Do I need a credit card to sign up for Oracle Cloud Free Tier?

Yes, a credit or debit card is required for identity verification. Oracle places a small authorization hold which is released within 3-5 business days. No charges are made for Always Free services.

Cloud Hosting Guide · Updated August 2026

Oracle Cloud Free Tier 2026: Complete Guide to Free VPS Forever (Ampere A1)

Q: Is Oracle Cloud Free Tier truly free forever?

Yes. Always Free services have no expiry date and remain free indefinitely as long as your account is active. The $300 trial credit expires after 30 days, after which your account automatically switches to Always Free at no cost.

By CloudPicked Review Team · Last updated: August 2026 · Verified against oracle.com/cloud/free and official Oracle Docs

What is Oracle Cloud Free Tier?
Always Free Services — Full Breakdown
Compute Specs: Ampere A1 + AMD Micro
How to Sign Up for Oracle Cloud Free Tier
Creating a Free VPS on Oracle Cloud
Key Limitations to Know
Best Use Cases
Comparison with Other Cloud Free Tiers
Frequently Asked Questions

What is Oracle Cloud Free Tier?

Oracle Cloud Free Tier is Oracle's program that provides two types of free cloud resources: Always Free Services and a Free Trial ($300 credit).

Always Free services have no expiry date — they remain available indefinitely as long as your account stays active. This makes Oracle Cloud one of the most generous free tier offerings among major cloud providers, surpassing what AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure offer in the compute category.

The Free Trial provides $300 USD in credit valid for 30 days to test any OCI service including those outside the Always Free list. After 30 days, unused credit expires and your account automatically transitions to Always Free mode without any charges.

Oracle Cloud Free Tier offers the most generous compute resources of any major cloud provider — an ARM VPS with meaningful specs, completely free, with no expiry date.

Always Free Services — Full Breakdown

Data as of August 2026 — always verify current limits at oracle.com/cloud/free

Category	Always Free Service	Limit
Compute (ARM)	VM.Standard.A1.Flex (Ampere A1)	1,500 OCPU hours + 9,000 GB hours/month ≈ 2 OCPUs + 12 GB RAM running 24/7
Compute (AMD)	VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro	2 instances · 1/8 OCPU + 1 GB RAM each
Block Storage	Block Volume	200 GB total (used for boot volumes)
Object Storage	Object Storage + Archive Storage	20 GB Standard + 10 GB Archive
Database	Autonomous Data Warehouse / Autonomous Transaction Processing	2 databases · 20 GB per database
Network	Outbound Data Transfer	10 TB/month
Load Balancer	Flexible Load Balancer	1 instance · 10 Mbps bandwidth
VPN	Site-to-Site VPN	1 tunnel
Email	Email Delivery	3,000 emails/month
Monitoring	Monitoring + Logging + Notifications	500M datapoints ingested / 1B retrieved
Security	Vault + Bastions + Security Advisor	Per Always Free limits
AI/ML	HeatWave MySQL	Always Free tier (limited capacity)

Compute Specs: Ampere A1 + AMD Micro

Ampere A1 Flex — The Crown Jewel of Oracle's Free Tier

Oracle provides 1,500 OCPU hours and 9,000 GB hours per month for VM.Standard.A1.Flex — an ARM-based processor (Ampere Altra). For Always Free accounts, this is equivalent to a VM running 2 OCPUs and 12 GB RAM continuously 24/7 for the full month.

Flexibility note: You can split allocation across multiple instances. For example: one 2 OCPU + 12 GB instance, or two 1 OCPU + 6 GB instances. One OCPU on A1 Flex equals 2 vCPU hardware threads. The maximum single instance configuration is 4 OCPUs + 24 GB RAM, but it will exhaust the monthly OCPU-hour budget faster.

