Startup Programs: Free credits and discounts from AWS, Google, Notion and 14 more

 

TL;DR

The largest infrastructure offers are Google Cloud (up to $350,000 for AI-first startups), Cloudflare (up to $350,000), AWS Activate (up to $200,000) and Microsoft for Startups (up to $150,000 through its investor network). The top tiers almost always need a VC or accelerator referral. Without one, you can still get $10,000 from Cloudflare, up to $5,000 from Microsoft, up to $2,000 from Google and $1,000 from AWS. For business tools, Atlassian gives 12 months of Premium free for up to 50 users, Intercom takes 93% off year one, PostHog gives $50,000 in credit and Notion gives 1 to 6 months of its Business Plan. Anthropic's expanded Claude Startups offer was paused three days after it was announced. Grafista, our AI graphic designer, takes 50% off for the first three months and never charges per seat.

 

Cloud and infrastructure programs

These are the biggest offers by dollar value. Most of them pair a small self-serve tier with a large tier that needs an investor or accelerator in the vendor's partner network. Vercel has no self-serve tier at all, and MongoDB has a single tier with no referral.

 

AWS Activate

AWS Activate gives credits for Amazon Web Services usage. The Founders tier gives $1,000 to self-funded startups with no investor or accelerator required. The Portfolio tier goes up to $200,000, but you need the Organization ID of an AWS Activate Provider, which means your VC, accelerator or incubator has to be in AWS's network. AWS also states that AI startups that outgrow these tiers can get credits above $200,000.

Credits apply to more than 200 AWS services, including third-party models on Amazon Bedrock. You cannot get Portfolio credits if you already received Activate credits of equal or greater value.

Pros

• The Founders tier needs no funding or referral
• One credit balance covers hosting and Bedrock model calls
• The Portfolio tier includes AWS Business Support

Cons

• $200,000 is a ceiling, and your provider determines the actual amount
• $1,000 does not last long on GPU or managed database workloads
• Credits usually expire within one to two years

Pricing: Free to apply. Once credits run out or expire, standard AWS rates apply.

 

Google for Startups Cloud Program

Google runs three tiers. The Start tier gives up to $2,000 for early-stage startups. The Scale tier covers up to $200,000 of Google Cloud and Firebase usage over two years for equity-funded startups. The AI tier goes up to $350,000: up to $250,000 in year one and up to $100,000 in year two.

Google only counts you as AI-first if AI is the foundation of the product rather than a feature, and you cannot have already received more than $5,000 in Google Cloud credits. Funded tiers also include $12,000 in Enhanced Support credits for one year.

Pros

• The highest published AI-tier cap of the three big clouds
• Credits cover Firebase and Gemini models
• A two-year window instead of one

Cons

• Scale and AI tiers require equity funding, usually through a partner
• Credits do not cover third-party models, which are billed directly
• Products that only use AI as a feature do not qualify for the AI tier

Pricing: Free to apply. After two years, or when credits run out, standard Google Cloud pricing applies.

 

Microsoft for Startups

Microsoft has two routes. The self-serve route gives new Azure customers $1,000 straight away and up to $5,000 after business verification. The investor offer is for startups backed by a member of the Microsoft for Startups Investor Network: Microsoft says most start at $100,000 and can reach $150,000 through verified progress and sustained Azure usage.

To qualify, you must be privately held, for-profit, building your own software product, pre-Series C, and have received less than $350,000 in lifetime free Azure credits. Investor offer credits last two years from activation, and Microsoft does not extend them.

Pros

• Credits cover Azure OpenAI, the main way to pay for OpenAI models with startup credits
• A self-serve path with no investor required
• Two years to use investor offer credits

Cons

• Credits do not cover Azure Marketplace purchases, paid support plans or Microsoft 365 subscriptions
• No extensions, even on request
• Accounts that already redeemed credits from another Microsoft program get rejected

Pricing: Free to apply. Azure pay-as-you-go rates apply after the credits end.

 

Cloudflare for Startups

Cloudflare offers three tiers, all valid for one year. The first gives $10,000 in credits with no minimum funding. The second gives $100,000 plus an account manager and technical sessions. The top tier gives $350,000 plus office hours and priority support, and third-party listings report that it requires $5 million or more raised from a Cloudflare partner investor. You must be building a software-based product.

