You can get $200 in Microsoft Azure credits for 30 days, plus 12 months of free access to 20+ services and 65+ always-free services. If you’re searching for Azure free credits, this is the main “real money” offer Microsoft gives new customers.
Solo devs building a prototype, ML engineers testing Azure OpenAI, and students doing research workloads can all get value here. The key is understanding what’s truly free versus what quietly flips to paid later.
This guide covers eligibility, the exact signup steps, service limits, and a few practical ways to stretch the credits.
Program at a Glance
| Provider | Microsoft (Azure) |
| Credit Amount | $200 for 30 days, plus free services |
| Duration | 30 days for $200; free tiers vary |
| Eligibility | New Azure customers (one account per person) |
| Credit Card Required? | Yes (non-prepaid); ~$1 temporary hold |
| Difficulty | Moderate. Phone + card verification required. |
| Best For | Testing Azure OpenAI, small apps, exploring Azure AI tools |
| Official Page | Microsoft Program Page |
What You Actually Get
The Microsoft Azure Free Account gives you three layers of value: $200 in credits that last 30 days, 12 months of free access to 20+ popular services (within limits), and 65+ always-free services (again, within monthly limits). The $200 credit can be applied to eligible Azure services across compute, databases, and AI services. Importantly for AI teams, the credit can be used for Azure OpenAI API calls (including models like GPT-4o and GPT-4.1), which are not part of the always-free tier.
In real terms, $200 is enough to do serious evaluation work if you focus. You can stand up a small test environment, deploy Azure OpenAI models, and run a few weeks of experiments without immediately committing to pay-as-you-go. It’s not “infinite free,” but it’s one of the better new-customer trials out there because it’s flexible across services.
Who Qualifies (and Who Doesn’t)
This offer is designed for new Azure customers. Microsoft enforces “one free account per person,” and they use your email, phone number, and payment card to detect re-registrations.
- You need to be a new Azure customer to receive the $200 credit.
- A valid phone number is required for verification, and VoIP numbers are not accepted.
- You must provide a valid credit or debit card for verification, and it cannot be prepaid.
- Plan on using a unique combination of email, phone, and card, because duplicates trigger restrictions.
If you already used the Azure free account in the past (or you try to sign up again with the same email/phone/card), you will likely be blocked from getting the offer again.
How to Sign Up
Registration usually takes about 10 minutes if you have your phone and payment card handy.
- Go to azure.microsoft.com/free.
- Click “Start free”.
- Sign in with a Microsoft account or GitHub account (or create a new one).
- Complete phone verification by entering your number, choosing SMS or callback, then entering the code (VoIP numbers are not accepted).
- Complete credit card verification by entering a valid credit/debit card (non-prepaid). You will not be charged, but you may see a temporary hold of about $1 that is removed within 3–5 days.
- Accept the Azure agreement and privacy statement.
- Done. You now have $200 credit plus free tier access.
Once you finish signup, the $200 credit clock starts immediately (it starts at signup, not when you first use a service). After 30 days or when you exhaust the credit, you must upgrade to pay-as-you-go to keep using even the free-tier services.
What the Credits Cover
The $200 credit is broadly usable across eligible Azure services, including compute, databases, and AI services. Separately, Azure also includes a long list of always-free and 12-month-free AI-related services with monthly caps, which can reduce your burn even after the $200 is gone.
| Service / Feature | What It Does | Included? |
|---|---|---|
| $200 Azure credit (30 days) | Spend on eligible Azure services, including AI. | ✓ |
| Azure OpenAI API calls | Use models like GPT-4o and GPT-4.1 via Azure. | ✓ (uses $200 credit) |
| Always-free AI services | Monthly-limited AI features like Speech, Vision, Language. | ✓ (within limits) |
| 12-month free AI services | Time-limited freebies like Document Intelligence and Custom Vision. | ✓ (within limits) |
Not everything you might want is free: Azure OpenAI isn’t part of the always-free tier, so you’ll be spending from the $200 trial credit (or paid balance after upgrade). Also, some Azure OpenAI models are “limited access,” which means you may need separate approval before you can deploy them.
