Cloud credits for startups 2026: AWS, Google, Microsoft and Cloudflare compared

A bootstrapped Ukrainian startup with a live product can collect around $18,000 in cloud credits this month without a single investor on its cap table. A venture-backed one can reach several hundred thousand dollars across four providers. The difference between those two numbers is not the quality of the product. It is whether the company is affiliated with a fund or accelerator that sits in each provider’s partner network.

This is the part most guides skip. Every large cloud programme has two doors. The self-serve door is open to almost anyone and pays out a modest amount. The partner door pays out tens or hundreds of thousands, and it opens only with a referral code from a VC, accelerator or incubator the provider has enrolled. Knowing which door you are standing in front of saves weeks of applications written for the wrong tier.

The four programmes at a glance

What the self-serve stack actually adds up to

The self-serve doors require no investor, no referral and no partner network. A bootstrapped Ukrainian company with a live product, a domain email and a public profile can claim all four in the same month. The maths is worth seeing in one place, because most founders apply to one provider and stop.

The partner door changes the order of magnitude, not the effort. The same forms, filled in with a referral code from an enrolled VC or accelerator, unlock up to $100,000 at AWS, $200,000 to $350,000 at Google and $100,000 to $150,000 at Microsoft. The single most valuable question a Ukrainian founder can ask before signing with an accelerator is therefore not the equity percentage, but whether that accelerator sits in the AWS, Google and Microsoft partner networks. For a compute-heavy or AI-first team, membership can be worth more than the cheque itself.

Read the ceilings as usage, not cash. Google’s $350,000 headline covers full usage only in year one; year two reimburses 20%. A team that keeps its burn low never touches the top figure, so the realistic value of any tier is the lesser of the cap and what the workload actually consumes before the credits expire.

AWS Activate

Founders tier: $1,000, self-serve. Open to startups that are under 10 years old, have not received Activate credits before and are not affiliated with a partner investor. Credits are applied to the AWS account within days. Combined with the YC Startup School bonus, which any founder can unlock by completing the free course, a solo team reaches a few thousand dollars in one or two weeks.

Portfolio tier: up to $100,000, partner-gated. The company applies with an Activate Provider Organisation ID from an enrolled accelerator, VC or incubator. The amount inside the Portfolio band depends on the partner: accelerator partners typically unlock $5,000 to $25,000, larger funds unlock up to $100,000. Figures above that exist only through specific AWS partnerships and AI-focused packages tied to Trainium or Inferentia usage.

Rules that trip applicants. AWS tracks lifetime credits per company, so a Founders grant does not block a later Portfolio application, but the total is capped. A business email on the company domain is mandatory. Credits already claimed through a bank or fintech partner such as Brex or Mercury can reduce what AWS grants directly.

Google for Startups Cloud Program

Start tier: $2,000, self-serve. For teams that have not yet raised equity funding. Valid for one year, with access to the startup community and technical resources.

Scale tier: up to $200,000 over two years. For companies from pre-seed to Series A that are affiliated with an approved accelerator, incubator or VC. Year one covers up to $100,000 of usage in full; year two covers 20% of usage up to another $100,000. That second-year mechanic matters: a startup that spends little in year two never reaches the headline figure.

AI-first track: up to $350,000. For Scale-tier companies whose primary product is built on Vertex AI or Gemini, with qualifying venture funding from seed to Series A, founded within the last 10 years and with no more than $5,000 in prior Google Cloud credits. The package adds up to $12,000 in Enhanced Support credits for one year and a dedicated Startup Success Manager.

What else comes with it. Firebase usage is covered by the same credits, Google Workspace Business Plus is free for 12 months for new signups, and Google Maps Platform offers $600 in monthly credits through a separate application.

Microsoft for Startups

Microsoft rebuilt this programme in mid-2025 and removed the ladder that used to take a bootstrapped company from $1,000 to $150,000 by filling in forms. Two tracks remain.

Open Azure offer: up to $5,000. $1,000 on approval and another $4,000 after business verification of a registered legal entity. Available to any startup new to Azure, no investor required, reviewed in about three business days.

Investor Network track: $100,000 to $150,000. Requires a referral code from a fund, accelerator or incubator enrolled in the Microsoft for Startups Investor Network. Additional awards depend on the referral source and on engagement with the platform.

Why this one needs a fresh check. Microsoft has changed the programme structure at least twice in two years, and third-party guides published weeks apart describe different tiers. The current terms live at startups.microsoft.com and should be read there on the day of application. What has stayed constant: a business email on the company domain, a working Azure account and a real product description.

Cloudflare for Startups

Cloudflare’s programme differs from the three hyperscalers in one important way: the credits cover compute, storage, AI inference and delivery, while core security and networking are free for every participant regardless of tier. Tier 3 gives $10,000 with no minimum funding; Tiers 2 and 1 give $100,000 and $350,000 and require backing from an affiliated partner. Review takes up to 48 hours. The full breakdown, including product caps and exclusions, is in the GetGrant profile. Cloudflare for Startups: up to $350,000 in credits for tech startups →

Beyond the big four: more programmes worth stacking

The four hyperscalers are the largest pools, but a modern stack rarely runs on compute alone. Databases, source control, AI models and go-to-market tools each have their own startup programme, and most stack on top of the cloud credits without conflict. Amounts and terms shift often, so treat the figures below as the current shape and confirm each on the provider’s own page before you build a budget around it.

The same two-door logic applies here. Most of these open their larger tiers only through an accelerator, incubator or fund. If you are already in a partner network for AWS or Google, ask the same programme manager which of these smaller schemes they can refer you into: one introduction often unlocks several at once.

Who is not eligible anywhere

The four programmes converge on the same exclusions. Consultancies, agencies, managed service providers and resellers are out. So are educational institutions, personal projects without a legal entity, and companies applying from a personal email address. Existing enterprise customers of a given provider are excluded from that provider’s startup programme. And each programme is a one-time opportunity per company: credits cannot be claimed twice, and they cannot be moved to a second legal entity.

Ukrainian registration is not an obstacle at any of the four. What does matter is a verifiable website, a public profile on LinkedIn, X or GitHub, and a payment method on the account.

How to stack them without wasting the credits

Apply to all four self-serve tiers first. Founders at AWS, Start at Google, the open Azure offer, Tier 3 at Cloudflare. None of them requires an investor, and together they add up to roughly $18,000. None of them blocks a later partner-tier application at the same provider.

Then check your partners. Before signing with an accelerator or taking a small round, ask whether the investor is enrolled in the AWS, Google and Microsoft partner networks. For a compute-heavy startup this can be worth more than the cheque.

Run one primary cloud. Credits at three providers do not mean the workload should live at three providers. Fragmented billing, three consoles and three sets of expiring credits are a cost. The usual pattern is one hyperscaler for core infrastructure and Cloudflare in front of it for delivery and security, because that combination uses both sets of credits without splitting the stack.

Plan for the day after. Credits at AWS and Google run for two years, at Microsoft and Cloudflare for one. Put the expiry dates in the calendar on the day of approval. A startup whose architecture only works at zero infrastructure cost has a runway problem that credits postponed rather than solved.