (self-funded) or up to $200K in Neon and Databricks credits (VC-backed). Who qualifies: Self-funded under $1M raised, or VC-backed with $1M+ or a recognized accelerator.
Supabase: Supabase Free plan — $0/mo: 500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users, 1 GB file storage. Who qualifies: Anyone. Free projects pause after 1 week of inactivity.
MongoDB: MongoDB for Startups — Atlas credits and Voyage AI tokens, tiered by stage (amount not published). Who qualifies: Bootstrapped through VC-backed startups.
Modal: Modal for Startups — Free GPU credits (one-time grant); every account also gets $30/month of free compute. Who qualifies: Startups new to Modal, VC-backed through Modal's partners or $1M+ raised.
NVIDIA: NVIDIA Inception — Free program: partner cloud credits, preferred pricing, technical training. Who qualifies: Startups building with AI.
DigitalOcean: DigitalOcean for Startups — Credits for 12 months (amount varies). Who qualifies: Startups that apply; GPU credit packages by invitation.
Deepgram: Deepgram free credit — $200 credit, then pay as you go. Who qualifies: New Deepgram accounts.
AssemblyAI: AssemblyAI free start — Free to start, no credit card required. Who qualifies: New AssemblyAI accounts.
GitHub: GitHub Copilot Free — $0 plan with limited chat and agent usage. Who qualifies: Anyone with a GitHub account.
GitHub: Copilot Pro for teachers and open source maintainers — Copilot Pro at no cost. Who qualifies: Verified teachers and maintainers of popular open source projects.
Cursor: Cursor Hobby plan — Free, no credit card, limited Agent requests. Who qualifies: Anyone.
Notion: Notion for Startups — Business plan free for up to 6 months (worth up to $12,000). Who qualifies: Startups that apply through the startup offer.

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Questions

Are these AI credits really free?: Yes. Each offer is run by the provider itself. You apply or sign up on the provider's site. AskYard does not sell or resell credits.
How do I redeem an offer?: Open the official link, check the eligibility rules on that page, and apply or sign up there. Approval and amounts are up to the provider.
How current is this list?: Every offer was checked against the provider's own page on 2026-10-07. Offers change; the provider's page is the final word.
Which startup programs give the most AI credits?: Google for Startups Cloud lists up to $350,000 for AI-first startups, Cloudflare up to $350K, AWS Activate Portfolio up to $200,000, and Microsoft for Startups up to $150K. Most top tiers need VC or accelerator backing.
What if I'm bootstrapped?: Look at AWS Activate Founders ($1,000 to $5,000), Google's $2,000 pre-funded tier, Cloudflare's $10K tier, Neon's self-funded tier, and the free tiers from Gemini, Groq, Cohere, Supabase, and Cursor.