All three hyperscalers hand new accounts a real budget that works on their hosted model platforms. The amounts look similar — $200 to $300 — but the windows, the AI coverage and the end-of-trial behaviour differ enough to change which one you should burn first.
At a glance
| Cloud | Credit | Window | AI coverage | Card | What happens at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud | $300 | 90 days | Gemini on Agent Platform ✓ · Gemini API ✗ · partner models ✗ | Payment method; card conditional | Trial billing account closes unless upgraded |
| AWS | Up to $200 ($100 + $100) | 6-month plan | Usable on Amazon Bedrock; Claude not documented | Conditional; identity checks | Free plan ends; no charge |
| Azure | $200 (+12 mo free tiers) | 30 days | General-purpose credit; AI coverage not enumerated | Required | Disabled unless you move to pay-as-you-go |
Google Cloud — biggest number, two exclusions that matter
The $300 / 90-day credit is still the largest single number here, but read the fine print before you plan around it. Google’s free-trial documentation carries two generative-AI exclusions:
- The standalone Gemini API / AI Studio. The credit “can’t pay for Gemini API in AI Studio costs”. If your code calls the Gemini API directly with an AI Studio key, use the Gemini API free tier instead.
- Partner models. You “can’t access or use the $300 credit for a generative AI partner model that is offered as a managed API, which is also known as model as a service”. That rules out Claude, Llama and the other third-party models.
What the credit does cover for AI: Google’s own Gemini models in Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform — the product Google called Vertex AI until April 2026 — plus the rest of Google Cloud’s infrastructure. It is for customers who have never paid for Google Cloud, Google Maps Platform or Firebase, and Google requires “a credit card or other payment method” at sign-up while saying you won’t be billed during the trial.
AWS — longer runway, but not a documented route to Claude
The AWS Free Tier gives $100 immediately at signup and up to $100 more for completing activities, on a free plan that lasts 6 months (AWS’s own FAQ gives both 6 and 12 months for when the credits themselves expire, so plan on 6). AWS’s catalogue lists Amazon Bedrock as “Available on both plans”, so the credits work on Bedrock.
What AWS does not say is that they pay for Claude. Claude on Bedrock is “offered and billed through AWS Marketplace”, and AWS’s promotional-credit terms exclude AWS Marketplace charges “Unless authorized by us”. The documented AWS credit route to Claude is AWS Activate, whose terms authorise third-party models on Bedrock.
On cards, AWS now says “A payment method isn’t required to sign up for most new customers”, though it may ask for one to verify your identity, its new sign-up is still rolling out, and other AWS pages still require one — so we mark the card policy conditional.
Corrected October 2026. In August we wrote that AWS, not Google Cloud, was the cloud answer for running Claude on trial credit. AWS does not document that, and we have corrected it here and in our Claude guide.
Azure — shortest window, softest AI promise
Azure’s $200 credit must be spent within 30 days, alongside 12 months of free services. Signup needs a phone number and a card. Microsoft describes the credit as usable on most Azure services but its pages don’t spell out Azure OpenAI coverage, so confirm availability on your subscription before planning an Azure OpenAI burn. At the end, Microsoft says your account and services are disabled unless you move to pay-as-you-go — and moving is also what keeps the 12 months of free services.
Verdict
For raw AI budget on Google’s own models, Google Cloud wins — $300 for Gemini on Agent Platform, with the caveat that standalone Gemini API traffic and partner models are out. For a relaxed timeline, AWS wins with its 6-month plan. Azure makes most sense if your stack is already Microsoft-shaped. And since each requires only that you’re a new customer of that cloud, using all three sequentially — within each provider’s terms — is a legitimate way to fund several months of experimentation. Browse the details on the cloud AI credits pillar.