Pros

• $10,000 is the largest infrastructure credit here that needs no funding
• Cloudflare's free tier already covers many features, so credits stretch further
• Includes Workers, R2 storage and security products

Cons

• Credits only apply to paid usage beyond the free tier
• Domain registration, Magic Transit and dedicated IPs are excluded, and AI Gateway is temporarily not covered
• One year, no extensions

Pricing: Free to apply. When credits expire, Cloudflare bills the card on file.

 

Vercel for Startups

Vercel gives startups an Enterprise contract with a Flexible Commitment of up to $30,000 for one year. The credit covers seats, data transfer, compute, v0, AI Gateway and other Vercel products, and your team runs on Enterprise terms while the contract is active. The exact amount depends on Vercel's arrangement with your partner.

You must be affiliated with an approved Vercel Startups Partner and upload a screenshot of the Vercel offer in that partner's dashboard as proof. You also need to have raised Series A or less, apply within 12 months of your most recent round, have a company website with a matching email address, and not have received Vercel startup credits before. These terms apply to startups accepted from 6 August 2026. Vercel separately runs a competitive AI Accelerator with pooled credits from partner companies.

Pros

• Enterprise-tier access for a year, not only a larger Pro plan
• Credits cover v0 and AI Gateway as well as hosting
• A long partner list, from Y Combinator and Sequoia to Antler, Seedcamp and Station F

Cons

• No route in without an approved partner
• Only 50% of the credit can go to AI Gateway, and Gateway usage above that is billed even with credit left
• Unused credit does not roll over, benefits cannot be postponed once activated, and a payment method is required

Pricing: Free to apply. After one year, or once the credit is used, your account moves to standard list rates billed monthly.

 

MongoDB for Startups

MongoDB gives up to $5,000 in Atlas credits, with more for AI companies, plus a session with a MongoDB expert. You must be at Series A or earlier and can only join once. Marketing, consulting and design agencies are not eligible.

Credits work on any Atlas product, including vector search and the Developer Support plan, and last 12 months. MongoDB will consider an extension if you email the startups team. Credits from cloud providers cannot be spent on Atlas, so your AWS, Google or Azure credits will not cover your MongoDB bill.

Pros

• Extensions are possible on request
• Covers Atlas Vector Search for AI products
• Stacks with AWS, Google and Microsoft credits

Cons

• Agencies are excluded
• Small amount compared with the cloud programs
• Pro and Enterprise support plans are not covered

Pricing: Free to apply. Atlas list pricing applies after the credits.

AI programs

AI companies give less than the clouds, and the biggest offers are gated by investor relationships.

 

NVIDIA Inception

NVIDIA Inception is free, takes no equity, has no deadlines or cohorts, and accepts startups at any funding stage. NVIDIA reports more than 25,000 members. Instead of a fixed credit amount, members get preferred pricing on NVIDIA hardware and software, cloud credits from NVIDIA partners, Deep Learning Institute training and exposure to NVIDIA's venture capital network.

Pros

• No funding requirement
• Hardware discounts matter if you buy GPUs
• Membership makes you eligible for partner offers

Cons

• No published credit amount, so the value depends on what you request
• You must keep your company profile updated to stay eligible
• Most useful for teams training or running models on NVIDIA hardware

Pricing: Free. No application or membership fees.

 

OpenAI for Startups

OpenAI has no public self-serve credit program. All founders get access to live build sessions, founder case studies and the community. VC-backed startups additionally get free API credits, one-to-one sessions with OpenAI solutions engineers and founder events. OpenAI does not publish the credit amount.

Fintech companies such as Ramp and Brex have offered OpenAI credits to their customers. The other route is running OpenAI models on Azure and paying with Microsoft for Startups credits.

Pros

• Direct access to OpenAI engineers for VC-backed teams
• Azure gives a second path to credits

Cons

• Bootstrapped startups get no direct credits
• The credit amount is not published

Pricing: Free to join. Standard API pricing applies.

 

Anthropic - Claude for Startups

Anthropic launched Claude for Startups in May 2026 and expanded it on 6 October 2026. Approved startups were offered a one-time $1,000 API credit, a free year of Claude Team for up to five Premium seats (for organizations new to Claude Team), up to $45,000 in partner offers through the Claude Startup Stack, and virtual office hours with Anthropic's Applied AI team. Startups backed by an Anthropic VC partner can reportedly get up to $100,000 in API credits.

