Microsoft Azure offers a free trial which is a great resource for anyone looking learn cloud computing at a low cost. The Azure free trial allows you to set up Azure virtual networks, virtual machines, and cloud storage.
To sign up for the Azure free trial, all that is required is a email and credit card.
Can you set up Azure free trial without a credit card?
If you have a student email from a .edu domain you can sign up to the Azure free trial without a credit card here. Azure for Students also comes with a free credit of $100 to build new skills.
Otherwise a credit card is required to sign up and there are verification methods in place to make sure the credit card is legitimate. You cannot use a prepaid credit card or gift card on your account.
Other Free Azure Credits
Visual Studio Subscriptions
Microsoft offers free Azure credits to subscribers of Visual Studio.
If you have a Visual Studio Enterprise subscription, you get a standard of $150 in monthly credits.
If you subscribe through MSDN Platforms you get $100 a month.
For Visual Studio Professional and Visual Studio Test Professional, you get $50 a month.
Microsoft Partner Network
Partners of the Microsoft Action Pack program receive free monthly credits to Azure for $100.
You can sign up to become a Microsoft Partner here.
Microsoft Azure for Startups
Startups seeking to scale up their cloud services on Azure can qualify for a $200 free credit. This credit is available for 30 days after signing up and can be used on Azure compute or network services. Sign up.
Microsoft Azure Nonprofit Partners
Each year, approved nonprofit organizations can receive $3,500 in Azure credits. This makes the entire Azure suite available to nonprofit organizations looking to scale up and serve the community. Sign up.
Free Azure Resources for 12 months
| Resource | Category | Monthly Allowance |
| Windows and Linux Virtual Machines | Computer | 750 hours per month (B1 instance) |
| VPN Gateway | Network | 750 hours per month (VpnGw1 Gateway Type) |
| Load Balancer | Network | Free public load-balanced virtual IP |
| Archive storage | Storage | 10GB LRS storage, 10GB LRS or GRS write and retrieval, 100 reads. |
| Blob storage | Storage | 5 GB LRS storage hot block with 20,000 read and 10,000 write operations. |
| File Storage | Storage | 5 GB LRS file storage |
| SQL Database | Databases | 250 GB S0 instance with 10 database transaction units |
| Azure Database for MySQL | Databases | 750 hours of Flexible Server—Burstable B1MS Instance, 32 GB storage, and 32 GB backup storage |
| Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Databases | 750 hours of Flexible Server Preview—Burstable B1MS Instance, 32 GB storage, and 32 GB backup storage |
| Azure Cosmos DB | Databases | 400 request units per-second provisioned throughput with 25 GB storage |
| Container Registry | Containers | 1 Standard tier registry with 100 GB storage and 10 webhooks |
| Key Vault | Security | 10,000 transactions RSA 2048-bit keys or secret operations, Standard tier |
| Service Bus | Integration | 750 hours and 13 million operations Standard tier base unit |
Azure Services Always Free
| Private Link | Networking | Free |
| Virtual Network | Networking | 50 virtual networks |
| Advisor | Management and governance | Unlimited |
| App Configuration | Developer tools | 1,000 requests per day with 10 MB storage |
| App Service | Compute | 10 web, mobile, or API apps with 1 GB storage |
| Automation | Management and governance | 500 minutes of job runtime |
| Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) | Identity | 50,000 stored objects with single sign-on (SSO) to all cloud apps |
| Azure Cosmos DB | Databases | 1,000 request units per-second provisioned throughput with 25 GB storage |
| Azure DevOps | Developer tools | 5 users with unlimited private Git repos |
| Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) | Compute | Free |
| Azure Lighthouse | Management and governance | Free |
| Azure Migrate | Migration | Free |
| Azure Policy | Management and governance | Free access to configuration and change tracking features |
| Azure SignalR Service | Web | 20 concurrent connections per unit and 20,000 messages |
| Bandwidth (Data Transfer) | Networking | 5 GB outbound |
| Batch | Compute | Free |
| Data Catalog | Analytics | Unlimited users |
| Data Factory | Analytics | 5 low-frequency activities |
| Database Migration Service | Databases | Free Standard Compute |
| Event Grid | Integration | 100,000 operations per month |
| Functions | Compute | 1 million requests |
| IoT Edge | Internet of Things | Free, open-source edge runtime |
| IoT Hub | Internet of Things | 8,000 messages per day and .5 KB message meter size of Free edition |
| Logic Apps | Integration | 4,000 built-in actions with the Consumption plan |
| Monitor | Management and governance | See Azure Monitor pricing details for free amounts per feature |
| Network Watcher | Networking | 5 GB storage with 1,000 checks, 10 tests, and 10 connection metrics |
| Notification Hubs | Mobile | 1 million push notifications with free namespace |
| Security Center | Security | Free policy assessment and recommendations |
| Service Fabric | Containers | Free |
| Spatial Anchors | Mixed reality | 10,000 anchors queried |
| SQL Server 2019 Developer Edition | Developer tools | Free |
| Static Web Apps | Compute | 100 GB bandwidth per subscription, 2 custom domains and .5 GB storage per app |
| Visual Studio Code | Developer tools | Free |
These specifications are open to change so be sure to check the dashboard often.
Begin your journey on Azure with these free cloud tutorials.