{"rid":"compute/microsoft-azure-free-account","card":{"rid":"compute/microsoft-azure-free-account","eid":"microsoft","topic":"compute","slug":"microsoft-azure-free-account","provider":"Microsoft Azure Free Account","url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/","domain":"microsoft.com","category":"cloud VM","tier":null,"verdict":"trial-only","vorder":2,"grp":"trial","confidence":"documented","binding":"retention-clamped","identity_kind":"card","identity_basis":"stated","needs_card":1,"needs_phone":1,"needs_id":0,"needs_institution":0,"country":null,"crypto":null,"interfaces":"ssh","egress_metered":1,"per_object_bytes":null,"retention_days":365,"verified_at":"2026-10-22T00:00:00.000Z","verified_basis":"live","checked_on":"2026-10-22","stale_on":"2026-11-21","n_evidence":3,"usd_month":null,"usd_per_tb_month":null,"summary":"USD 200 of credit for 30 days plus 750 hours each of B1s, B2pts v2 and B2ats v2 burstable VMs for 12 months","duplicate_of":null,"n_unknown":3},"record":{"topic":"compute","per_object_cap":{"stated":"not applicable","bytes":null,"notes":null},"interface":["ssh"],"interface_detail":"the Azure portal, CLI and ARM API; SSH keys set at VM creation","tooling":"az CLI, the ARM and Bicep templates, the SDKs","chaining":"12 months of a burstable VM and then a pay-as-you-go bill","limits":[{"kind":"retention-clamped","value":"VM hours are free for 12 months, then billed; the USD 200 credit lasts 30 days","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/"},{"kind":"request-rate","value":"750 hours each of B1s, B2pts v2 and B2ats v2: one of each fits 24/7 for a month","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/"}],"limits_note":"a USD 1 authorisation hold is placed at signup and removed","reliability_note":"no reliability event recorded","confidence":"documented","verified_at":"2026-10-22T00:00:00.000Z","price_per_tb_month":null,"notes":"Twelve months is longer than AWS's six and it is still a trial. The 65 or more always-free services on the same page are the durable ones, and the VM hours are not among them.","slug":"microsoft-azure-free-account","provider":"Microsoft Azure Free Account","url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/","category":"cloud VM","free_tier":{"stated":"USD 200 of credit for 30 days plus 750 hours each of B1s, B2pts v2 and B2ats v2 burstable VMs for 12 months","unit":"hours","metered_on":"wall-clock","source_url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/","read_on":"2026-10-22","notes":"the VM hours are 12 months for new customers; the credit is 30 days"},"retention":{"stated":"12 months for the VM hours; the USD 200 credit expires after 30 days","days":365,"source_url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/"},"egress":{"terms":"not part of the free-account terms read; standard egress applies past any allowance","metered":true,"free_allowance":null,"price_per_tb":null,"source_url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/"},"identity_cost":{"kind":"card","detail":"a card and a phone number are required for identity verification, quoted","country":null},"evidence":[{"url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"750 hours each of B1s, B2pts v2 (Arm) and B2ats v2 (AMD) burstable VMs for 12 months"},{"url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"a USD 200 credit usable for 30 days; a USD 1 temporary authorisation hold at signup"},{"url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"the phone number and card are used for identity verification to validate that account holders are real people"}],"verdict":"trial-only","extras":{"shape":null,"billing_model":"allocated","session_cap":null,"keep_rate":{"value":1,"basis":"a running VM bills its hours against the 750","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/"},"persistent_storage":null,"network_out":{"allow_outbound":true,"allow_inbound_listen":true,"ports":"all through a network security group","static_ip":true,"ipv6":true,"per_session_bytes":null},"free_tier_kind":"one-time-credit","census_rows":["azure-free-account"]},"binding":"retention-clamped","binding_note":"the 12-month window ends the 750 hours, so the clock is the constraint"},"claims":[{"path":"$.free_tier.stated","kind":"free-quota","num":750,"unit":"hours","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.limits[0].value","kind":"limit:retention-clamped","num":200,"unit":"credit","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.limits[1].value","kind":"limit:request-rate","num":750,"unit":"hours","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"}],"unknown":[["$.per_object_cap.notes","process"],["$.per_object_cap.stated","not-applicable"],["$.reliability_note","none-observed"]],"history":[],"drift":[]}