Limitations to Know About
Every free program has catches. Azure’s are manageable, but you do need to pay attention because some things transition to paid without much ceremony.
- The $200 credit expires after 30 days, and the timer starts the moment you sign up.
- You only get one free account per person, and Microsoft can restrict re-registration based on email, phone, or card reuse.
- Phone verification is mandatory, and VoIP numbers are not accepted.
- There is no auto-shutoff after 12 months; some services silently move to paid rates unless you set budget alerts.
When the $200 runs out (or the 30 days end), you must upgrade to pay-as-you-go to keep free-tier services running. Without that upgrade, you won’t be able to continue using the free-tier services. And after the 12-month window, free services don’t stop your resources for you; they can simply begin billing at standard rates if you leave them on.
Have Unused Microsoft Credits?
Microsoft credits can pile up in real teams, especially from startup programs and corporate allocations. Then deadlines hit, priorities shift, and the credits sit there until they expire. If you’re holding unused Microsoft credits you won’t realistically burn down, AI Credit Mart gives you a way to list them and recover value instead of letting them go to zero.
Need More Microsoft Credits?
Once your Azure free credits are gone, paying retail isn’t your only option. AI Credit Mart lists discounted Microsoft credits from organizations with surplus allocations, often at 30–70% below face value. That’s an easy way to extend your runway if you already know Azure is the right platform for your workload.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Credits
- Start a small checklist on day one, because the $200 credit clock starts at signup, not first use.
- Set up budget alerts early since there’s no auto-shutoff after 12 months and some services can quietly start billing.
- Use the always-free AI services for ongoing experiments, like Speech to Text (5 hours/month) or Language (5,000 text records/month), and save the $200 for things that are never free.
- Pick your Azure region carefully, because not all Azure OpenAI models are available in all regions.
- If you need limited-access models (like GPT-5 full), submit the access request early since approval can take about a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
They’re worth $200 of eligible Azure usage for 30 days, plus access to 12-month free services and 65+ always-free services within monthly caps. In practice, that can cover a meaningful Azure OpenAI evaluation (since Azure OpenAI isn’t always-free), some small compute and database experiments, and a bunch of “free forever” AI utilities like Speech to Text (5 hours/month) or Language (5,000 records/month). The big lever is focus: spend the $200 on what isn’t included in free tiers, then lean on always-free limits for ongoing testing. Also remember the timer starts at signup, so don’t activate it and then wait two weeks to build.
Yes. Microsoft requires a non-prepaid credit/debit card for verification, and you may see a temporary ~$1 hold that disappears within 3–5 days.
The $200 credit lasts 30 days.
Yes. If you have Microsoft credits you won’t use before they expire, you can list them on AI Credit Mart and sell them at up to 70% of face value. Companies regularly list surplus credits from startup programs and enterprise agreements.
AI Credit Mart has discounted Microsoft credits available from companies with surplus allocations. Prices are typically 30-70% below retail.
After 30 days or credit exhaustion, you must upgrade to pay-as-you-go to keep free-tier services, and after 12 months there’s no auto-shutoff so some services can transition to paid rates.
Most Azure OpenAI models are available to all Azure customers without a separate registration form, and you can deploy models like GPT-4o and GPT-4.1 right away once you create an Azure OpenAI resource. Some models are limited-access, though. For GPT-5 (full), GPT-5.1, GPT-5.2, and a few related variants (including “codex” versions and o3 streaming), you may need to apply and wait about 4 days to 1 week for approval via aka.ms/oai/access. One more wrinkle: extra approval is also required if you want to modify content filters or abuse monitoring, and that typically requires a Microsoft account team relationship.
No.
$200 in Azure credits is plenty to validate an idea, especially if you pair it with Azure’s always-free AI services. Sign up, set budget alerts, and if you end up with surplus Microsoft credits later, you can always sell them instead of letting them expire.
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