Amazon Web Services (AWS) Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Amazon Web Services (AWS) pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $10K per month in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
- Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
- Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training
Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- 750 hours/month t2.micro or t3.micro EC2 instance
- 5 GB Amazon S3 standard storage
- 750 hours Amazon RDS (db.t2.micro)
- 1 million AWS Lambda requests/month
- 25 GB DynamoDB storage
- 1 GB CloudFront data transfer/month
- Available for 12 months after signup
- Some services always free (Lambda, DynamoDB)
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- 2 vCPUs, 1 GiB memory
- Up to 5 Gbps network bandwidth
- Pay-per-second billing (60s minimum)
- No upfront commitment required
- Elastic IP address available
- Burstable CPU performance
- Multiple OS options (Linux, Windows)
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like 2 vCPUs, 1 GiB memory or Up to 5 Gbps network bandwidth
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs On-Demand (t3.micro) Plan Comparison
| Free Tier $0 | On-Demand (t3.micro) $7.59/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 8 included | 7+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Amazon Web Services (AWS) branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Developers learning AWS, small experiments, and proof-of-concept projects | Small workloads, development servers, and microservices |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Amazon Web Services (AWS) free?
Yes, Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a forever free plan with 8 core features included. However, there are limits on users and features that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s free plan?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s free plan includes: 750 hours/month t2.micro or t3.micro EC2 instance, 5 GB Amazon S3 standard storage, 750 hours Amazon RDS (db.t2.micro), 1 million AWS Lambda requests/month, 25 GB DynamoDB storage, and 3 more features. Key limits include basic usage caps.
03 What's NOT included in Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s free plan?
The free plan excludes: 2 vCPUs, 1 GiB memory, Up to 5 Gbps network bandwidth, Pay-per-second billing (60s minimum), No upfront commitment required, Elastic IP address available. You'll also have Amazon Web Services (AWS) branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like 2 vCPUs, 1 GiB memory or Up to 5 Gbps network bandwidth, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $7.59/month.
05 Is Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s free plan really free forever?
Yes, Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.
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