Exploring Free Resources in Azure: A Guide to Maximizing Your Cloud Experience

If you're new to Azure or just curious about how to minimize costs while using its services, this article is for you. We'll dive into the free offerings on Azure and explore how much you can get for free, along with the limitations. Whether you're just starting or looking for ways to optimize your cloud usage, there’s plenty of free stuff to explore in Azure.

Free Account and Initial $200 Credit

When you create an Azure account for the first time, you can get $200 in Azure credit for free. Here's how it works:

• Once you create your free account, a 30-day timer starts. You can spend the $200 on most Azure services within those 30 days.
• Keep in mind that there are some restrictions: you can’t use the credit on Marketplace items or buy support plans.

Pro Tip: Make sure to track your spending during this period so that you don't accidentally go over your budget.

Pay-As-You-Go Subscription

Once the 30-day free trial or your $200 credit runs out, Azure automatically converts your account into a Pay-As-You-Go subscription. This model allows you to continue using Azure services, paying only for what you use.

You can also skip the free trial altogether and start directly with this option.

12 Months of Free Services

In addition to the initial $200 credit, Azure offers 12 months of specific free services to new users. These services are limited to certain quotas but can help you explore the platform without spending any money.

Some examples include:

• 750 hours of B1S and B2 ATS virtual machines (VMs) for both Windows and Linux.

Remember, these are hours, not instances, meaning you can run multiple VMs simultaneously as long as their total usage doesn’t exceed the free quota.

Tip: You can manage your VM usage by stopping the machines when you’re not using them to stretch your free resources.

Always Free Services

Azure also offers a range of services that are always free for all subscriptions. These services include specific monthly quotas that reset at the start of each month, allowing you to continue using them indefinitely. For example:

• Azure SQL Database offers limited free usage, helping you learn and test without incurring costs.

To take full advantage of the always-free services, it’s a good idea to start projects from the free services page in the Azure portal, ensuring you select the right options.

Azure for Students

If you’re a student, Azure offers a fantastic deal called Azure for Students, where you receive:

• $100 in Azure credit for the entire year.
• 12 months of free services and the always free services.

As a bonus, you can renew this student offer every year, so long as you remain a student. This allows you to continue accessing free services and resources year after year.

Visual Studio Subscriptions

If you have a Visual Studio subscription, you’re eligible for monthly Azure credits. Depending on your subscription, the amount of credit you receive varies:

• $150 per month for Enterprise subscribers.
• $100 per month for MSDN subscribers.
• $50 per month for Visual Studio Professional.

Managing and Maximizing Free Azure Resources

Azure offers tools to help you optimize and track your spending, such as Azure budgets and anomaly detection features. These can help you avoid unexpected charges by notifying you when your usage exceeds planned limits.

If you're using VMs, for instance, consider stopping them when they're not in use to prevent unnecessary costs. You can also create templates using tools like Bicep, JSON, or Terraform to automate the creation and deletion of resources, further optimizing your credit usage.

By taking advantage of Azure's free resources, students, developers, and organizations alike can explore cloud services without breaking the bank. Whether you’re just starting or are an advanced user, these free options can help you learn, test, and build efficiently on Azure.