Cloud Guide · Oracle Cloud · 2026
Oracle Cloud Free Tier Guide 2026: Is the Forever-Free VPS Actually Worth It?
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) offers one of the most generous free tiers in the cloud market. The Always Free tier gives you an Arm Ampere A1 with 2 OCPUs + 12 GB RAM, plus 2 AMD Micro VMs — all with no expiry date. For developers, hobbyists, and small projects, this is remarkable value at zero cost.
But there are real limitations to understand before you commit. The most important: Oracle's Idle Reclamation policy can take your VMs back if you don't use them enough. This guide walks you through everything — from signup to staying safe long-term.
Quick Summary: Oracle Cloud Always Free
AMD Micro VMs: 2 instances, 1/8 OCPU (shared) each, 1 GB RAM each
Ampere A1 ARM: 2 OCPUs + 12 GB RAM total (split across 1–2 VMs)
Block Volume: 200 GB total across all VMs (min 47 GB boot volume per VM)
Free Trial: $300 USD credit valid for 30 days across all OCI services
Warning: VMs idle for 7 days (CPU/network/memory all below 20%) may be reclaimed
Sign Up for Oracle Cloud FreeWhat Is Oracle Cloud Free Tier?
Oracle Cloud Free Tier has two distinct parts:
- Always Free Services — specific resources available indefinitely with usage limits
- Free Trial ($300 / 30 days) — credit usable across all OCI services for 30 days; when it expires, Always Free continues
The key advantage over AWS and GCP free tiers: Oracle's Always Free compute is substantially larger. AWS gives you a t2.micro (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM) for only 12 months, while Oracle gives you 2 OCPUs + 12 GB ARM RAM with no time limit. GCP's e2-micro is permanent but US-only with just 0.25 vCPU and 1 GB RAM.
Complete Always Free Resources (Verified October 2026)
Compute — The Main Attraction
| Shape | CPU | RAM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro (AMD) | 1/8 OCPU (shared) | 1 GB | Up to 2 instances |
| VM.Standard.A1.Flex (ARM) | 2 OCPUs total | 12 GB total | Split across 1–2 VMs |
Data verified October 2026 — check latest at docs.oracle.com
Storage
- Block Volume: 200 GB total (used for boot and data volumes across all VMs)
- Object Storage: ~10 GB Standard tier — verify current limits at oracle.com/cloud/free
- Archive Storage: ~10 GB
Databases (Always Free)
- Autonomous Data Warehouse: 1 OCPU, 20 GB storage
- Autonomous Transaction Processing: 1 OCPU, 20 GB storage
- HeatWave MySQL: 1 node (verify at oracle.com/cloud/free)
Networking and Other
- Flexible Load Balancer (10 Mbps bandwidth)
- Virtual Cloud Networks (VCN)
- Site-to-Site VPN
- Monitoring, Logging, Notifications
- Vault (Key Management)
- Resource Manager (Terraform)
How to Sign Up for Oracle Cloud Free Tier
- Go to oracle.com/cloud/free and click "Start for free"
- Fill in account details: name, email, password, country
- Choose your Home Region: For users in Southeast Asia, ap-singapore-1 is closest; ap-tokyo-1 often has better A1 capacity availability
- Verify your phone number: Enter your mobile number (Thailand: +66XXXXXXXXX) to receive an SMS OTP
- Enter payment card details: Card number, expiry, CVV — Oracle will verify with a temporary hold, then release it
- Wait for provisioning: Usually 2–5 minutes, then you can access the OCI Console
Creating Your Ampere A1 VM Step by Step
- OCI Console → Compute → Instances → Create Instance
- Name your instance: e.g.,
free-a1-server - Choose image: Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 recommended for developers; Oracle Linux is available too
- Select shape: Click "Change Shape" → choose VM.Standard.A1.Flex → set OCPUs: 2, Memory: 12 GB (use your full free allocation)
- Configure networking: Create a new VCN or use existing — ensure public subnet with public IP
- SSH keys: Upload your public key (.pub) or let Oracle generate a key pair and download the private key
- Boot volume: Minimum 47 GB; with 200 GB total allocation, 100–150 GB for A1 is reasonable
- Click Create: Wait 2–3 minutes for status to show Running
- Connect via SSH:
ssh -i /path/to/private.key ubuntu@<public-ip>
What Can You Actually Run on Oracle Free Tier?
With 2 OCPU ARM + 12 GB RAM, this is a real server, not a toy. Here's what developers commonly run:
Personal Web Server
Nginx or Apache + PHP/Python/Node.js runs comfortably. Suitable for personal websites, portfolios, API backends, or static site hosting with SSL.
