{"rid":"compute/amazon-web-services-free-tier","card":{"rid":"compute/amazon-web-services-free-tier","eid":"amazon","topic":"compute","slug":"amazon-web-services-free-tier","provider":"AWS Free Tier","url":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/","domain":"amazon.com","category":"cloud VM","tier":null,"verdict":"trial-only","vorder":2,"grp":"trial","confidence":"documented","binding":"retention-clamped","identity_kind":"email","identity_basis":"stated","needs_card":0,"needs_phone":0,"needs_id":0,"needs_institution":0,"country":null,"crypto":null,"interfaces":"ssh","egress_metered":1,"per_object_bytes":null,"retention_days":180,"verified_at":"2026-10-24T03:21:02.824Z","verified_basis":"live","checked_on":"2026-10-25","stale_on":"2026-11-24","n_evidence":5,"usd_month":null,"usd_per_tb_month":null,"summary":"up to USD 200 in credits over 6 months: USD 100 on signup and up to USD 100 more for completing activities; the account closes after 6 months or when the cre...","duplicate_of":null,"n_unknown":4},"record":{"topic":"compute","per_object_cap":{"stated":"not applicable","bytes":null,"notes":null},"interface":["ssh"],"interface_detail":"EC2 API, CLI, console; SSH keys chosen at launch","tooling":"the AWS CLI, SDKs, Terraform; a real VM with a public IP","chaining":"six months of a t3-class VM and then a closed account; nothing to build on","limits":[{"kind":"retention-clamped","value":"the account closes 6 months after opening or when credits run out, whichever comes first","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/"},{"kind":"request-rate","value":"30 or more services are always free within monthly usage limits, but EC2 compute is not one of them","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/"}],"limits_note":"the always-free list covers services such as Lambda request counts, not a running VM","reliability_note":"no reliability event recorded","confidence":"documented","verified_at":"2026-10-24T03:21:02.824Z","price_per_tb_month":null,"notes":"The single most-repeated stale fact in the free-tier discourse: there is no always-free EC2 shape for a new account. The credits are real and they end. AWS's own signup page now states the opposite for the Free plan, and the free page confirms the plan is USD 100 plus up to USD 100 over 6 months with the account closing itself at the end. The corpus document lists AWS as 'card, USD 1 hold'; that row is wrong as of today. What is NOT established: whether the card is demanded later for a specific service, and what the 'additional verification' consists of, since no signup was attempted.","slug":"amazon-web-services-free-tier","provider":"AWS Free Tier","url":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/","category":"cloud VM","free_tier":{"stated":"up to USD 200 in credits over 6 months: USD 100 on signup and up to USD 100 more for completing activities; the account closes after 6 months or when the credits run out","unit":"mixed","metered_on":"wall-clock","source_url":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/","read_on":"2026-10-22","notes":"there is no always-free EC2 shape for a new account in 2026"},"retention":{"stated":"the account closes on its own 6 months after it opens or when the credits run out","days":180,"source_url":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/"},"egress":{"terms":"not part of the free plan terms read; standard EC2 egress applies past any allowance","metered":true,"free_allowance":null,"price_per_tb":null,"source_url":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/"},"identity_cost":{"kind":"email","detail":"no card for the Free plan for most new customers: 'Most new customers will not be required to provide a payment method to get started. In some cases, we may ask for additional verification to protect your account.'; an email plus an existing Google or GitHub sign-in is enough; the Free plan is USD 100 of credits at signup plus up to USD 100 more over 6 months, and the account closes itself at 6 months or when the credits run out","country":null},"evidence":[{"url":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"USD 100 in credits immediately and up to USD 100 more; up to USD 200 over 6 months"},{"url":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"'The account closes on its own 6 months after you open it or when your credits run out, whichever comes first.'"},{"url":"https://aws.amazon.com/start-here/","date":"2026-10-24","proved":"quoted: 'Fast sign up: Create an account with a sign-in method you already have, such as Google or GitHub. No credit card required to start for most new customers.'"},{"url":"https://aws.amazon.com/start-here/","date":"2026-10-24","proved":"quoted from the raw HTML, because the text extractor drops the FAQ block: 'Do I need a credit card to sign up? Most new customers will not be required to provide a payment method to get started. In some cases, we may ask for additional verification to protect your account.'"},{"url":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/","date":"2026-10-24","proved":"quoted: 'When you create a new AWS Free Tier account, you get $100 in credits immediately. As you explore key services, you can earn up to $100 more. That's up to $200 over 6 months ... The account closes on its own 6 months after you open it or when your credits run out, whichever comes first.'"}],"verdict":"trial-only","extras":{"shape":null,"billing_model":"allocated","session_cap":null,"keep_rate":{"value":1,"basis":"a running instance bills against the credit","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/free/"},"persistent_storage":null,"network_out":{"allow_outbound":true,"allow_inbound_listen":true,"ports":"all through a security group","static_ip":"an elastic IP","ipv6":true,"per_session_bytes":null},"free_tier_kind":"one-time-credit","census_rows":["aws-free-tier"],"history_note":null,"payment_methods":{"card_at_signup":"no","debit":"not-applicable","prepaid":"not-applicable","virtual":"not-applicable","hold_amount":null,"hold_detail":"no card, so no hold","identity":"email or an existing Google/GitHub sign-in; additional verification at AWS's discretion","source_url":"https://aws.amazon.com/start-here/","read_on":"2026-10-24"}},"binding":"retention-clamped","binding_note":"the 6-month window ends the account; every always-free row inside it expires with it","confidence_note":"Payment facts re-read on 2026-10-24: the card types, the hold and the identity gate each come from a first-party page quoted in evidence[]."},"claims":[{"path":"$.free_tier.stated","kind":"free-quota","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.limits[0].value","kind":"limit:retention-clamped","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.limits[1].value","kind":"limit:request-rate","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"}],"unknown":[["$.extras.history_note","withheld"],["$.per_object_cap.notes","process"],["$.per_object_cap.stated","not-applicable"],["$.reliability_note","none-observed"]],"history":[],"drift":[]}