A curated list of programs offering free credits, perks, and discounts for startups — cloud infrastructure, AI/ML APIs, developer tools, SaaS, fintech, and more.
Founders are leaving $500K+ on the table by not stacking these programs. This list helps you find and combine them to extend your runway.
Star this repo and contribute new programs via PR!
Disclaimer: Credit amounts, tiers, and eligibility change frequently. Always verify the current offer on the provider's official page before applying. Figures below reflect publicly advertised maximums as of May 2026.
- Cloud Infrastructure
- AI / ML & LLM APIs
- Developer Tools & Observability
- Databases & Data Platforms
- Fintech & Banking (Credit Aggregators)
- Sales, Marketing & CRM
- Compliance & Security
- Communications & Customer Data
- Incorporation & Operations
- Accelerators & Incubators
- Stacking Strategy
- Application Tips
- Contributing
The big cloud providers subsidize startups heavily to win long-term infrastructure revenue. These are the highest-dollar programs available.
| Program | Credits (up to) | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Activate | $1K (self-serve) $100K (Portfolio) $300K (Gen AI tier) | $1K open to all; higher tiers require VC/accelerator/incubator affiliation | Largest & oldest program. Credits valid ~2 years. Bedrock AI model credits available. |
| Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub | $1K–$5K (self-serve) $150K (Investor Network) | $1K–$5K open to all, no VC required | Best self-serve entry point. Includes Azure OpenAI Service, M365, GitHub Enterprise. |
| Google for Startups Cloud Program | $100K (Start) $200K–$350K (Scale tier) | Higher tiers via accelerator/VC partnership | Includes Firebase, AI platform, and 30+ partner perks. |
| Oracle for Startups | $100K OCI credits + 70% discount | Open application | $500 free to start. |
| IBM Cloud for Startups | Varies by region/partner | Partner-referred | watsonx AI access. |
| DigitalOcean Hatch | Up to $100K | Early-stage startups | Simpler infra, developer-friendly. |
| Cloudflare for Startups | Varies (perks bundle) | Accelerator/partner | Workers, R2, CDN, security. |
| Alibaba Cloud Startup Catalyst | Up to $120K | Open application | Strong for APAC. |
| Scaleway | Varies | EU-focused programs | European data residency. |
| Vultr | Up to $120K | Startup program | GPU instances + storage. |
| Akamai (Linode) Rise | Varies | AI/startup program | Offers GPU instances. |
If you're building AI products, these credits go directly toward inference, training, and model APIs.
| Program | Credits (up to) | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic Startup Program | $25K–$100K+ Claude API credits | Backed by Anthropic's VC partners; AI builders | Priority rate limits + early model access. |
| OpenAI for Startups | $2,500 (self) Tier 2/3 via VC referral | Self-serve small tier; larger via VC | Often accessed via Brex/Ramp/Azure too. |
| NVIDIA Inception | $100K+ in software, GPU discounts, DLI training | Free, ~10 min to apply | Unlocks elevated AWS Activate tiers. Best first stop for AI startups. |
| Hugging Face | Discounted/credited compute | Startup program | Spaces, Inference Endpoints. |
| Cohere | Up to 25% off enterprise + Cohere Labs grants | Early-stage | Discounted AI pricing. |
| ElevenLabs | API credits | Startup program | Voice/audio AI. |
| Perplexity | API credits | Startup program | Search/answer engine API. |
| AssemblyAI | Up to $150K API credits | Early-stage | Speech-to-text / voice AI. |
| Baseten | Up to $25K (deployments) + $2.5K (model APIs) | Startup program | Model serving/inference. |
| Contextual AI | $1.5K credits + expert support | Via Google Cloud perks | RAG platform. |
| Arize AI | 3 months free (AX Pro) | Startup program | AI/LLM observability. |
| Program | Offer | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub for Startups | 20 seats Enterprise free 12 mo + $10K credits | Via partner network | Covers Copilot & Advanced Security. |
| GitLab for Startups | 12 months Ultimate free | Early-stage, <50 employees | Full DevOps platform. |
| Datadog for Startups | Up to $100K credits over 1 year | Funded startups | APM, logs, metrics, RUM, synthetics. |
| Sentry for Startups | Discounted/credited Team & Business plans | Bootstrapped/pre-seed, no referral needed | Error & performance monitoring. |
| Vercel | Credits + AI Accelerator | Startup/AI program | Frontend hosting, AI infra. |
| JetBrains | Free/discounted licenses | Startup program | IDE suite. |
| Linear | Discounted plans | Startup program | Issue tracking / project mgmt. |
| Notion for Startups | $500+ credits (often via partners) | Open / partner-unlocked | Docs, wiki, project mgmt. |
| PostHog | 1 yr free Growth plan, up to 1.2B events / 200K MTUs | Early-stage | Product analytics. |
| Clerk for Startups | Clerk Pro features at a discount | Up to 1 year after launch, up to $5M in funding | 50K monthly retained users are already free on every plan |
| Program | Offer | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MongoDB for Startups | Atlas credits + Voyage AI tokens + GTM support | Via VC/accelerator or direct | Document DB. |
| Redis for Startups | Up to $25K Redis Cloud + AI consult | Startup program | Caching / vector. |
| Neo4j Aura | Aura credits + expert guidance | Startup program | Graph database for AI. |
| Pinecone | Usage credits + Pro support, all regions | Startup program | Vector database. |
| Upstash | Startup credits | Startup program | Serverless Redis/Kafka. |
| YugabyteDB Aeon | Free to start | Via Google Cloud perks | Distributed PostgreSQL. |
These platforms bundle deals from dozens of other providers — open an account to unlock a cascade of credits.
