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.
What does Google Cloud for students offer for free?
Students get a $300 trial credit for 90 days, free tier products up to monthly limits, and free Google Skills labs. Bigger credits, up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits, sit in the AI Perks catalogue.
The card shows who qualifies and how to claim, so you can check it before you build anything. AI Perks also lists $500 in Google Cloud Training credits, $100 in Microsoft Azure credits for students and $300,000 in AWS credits.
The student and education cards in the catalogue are kept current, and AI Perks tracks more student offers than the Google ones covered here.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Google Cloud $350,000
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 does the $300 Google Cloud Free Trial work?
Google describes the Free Trial as a 90-day program that lets new users try popular products without financial commitment. Signing up creates a billing account preloaded with $300 in Welcome credit, valid for 90 days. You are not billed for Google Cloud usage during the trial.
The credit is per user. It applies only if you have never been a paying customer of Google Cloud, Google Maps Platform or Firebase and have not used the trial before. Access to some products may be limited to prevent abuse.
| Trial detail | What Google says |
|---|---|
| Credit | $300 Welcome credit |
| Duration | 90 days |
| Billing during trial | None |
| Usage cap | Limited to $300 worth of usage |
| Auto-close | When the $300 is spent or 90 days pass |
| Grace period | 30 days for recovery after the trial ends |
The 90-day window matters. Any credit you have left must be used within the original 90 days from sign-up, even if you upgrade to a paid account.
What stays free after the trial: the GCP free tier?
Google advertises $300 in credits plus 20+ always free products. Free Tier products such as AI APIs, Compute Engine and BigQuery are free up to monthly limits. That usage is not charged against your $300.
If you go past those limits on a trial account, the $300 pays for the overage. For a student project, that means a small app that stays inside the monthly limits costs nothing, and a heavier one starts drawing down your credit.
Two time-boxed trial instances are also listed on Google's free page:
- Cloud SQL: a 30-day free trial with an 8 vCPU Enterprise Plus instance, 64 GB of memory and 100 GB of storage.
- Spanner: a 90-day free trial instance with 10 GB of storage.
These suit a database-heavy course project, but both expire, so plan your demo date around them.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Google Cloud $350,000
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 are Google Cloud education credits?
Education credits come through your faculty, not through a student sign-up form. Faculty at eligible institutions can apply for credits to teach with Google Cloud. If your instructor applied and received them, they email you a URL to verify your student status.
You confirm with a school or college email address and need a Google Account to redeem. Credit coupons arrive by email and you redeem them in the Google Cloud console. Google's example is $50 per student for a Computer Science course for a semester.
Credits are valid for one year after you redeem them. Free tier products do not count against them. If you need more credit, you contact your faculty member, since students cannot request it directly.
For wider comparisons of student offers, see Free AI Credits for Students 2026: Every Program Compared.
What does Google Skills give students?
Students can request access to free online labs, skill badges and courses through Google Skills. The student page lists 200 free Google Skills credits, and they expire one year after they are issued. It also mentions no-cost access to hands-on labs.
A skill badge takes real work. You complete a series of hands-on labs and then pass a challenge lab final assessment, which earns a credential you can share with your network. The page also points to Developer Student Clubs and online events for hands-on experience.
This is the cheapest way to learn the console before you spend any of your $300. Labs teach the tools, and your trial credit stays intact for your own project.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Google Cloud $350,000
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
Where do bigger credits come from?
The Google trial and education credits are modest. If you are building something larger, the catalogue lists much bigger amounts. Each card shows who qualifies and how to claim, so open it before you plan around the number.
| Company | Free credits | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud | $350,000 | Get this perk |
| Google Cloud Training | $500 | Get this perk |
| Microsoft Azure (students) | $100 | Get this perk |
| AWS | $300,000 | Get this perk |
Total across these four cards: $350,000 + $500 + $100 + $300,000 = $650,600 in free credits.
If your project is AI-focused, also read Free AI API Keys for Students: Every Free Tier in 2026. The Google $300 trial credit does not cover everything on the AI side.
How do you get started step by step?
Step 1: Get credits via AI Perks. Open the Google Cloud card on getaiperks.com, read who qualifies and how to claim, then check the student and education cards for more offers.
Step 2: Start the Free Trial if you are a new user. You get $300 for 90 days with no billing. If you have used the trial or been a paying customer before, you are not eligible for the $300.
Step 3: Stay inside the free tier. Use Free Tier products first and watch the monthly limits. Anything beyond them draws on your $300.
Step 4: Ask your faculty about education credits. If your course has them, you get an email with a verification URL. Confirm with your school email and redeem the coupon in the console.
Step 5: Work through Google Skills labs. Use the 200 free credits for labs and a skill badge before the one-year expiry.
Step 6: Decide before day 90. Google recommends upgrading to a paid account during the trial to avoid losing service. After upgrading to pay-as-you-go, you keep the remaining credit until it expires and are billed only beyond credit and free tier.
For tool-level help, see Free AI for Students 2026: Best Tools by Study Task.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Google Cloud $350,000
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
Is Google Cloud free for students?
Partly. New users get $300 in credit valid for 90 days with no billing during the trial, and Free Tier products stay free up to monthly limits. Larger credit offers are on the Google Cloud card, and getaiperks.com tracks more.
Can I use the $300 credit on the Gemini API?
No. The $300 credit cannot pay for Gemini API in AI Studio costs, or for generative AI partner models offered as managed APIs. Google points to the Gemini API free tier or a Prepay billing plan instead. Browse free API key options at getaiperks.com.
What happens when the 90 days end?
If you do not upgrade before 90 days pass, or you spend the $300 first, the trial billing account closes and its projects and resources stop. A 30-day grace period for recovery exists. Remaining credit must be used within the original 90 days, even after upgrading to pay-as-you-go.
How do education credits reach students?
Your faculty member applies and receives credits for your course, then emails you a URL to verify your status with a school or college email address. You need a Google Account and redeem the coupon in the Google Cloud console. Credits last one year after redemption.
How many Google Skills credits do students get?
Students request access to free labs, skill badges and courses through Google Skills. The student page lists 200 free credits, and they expire one year after they are issued. A skill badge needs a series of hands-on labs plus a challenge lab final assessment.
Where can I find bigger cloud credits than $300?
The catalogue lists $350,000 for Google Cloud, $500 for Google Cloud Training, $100 for Azure students and $300,000 for AWS. Each card shows who qualifies and how to claim. Browse every card at getaiperks.com.
Ready to claim your cloud credits?
Open the cards, check who qualifies, and start with the amount that fits your project.
Get free AI credits at getaiperks.com →
Student and education perk cards, with more free credits than Google alone, are all listed at getaiperks.com.