Spec	Always Free Allocation	Notes
Processor	Ampere Altra (ARM, up to 3.0 GHz)	ARM architecture; excellent Docker/Linux compatibility
OCPUs	Up to 2 OCPUs (4 vCPU threads) continuous	1 OCPU = 2 hyperthreaded vCPU threads
Memory	Up to 12 GB continuous	6 GB per OCPU ratio
Boot Volume	From 200 GB block pool	Minimum 47 GB per instance
Network	1 Gbps bandwidth (unlimited ingress)	10 TB outbound/month free
Public IP	2 reserved IPv4 addresses	IPv6 also supported

AMD Micro (VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro)

In addition to A1 Flex, you get two AMD Micro instances free — ideal for lightweight workloads like reverse proxies, monitoring agents, or microservices:

Spec	Per Instance (VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro)
Processor	AMD EPYC (x86_64)
OCPU	1/8 OCPU (shared)
RAM	1 GB
Free instances	2 total
Boot Volume	From 200 GB block pool

Step 1: Go to oracle.com/cloud/free Visit oracle.com/cloud/free and click "Start for free".

Step 2: Fill in Your Details Enter your email, full name, and country. Use your real name — Oracle verifies identity during sign-up.

Step 3: Choose Your Home Region This cannot be changed later. For users in Southeast Asia, Singapore (ap-singapore-1) offers the lowest latency to Thailand (~15-25ms). Japan Tokyo is the next-closest option.

Warning: If Always Free capacity is full in your chosen region, you may get an "out of capacity" error when creating instances. Try other availability domains within the same region.

Step 4: Add a Credit/Debit Card Oracle places a small authorization hold for identity verification, returned within 3-5 business days. Accepted: Visa, Mastercard, debit cards that function as credit cards. Not accepted: prepaid, virtual, or PIN-only debit cards.

Step 5: Verify and Access Console Check your email for the activation link, then log in to the OCI Console at cloud.oracle.com.

One account per person, strictly enforced: Creating multiple accounts is prohibited. Oracle uses IP, billing address, and card data to detect violations. Confirmed duplicates result in suspension of all associated accounts.

Creating a Free VPS on Oracle Cloud (Ampere A1)

Step-by-Step Instance Creation

Log in to OCI Console → go to Compute → Instances → Create Instance
Name your instance. Verify the Availability Domain is within your Home Region (required for Always Free A1).
Choose your OS image — Ubuntu 22.04 or Oracle Linux are popular choices
Under Shape: click Change shape → select Ampere → VM.Standard.A1.Flex
Set OCPU = 2, Memory = 12 GB (the Always Free maximum)
Select or create a VCN (Virtual Cloud Network). The default VCN wizard works fine for beginners.
Add your SSH public key (generate with ssh-keygen -t ed25519 if you don't have one)
Boot Volume: leave at default (~50 GB) or adjust — total must stay within 200 GB
Click Create and wait 2-5 minutes

"Out of host capacity" error: This is extremely common. Oracle limits Always Free inventory per region. Fixes:

Switch to a different Availability Domain (AD) in the same region
Retry at off-peak hours (early morning local time)
Reduce spec to 1 OCPU + 6 GB temporarily, then resize later
Use OCI CLI or Terraform with a retry loop for automated attempts

Configure Security Rules (Critical)

By default, OCI blocks all inbound traffic except SSH (port 22). To run a web server or other services, open ports in your Security List or Network Security Group:

Navigate to VCN → Security Lists → Default Security List → Add Ingress Rule
Source CIDR: 0.0.0.0/0, Protocol: TCP, Destination Ports: 80, 443
Also configure the OS-level firewall (iptables/firewalld) — OCI security rules alone aren't enough

Connect via SSH

Use: ssh -i /path/to/private_key ubuntu@YOUR_PUBLIC_IP (for Ubuntu) or opc@YOUR_PUBLIC_IP for Oracle Linux.

Key Limitations to Know

1. Idle Instance Reclamation — The Biggest Risk

Oracle may reclaim Always Free instances deemed idle if all three metrics stay below 20% for 7 consecutive days: CPU utilization, network utilization, and memory utilization (A1 only). Prevention strategies:

Run a lightweight cron job that generates CPU or network activity
Host a web server to receive at least occasional traffic
Upgrade to Pay As You Go — Always Free resources remain free after upgrading, but you eliminate the idle reclamation risk

2. No Southeast Asia Region (except Singapore)

Oracle doesn't have a datacenter in Thailand. Closest options:

Singapore (ap-singapore-1) — ~15-25ms latency from Thailand
Japan Tokyo (ap-tokyo-1) — ~50-70ms latency from Thailand

For hosting that needs to be physically in Thailand, see Best Web Hosting Thailand.