| Program | What It Unlocks | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brex | AWS, OpenAI credits + 100+ SaaS discounts | Business account | Extensive perks network. |
| Ramp | AWS, OpenAI credits + 100+ SaaS discounts | Business account | Similar to Brex. |
| Mercury | GitHub (1yr free), AWS + partner perks | Business account, no $50K minimum | Friendlier for pre-funded founders. |
| Stripe Atlas | AWS + Notion credits + partner deals | $500 incorporation fee | Cascade-unlocks many programs. |
| Program | Offer | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot for Startups | Up to 90% off year 1 (CRM, marketing, sales) | Via partner accelerator/VC | Tiered discount by funding stage. |
| Mailchimp | Startup credits/discounts | Startup program | Email marketing. |
| Amplitude for Startups | 1 yr free Growth plan (Scholarship) | Pre-seed Series C tiers | Product analytics. |
| Customer.io | Up to 12 months discounted | Startup program | Messaging / lifecycle. |
| Intercom for Startups | 90% off year 1 | Early-stage, <$5M raised | Customer messaging. |
| Zendesk for Startups | 6 months free | Eligible startups | Customer support. |
Essential for B2B startups selling to enterprise (SOC 2, ISO 27001).
| Program | Offer | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanta | Startup discounts | Via partner/VC | SOC 2 / ISO automation. |
| Drata | Startup discounts | Via partner/VC | Compliance automation. |
| 1Password for Startups | Free/discounted | Eligible startups | Password / secrets mgmt. |
| Program | Offer | Eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twilio for Startups | API credits (SMS, voice, WhatsApp, video) | Startup program | + education & Signal Conf access. |
| Twilio Segment for Startups | Team Plan free up to 2 yrs + $1M partner software | <2 yrs old, <$5M raised | Bundles AWS, Intercom, Amplitude. |
| Program | Offer | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe Atlas | US C-Corp incorporation, EIN, founder agreements ($500 flat) | Unlocks downstream credits. |
| Clerky | Startup legal paperwork | Incorporation & fundraising docs. |
| Carta | Cap table management | Startup tiers available. |
Joining these (even remote/free cohorts) unlocks the highest credit tiers across providers.
| Program | Notes |
|---|---|
| Y Combinator | Unlocks $1M+ in combined partner deals. |
| Techstars | Global accelerator network. |
| Antler | Early/pre-seed, global. |
| 500 Global | Seed-stage accelerator. |
| AWS Generative AI Accelerator | Up to $1M credits for select cohorts. |
Smart founders sequence applications to maximize runway. A common path:
-
Phase 1 — Bootstrapped (no VC):
- NVIDIA Inception (free, unlocks better terms elsewhere)
- Microsoft Founders Hub ($1K–$5K Azure, self-serve)
- AWS Activate self-serve tier ($1K)
- Stripe Atlas / Mercury / Brex (cascade-unlock partner deals)
- ~$25K–$40K claimed with no funding
-
Phase 2 — Post-funding (within 12 months of round):
- AWS Activate Portfolio ($100K) — hard 12-month deadline
- Google Cloud Scale ($200K+)
- Microsoft Investor Network ($150K)
-
Phase 3 — AI & specialty:
- Anthropic Startup ($25K+ Claude), OpenAI Tier 2/3
- Datadog, HubSpot, Vanta/Drata, MongoDB
Apply to multiple programs simultaneously. Many require accelerator/VC affiliation only for higher tiers — get the easy ones first.
- Use a company-domain email (not Gmail/Outlook) — the #1 rejection reason.
- Have a real website — thin or placeholder sites get rejected.
- Keep Crunchbase/PitchBook consistent — mismatched info triggers rejection.
- Read the billing fine print — some programs (AWS) charge for usage above credits; others just cut you off.
- Track expiration dates — most credits expire in 12–24 months. Keep a spreadsheet of approvals, amounts, and renewal terms.
- Don't build critical dependencies on expiring credits — use them for dev, testing, and experimentation.
- Beware stacking caveats — e.g., claiming AWS via Brex/Mercury may reduce your direct AWS Activate amount.
Found a program that's not listed, or spotted outdated info? Contributions welcome!
- Fork this repo
- Add the program in the relevant category table (keep alphabetical/value order)
- Include: official link, credit amount, eligibility, and a short note
- Open a Pull Request
Please only add programs with an official source and verify the offer is currently live.
Released under [MIT] — free to use, share, and adapt. (Choose your preferred license.)
If this list helped you, give it a star and share it with other founders!