On 9 October 2026, Anthropic paused the free Claude Team year and the $1,000 credit. One report from 13 October says applications also stopped. Check the program page for current status.

Pros

• Startup Stack offers from companies such as Linear, Lovable, ElevenLabs, Granola and Hex
• Office hours with Anthropic's applied AI engineers

Cons

• The core benefits were paused at the time of writing
• Startup Stack offers come from third parties and only help if you use those tools

Pricing: Free to apply when open. Standard Claude pricing applies.

 

Lovable

Lovable, the AI app builder, has no public startup application. Its startup program runs through VC and accelerator partners, who give their portfolio companies a signup link, credits or discounted plans, and access to Lovable's AI Native Startup Playbook. Lovable does not publish a standard offer, so the terms depend on the partner.

Published partner offers include 20% off the Business plan for one year for Antler and Kalaari portfolio companies, with Kalaari requiring under $10 million raised and either being profitable or preparing for the next round. Third-party listings also report 3 months free for Mercury customers. Lovable is one of the partners in Anthropic's Claude Startup Stack.

Pros

• Lets non-technical founders build a working first version
• Several routes in: VC partners, Mercury and the Claude Startup Stack

Cons

• No direct route for startups without a partner
• The offer is not published centrally and varies by partner
• Published partner offers (20% off for a year, or 3 months free) are smaller than most programs in this list

Pricing: Partner discounts apply to Lovable's paid plans. Check lovable.dev for current list prices.

 

Product, sales and support tools

These programs cut subscription costs rather than infrastructure costs. Almost all of them require you to be a new, non-paying customer, so apply before you upgrade.

 

Atlassian for Startups

Atlassian gives the Premium edition of its cloud products free for 12 months. That covers Jira, Confluence, Loom Business + AI and Bitbucket for up to 50 users, Jira Service Management and Customer Service Management for up to 10, and Jira Product Discovery for 10 creators plus unlimited contributors.

You must not be a paying Atlassian customer, must be VC-funded or associated with a partner accelerator or incubator, and must have raised no more than $10 million. Each startup can enroll once.

Pros

• 50 users covers most early teams
• Includes Loom, Bitbucket and Rovo AI
• A dedicated Customer Success Manager for the 12 months

Cons

• Bootstrapped startups without an accelerator are not eligible
• Atlassian Marketplace apps are excluded
• After 12 months you renew at standard Premium pricing

Pricing: $0 for 12 months, then Premium list price per user.

 

Notion for Startups

Notion gives its Business Plan, including Notion AI, free for a period that depends on how you apply. Startups referred by a Notion partner get 6 months, if they have fewer than 100 employees, a company website and email, and are new to paid Notion. Startups without a partner get 3 months if Notion can verify them. Small businesses, service businesses, companies under 10 employees and anyone Notion cannot verify get 1 month.

Pros

• Business Plan includes Notion AI
• Over a thousand partners, including AWS Activate, Stripe Atlas and HubSpot, can issue the 6-month key
• Approval usually takes 3 to 5 business days

Cons

• Agencies and consultancies only get 1 month
• One redemption per company, even with several partners
• No refunds if you were already paying

Pricing: Free for 1, 3 or 6 months, then Business Plan list price.

 

HubSpot for Startups

HubSpot discounts its Professional and Enterprise products, not Starter. According to HubSpot's program partners, startups that raised under $2 million and come through an approved partner get 90% off year one, 50% off year two and 25% off year three. Startups that raised over $2 million, up to Series A, get 50% off year one and 25% after. Members of approved entrepreneurial organizations get a smaller discount, around 30% in year one.

Pros

• The deepest discount on a full CRM and marketing suite
• The discount runs for three years at the top tier
• HubSpot's free CRM still works before you need the paid hubs

Cons

• Only new subscriptions qualify, so existing paying customers miss out
• You need an approved partner for the largest discount
• Starter plans are excluded

Pricing: A percentage off Professional or Enterprise list prices, depending on your tier.

 

Intercom Early Stage

Intercom's Early Stage program gives new customers its Advanced plan at 93% off in year one, 50% off in year two and 25% off in year three. Intercom says that works out to $33 per month in year one against a $466 list price. You must have raised up to $10 million and not have an active Intercom subscription.