Self-Hosted Applications
- Coolify — self-hosted PaaS, deploy multiple apps with a dashboard
- n8n — workflow automation replacing Zapier or Make
- Nextcloud — private cloud storage
- Ghost / WordPress — blogging platform
- Uptime Kuma — monitoring dashboard
- Vaultwarden — self-hosted password manager (Bitwarden-compatible)
- Gitea — lightweight self-hosted Git service
Private VPN Server
Install WireGuard or OpenVPN in minutes. Singapore-based server gives Thai users ~30–50 ms latency — better than most commercial VPN endpoints in the region.
Bots and Automation
Run Telegram bots, Discord bots, or scheduled scripts 24/7. Ideal for any persistent background process that doesn't need a dedicated server.
Database and Dev Environment
PostgreSQL or MySQL self-hosted, or use Oracle's free Autonomous Database which is fully managed. The A1 instance also works as a remote development environment with VS Code Server.
Critical Limitations You Must Know
Idle Reclamation — The Biggest Risk
CPU utilization (P95) < 20% AND Network utilization < 20% AND Memory utilization < 20% (A1 only)
Prevention: Run real workloads — a cron job, monitoring agent, or any background task that uses some resources is sufficient.
No Thailand Region
Oracle has no data center in Thailand. Nearest options for Thai users:
- ap-singapore-1: ~30–50 ms from Bangkok
- ap-mumbai-1: ~80–100 ms
- ap-tokyo-1: ~70–80 ms but often has more free capacity
Out of Capacity Errors
A1 Free Tier is popular enough that Oracle frequently runs out of capacity in certain regions. Workarounds:
- Try a different Availability Domain within the same Region
- Use a community script that retries instance creation automatically
- Try during off-peak hours (late night or early morning UTC)
- Try ap-tokyo-1 or ap-sydney-1 which sometimes have more capacity
Credit Card Required
Oracle requires card verification even for the free tier. Thai Visa/Mastercard debit cards generally work if they support online transactions. Confirm your bank allows international online charges.
Free VPS Tier Comparison
| Provider | CPU | RAM | Storage | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Cloud A1 | 2 OCPU ARM | 12 GB | 200 GB | Forever |
| Oracle Cloud Micro | 2× shared | 2× 1 GB | (in 200 GB) | Forever |
| AWS (t3.micro) | 2 vCPU | 1 GB | 30 GB | 12 months |
| GCP (e2-micro) | 0.25 vCPU | 1 GB | 30 GB | Forever* |
| Azure (B1s) | 1 vCPU | 1 GB | 64 GB | 12 months |
*GCP e2-micro always-free is US regions only | Data October 2026 — verify at each provider's website
When Free Tier Isn't Enough
Oracle Cloud Free Tier is excellent for personal projects and development environments. But for production workloads that require guaranteed SLA, Thai server locations, Thai-language support, and no idle reclamation risk — a dedicated hosting provider is a better fit.
For cloud hosting with servers in Thailand and responsive Thai-language support, AsiaGB is our editors' top pick — DirectAdmin panel, data center in Thailand, strong value for money.
View AsiaGB Cloud HostingRelated Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Oracle Cloud Free Tier last?
Always Free Services last indefinitely with no expiry date. However, Oracle may reclaim idle VMs (CPU/network/memory all below 20% for 7 consecutive days). The $300 Free Trial credit expires after 30 days, but Always Free resources continue after that.
How many OCPUs and how much RAM does the free A1 get?
The Always Free A1 allocation is 2 OCPUs and 12 GB RAM total (1,500 OCPU hours + 9,000 GB hours/month). You can use this as one 2-OCPU / 12 GB instance, or two 1-OCPU / 6 GB instances. Source: docs.oracle.com
Can I run Docker on the Oracle A1 ARM instance?
Yes. ARM64 is fully supported by Docker and most modern software. Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 on A1 runs Docker and Docker Compose without any issues. Some older x86-only images may need multi-arch alternatives.
What happens when the 30-day trial ends?
When the $300 credit is consumed or 30 days pass, you continue with Always Free resources only. You will not be charged unless you explicitly upgrade to Pay As You Go. Your Always Free VMs remain running.
Is Oracle Cloud Free Tier suitable for production?
It can handle light production workloads, but Oracle provides no SLA for Always Free resources and idle reclamation is a real risk. For production requiring guaranteed uptime, upgrading to Pay As You Go or choosing a dedicated provider is safer.
I keep getting "out of host capacity" — what should I do?
This is common for A1 Free instances. Try: (1) a different Availability Domain in the same region, (2) try ap-tokyo-1 which often has more capacity, (3) use a retry script, (4) try during off-peak hours. The community has several open-source scripts that automatically retry instance creation.