AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Is AWS Educate really free for students?
Yes. AWS Educate is completely free, self-paced, and needs only an email, no credit card. For real project budgets, $300,000 in AWS credits sits in the AI Perks catalogue.
AWS describes Educate as a way to build cloud skills "at your own pace, on your own time, and completely for free." It is open to anyone, whatever their education level or experience. Learners as young as 13 can register with just an email address and get free hands-on labs.
That covers learning. It does not cover paying for the infrastructure behind a capstone, a startup idea or a thesis project. The AWS perk card shows who qualifies and how to claim, and AI Perks tracks more student offers around it.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
What do you actually get inside AWS Educate?
AWS Educate is a library of free, self-paced online training across a range of topics. You can earn shareable digital badges to show your skills on a profile or CV. Learners aged 18 and over can also use the Educate Job Board to search for jobs and internships.
The labs are what make it useful for builders. Three courses give you hands-on practice with core services:
| Course | What you practise | Service |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Building your own cloud storage solution and hosting a static website | S3 |
| Compute | Building and managing your own cloud computing instance | EC2 |
| Databases | Launching a database instance and connecting a web app to it | RDS |
Those three cover the usual shape of a student project: files, a server and a database.
One practical detail: Educate learners can register without an Amazon.com account. AWS says this helps minors, people without credit cards and anyone who does not want to create an account to practise on the AWS Console.
AWS Educate vs AWS Academy vs Skill Builder
Students searching for "aws academy" usually want to know how it differs from Educate. AWS lists AWS Academy as a separate training program next to AWS Educate, but it does not publish further detail on the pages that list them, so this article does not compare their curricula. What AWS does state clearly is the split between Educate and Skill Builder.
| AWS Educate | AWS Skill Builder | |
|---|---|---|
| Aimed at | Pre-professionals: K-12 students, higher education and vocational students, job training participants | Professional learners |
| Cost of self-paced training | Free | Free |
| Library size | Extensive free self-paced library | More than 500 on-demand courses in 17 languages |
| Hands-on labs | Free labs, email-only registration from age 13 | Not detailed by AWS in the pages listing it |
If you are still a student and not yet working in the cloud, Educate is the intended starting point. Skill Builder's free digital training is worth a look once you want more courses or you start working professionally.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
What does the AWS Free Tier add for students?
Educate teaches you; the Free Tier lets you run things. AWS says the Free Tier is available to all new customers, and names students explicitly. New customers can receive up to $200 in credits: $100 at sign-up plus up to $100 more for exploring foundational services.
Sign-up lets you choose a Free or Paid plan. With both, you can receive up to $200 in credits and use over 30 always-free services with free monthly usage, within limits. The Free plan includes Basic AWS support.
| Free Tier detail | What AWS states |
|---|---|
| Sign-up credit | $100 |
| Extra credit for activities | Up to $100 via Explore AWS widget |
| Maximum | Up to $200 ($100 + $100) |
| Program length | Up to 6 months for new customers |
| Sign-up credits expire | 6 months after account creation |
| Activity credits expire | 12 months after account creation |
| Activity deadline | Within 6 months of opening the account |
| Credit display | Up to 30 minutes to appear |
The limits that catch students out
- One account only. Anyone with an existing or previous AWS account is ineligible for the Free plan or Free Tier credits.
- No transfers. Credits cannot be moved to another AWS account.
- Organizations cancel credits. If your account joins an AWS Organization, Free Tier credits expire immediately and you cannot earn more. Watch this if a university or club asks you to join theirs.
- The clock starts at sign-up. Do not open the account until you are ready to build.
Where do bigger credits come from?
$200 over six months is enough for labs and a small demo. It is not enough for a project that needs real compute, a GPU or a team. The AI Perks catalogue lists much larger amounts, and each card shows who qualifies and how to claim.
| Company | Free credits | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | $300,000 | Get this perk |
| Google Cloud | $350,000 | Get this perk |
| Microsoft Azure (students) | $100 | Get this perk |
| DigitalOcean | $100,000 | Get this perk |
Total across these four cards: $300,000 + $350,000 + $100 + $100,000 = $750,100 in free credits.
The Azure card is the student-specific entry here, at $100. The larger amounts are worth checking before you pay for any hosting. AI Perks lists more cards than these four, so student and education offers are not limited to them.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
How to get started step by step
Step 1: Get credits via AI Perks. Open the catalogue at getaiperks.com, find the AWS card and check who qualifies and how to claim. While you are there, look at the Google Cloud, Azure and DigitalOcean cards too.
Step 2: Register for AWS Educate. You need only an email address, with no credit card and no Amazon.com account. Pick the Storage, Compute and Databases courses first.
Step 3: Finish the three labs. Host a static website on S3, run an EC2 instance, and connect a web app to an RDS database. Earn the digital badges as you go.
Step 4: Decide when to open a Free Tier account. Credits expire 6 months after account creation, so start the clock only when you have a project ready. Complete the Explore AWS activities within those 6 months to earn the extra $100.
Step 5: Move your project to larger credits. Once the project outgrows $200, use the card you chose in Step 1 rather than paying out of pocket.
Related reading for students
These guides cover the rest of the student stack:
- Free AI Credits for Students 2026: Every Program Compared
- Free AI API Keys for Students: Every Free Tier in 2026
- AI Student Discount 2026: Every Verified Offer Listed
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
AWS $300,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
FAQ
Do I need a credit card to start AWS Educate?
No. Learners as young as 13 can register with just an email address and get free hands-on labs. AWS says Educate learners can register without an Amazon.com account, which helps minors and people without credit cards. Free Tier credits are a separate sign-up with their own terms.
Is AWS Educate the same as the AWS Free Tier?
No. Educate is free training and labs for pre-professionals. The Free Tier is a separate offer for new AWS customers, with up to $200 in credits and over 30 always-free services. Students are explicitly welcome to sign up for the Free Tier.
What is the difference between AWS Educate and AWS Academy?
AWS lists AWS Academy as a separate training program next to AWS Educate, but does not publish further detail on the pages that list them. Educate is the free, self-paced option for pre-professionals. To see bigger student-relevant credits, browse the cards at getaiperks.com.
How long do AWS Free Tier credits last?
Sign-up credits expire 6 months after you create the account. Credits earned from activities expire 12 months after creation, and you must complete the activities within 6 months. Joining an AWS Organization makes them expire immediately, so check getaiperks.com for larger credits when yours run out.
Can I get more than $200 in AWS credits?
The Free Tier tops out at up to $200. The catalogue lists a separate $300,000 AWS credits card. It shows who qualifies and how to claim, so open it before you plan a larger project around AWS.
Can I use Educate to find a job or internship?
Yes, if you are 18 or over. Learners aged 18 and above can use the AWS Educate Job Board to explore, search and apply for jobs and internships with organizations worldwide. Younger learners can still use the labs and training.
Are there free cloud credits for students outside AWS?
Yes. The catalogue lists $100 in Microsoft Azure student credits, plus larger Google Cloud and DigitalOcean amounts. Each card shows who qualifies and how to claim.
Turn free training into a funded project
AWS Educate teaches the skills at no cost. The credits to build with are the next step, and the amounts in the catalogue are far larger than the Free Tier's $200.
Get free AI credits at getaiperks.com →
Browse every student and education perk card at getaiperks.com.