3. ARM Architecture

Ampere A1 uses ARM processors, which are not natively compatible with x86 binaries. Most modern Linux software and Docker images support ARM64/aarch64, but some legacy or proprietary software may not. Verify compatibility before committing to A1 for critical workloads.

4. Capacity Not Guaranteed

"Out of host capacity" errors are frequently reported, especially in popular regions like Singapore. Oracle reserves the right to limit Always Free capacity based on available resources — there's no SLA guarantee for free tier provisioning success.

5. Credit Card Required

A genuine Visa or Mastercard (credit or debit) is required. Prepaid cards, virtual cards, and PIN-only debit cards are not accepted. This is a significant barrier for users who can't obtain a qualifying card.

Best Use Cases for Oracle Cloud Always Free

Personal projects and side projects — websites, APIs, Telegram bots with modest traffic
Learning Kubernetes and Docker — 2 OCPUs + 12 GB is sufficient for a k3s single-node cluster
Development / staging server — test applications before deploying to production
Personal VPN — install WireGuard or OpenVPN for privacy and security
Autonomous Database apps — two free 20 GB databases for application backends
Static file hosting — 20 GB Object Storage for static websites or asset delivery
Self-hosted CI/CD runner — GitHub Actions or GitLab Runner self-hosted on A1
Home lab / learning — experimenting with Oracle's enterprise-grade cloud tooling at no cost

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See AsiaGB Thai Hosting

Comparison with Other Cloud Free Tiers

Data as of August 2026 — verify current offers at each provider's website.

Provider	Free Compute	Duration	Free Storage
Oracle Cloud	A1 Flex 2 OCPU+12 GB + 2x AMD Micro	Forever	200 GB block + 20 GB object
AWS Free Tier	t2.micro / t3.micro (1 vCPU, 1 GB)	12 months	30 GB EBS
Google Cloud	e2-micro (2 vCPU shared, 1 GB)	Forever	30 GB/month
Azure Free	B1S (1 vCPU, 1 GB)	12 months	64 GB SSD OS disk
DigitalOcean	No Always Free Compute	—	—

Oracle Cloud offers the most powerful free compute of any major provider, making it the clear winner for developers who want a capable free VPS. The main trade-offs are the ARM architecture and no Thailand region. Google Cloud's e2-micro is a solid x86 alternative for those who need the x86 ecosystem.

Related Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Oracle Cloud Free Tier truly free forever?

Yes. Always Free services have no expiry date. The $300 trial credit expires after 30 days, after which your account automatically switches to Always Free at no cost.

Do I need a credit card to sign up?

A credit or debit card is required for identity verification. Oracle places a small authorization hold (released within 3-5 days) but makes no charges for Always Free services.

How many OCPUs and GB of RAM does the Ampere A1 free instance get?

Oracle provides 1,500 OCPU hours and 9,000 GB hours per month, equivalent to 2 OCPUs + 12 GB RAM running continuously for the full month in an Always Free account.

Does Oracle Cloud have a datacenter in Thailand?

Not yet. The closest regions are Singapore (ap-singapore-1) at ~15-25ms and Japan Tokyo at ~50-70ms latency from Thailand.

Can Oracle reclaim my free VPS?

Yes. Oracle may reclaim idle Always Free instances if CPU, network, and memory stay below 20% for 7 consecutive days. Run a small workload or upgrade to Pay As You Go to prevent reclamation — Always Free resources remain free after upgrading.

How many accounts can I create?

One account per person, strictly enforced. Multiple accounts violate Oracle's terms and result in suspension of all associated accounts.

Can I run WordPress on Oracle Cloud Free Tier?

Yes. The A1 Flex ARM instance supports WordPress via ARM-compatible Docker images or a traditional LAMP/LEMP stack installed on Ubuntu. Performance is excellent for personal or small-traffic sites.

What happens after the 30-day $300 trial credit expires?

Your account automatically transitions to Always Free mode. Services within the Always Free limits continue running at no charge. Paid services spin down or require you to upgrade to Pay As You Go to maintain them.