Pros

• The discount also applies to bulk email, messages and extra seats
• Includes a monthly allowance of Fin AI agent outcomes in year one
• A three-year taper instead of a hard cliff

Cons

• Some usage-based channels are charged at list price
• Fin Voice and Expert plan features are not included
• Leaving the program early forfeits the remaining discount

Pricing: $33 per month in year one for the Advanced plan, then 50% and 25% off list price.

 

PostHog for Startups

PostHog gives $50,000 in credit for 12 months across product analytics, session replay, feature flags, experiments, surveys and its data warehouse. Third-party listings state the eligibility as companies under two years old that have raised less than $5 million. Accepted startups also get partner discounts and PostHog merch.

From 14 September 2026, credits cannot be used on PostHog's AI tools, including PostHog AI, PostHog Desktop, Replay Vision and Inbox.

Pros

• $50,000 is a large amount for an analytics product
• One credit covers several tools you would otherwise buy separately
• No investor referral required

Cons

• AI products are excluded since September 2026
• Credits expire after 12 months and do not convert to cash

Pricing: Free to apply. PostHog's usage-based pricing applies after the credits.

 

Company formation

Stripe Atlas

Stripe Atlas incorporates a Delaware C corporation or LLC, gets your US tax ID, issues founder equity and files the 83(b) election. It is open to founders in most countries, which makes it a common route for non-US founders. Atlas companies get $2,500 in Stripe product credits for the first year and partner discounts that Stripe values at over $50,000. Atlas founders are also on Notion's partner list.

Pros

• One flat fee that includes Delaware state filing fees
• Works for founders outside the US
• Partner perks are larger than the fee

Cons

• Atlas does not file your Delaware franchise tax or annual report
• Only useful if you want a US entity

Pricing: $500 one-time, including the first year of registered agent service, then $100 per year. Stripe states the fee is returned if you deposit $5,000 into a Stripe Treasury account within 90 days.

 

Design

Grafista

Grafista is our AI graphic designer. You describe what you need, and it produces fully editable designs: every text, image, shape and decoration can be changed in the canvas editor, and the editing Agent handles larger changes. You can download as PDF or PNG, or publish a design to get a permanent link, a QR code and embed code that update when you republish.

Our startup offer gives 50% off any plan for the first three months. We never charge per seat: every plan includes unlimited users, brand kits, downloads and published designs. [How to claim the offer: link or code]

Pros

• No per-seat pricing, so adding your whole team costs nothing extra
• Designs stay fully editable instead of being flat images
• Published designs update in place, without reprinting QR codes

Cons

• Static visuals only, no video
• No native Canva file format yet
• The discount lasts three months, shorter than most programs here

Pricing: Plans start at €10 per month, which is €5 per month during the three-month startup offer. See how Grafista is up to 10 times cheaper for teams when compared with other design tools.

 

If you run an agency or freelance

Most of these programs are built for product startups, and several exclude service businesses outright:

• MongoDB does not accept marketing, consulting or design agencies.
• Notion gives service businesses and teams under 10 people 1 month instead of 3 or 6.
• Atlassian and HubSpot require a VC, accelerator or approved partner.
• AWS Founders, Microsoft's self-serve credits and NVIDIA Inception have no funding requirement, but you need a product that runs on their platform for them to matter.
• Grafista's offer has no funding or company-type requirement.

 

What to apply for first

1. Ask your investor or accelerator for partner codes before applying anywhere. AWS Portfolio needs a Provider Organization ID, Notion's 6-month offer needs a partner key, Vercel needs a screenshot of the offer in your partner's dashboard, and Atlassian and HubSpot need partner affiliation. Notion only lets you redeem once, so applying without the key locks you into the shorter offer.
2. Apply before you start paying. Atlassian, Notion, HubSpot and Intercom only accept new, non-paying customers. Upgrading first disqualifies you.
3. Claim the no-referral tiers next. Cloudflare ($10,000), Microsoft (up to $5,000), Google Start (up to $2,000), AWS Founders ($1,000), PostHog and NVIDIA Inception need no investor.
4. Put every expiry date in one calendar. Most credits last 12 months from approval, and Cloudflare and Microsoft do not extend them.