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AWS Cloud Credits

aws.amazon.com/blogs/opensource/aws-cloud-credits-for-open-sCloud VMcompute/aws-cloud-creditsJSON compare report an error provider JSON

Free allowance: Quoted: 'we've provided AWS Promotional Credits to more than 200 different open source projects' since the programme 'launched in 2019', and the credits 'can be used on compute resources, storage, database services, development tools, and testing infrastructure'.
Verdict: caveatusable, with a named limit or an unprobed read path
Cost: no price stated
Identity: cardcard required, phone required
Binding limit: write-gatedAn active AWS account with a valid payment method and no outstanding invoices is required before applying, review is monthly, and December issues no credits at all.
Evidence: documented3 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
Freshness: stale on 2026-11-22checked 2026-10-22 (live); stale on 2026-11-22

Free tier	Quoted: 'we've provided AWS Promotional Credits to more than 200 different open source projects' since the programme 'launched in 2019', and the credits 'can be used on compute resources, storage, database services, development tools, and testing infrastructure'. Applications are an Excel form emailed to [address removed], reviewed and issued 'on a monthly basis', and 'The credits will expire after one year'. unit none; metered on wall-clock; recurring-credit
Price	none stated
Limits	write-gated (binding) An active AWS account with a valid payment method and no outstanding invoices is required before applying, review is monthly, and December issues no credits at all. source
Identity	card an active AWS account carrying a valid payment method on file: the 2019 programme post states 'you will need an active AWS Account, including a valid payment method on file', and the record's binding note adds that no outstanding invoices may exist. The authorisation amount is not stated; whether debit or prepaid is accepted is not stated; whether a phone or tax identity is required at AWS signup is not stated
Egress	not stated
Interface	s3-compatible inferred from the tooling the provider documents; not probed
Tooling	not stated
Composes with	Credits that cover 'compute resources, storage, database services' are the broadest instrument after a cash grant: the same balance pays for EC2 spot time, S3 and a managed database, so a whole pipeline runs on one award.
Reliability	no reliability event recorded
Notes	The amount per project is not published on either AWS page, so the number is null; the two public figures are 200+ recipient projects and a one-year expiry, neither of which is a per-project size. Two eligibility lines tilt toward teams: 'not dominated by a single vendor' and a preference for maintainers from multiple entities, which is softer than Datadog's rule and does not exclude a solo maintainer outright. The 2019 post and the 2025 post give different application addresses (awsopen@ and [address removed]), so use the current form.

Evidence 3

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-22	aws.amazon.com/blogs/opensource/aws-cloud-credits-for-open-s	quoted 'we've provided AWS Promotional Credits to more than 200 different open source projects', the Excel form and [address removed], the monthly review, the December pause, and the eligibility condition that organisations must have an OSI-approved licence and 'not be dominated by a single vendor or VC-funded' [published 2025-03-31]. The same post records a separate 'extended $3 million annual commitment to the Kubernetes project', which is not an amount for this credits programme and is not used as one here
2026-10-22	aws.amazon.com/blogs/opensource/aws-promotional-credits-open	quoted 'you will need an active AWS Account, including a valid payment method on file', the OSI licence requirement, 'We'll also generally favor projects with maintainers from multiple entities or that are owned by foundations', and 'The credits will expire after one year' [published 2019-10-14]
2026-10-22	aws.amazon.com/awscredits/	the promotional credit terms page carries a 'Last Updated: September 24, 2026' date, so the credit instrument is current

More fields 1

{
 "facets": {
  "class": "vendor-oss-credits",
  "free_tier_kind": "recurring-credit",
  "shape": null
 }
}

Unknown values 6

$.egress.metered egress metering was not published
$.egress.terms a source was read and is silent on this field
$.per_object_cap.stated the field does not apply to this kind of offer
$.reliability_note nothing of this kind was observed
$.retention.stated the field does not apply to this kind of offer
$.tooling a source was read and is silent on this field