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.
How Much Free AWS Credit Can Startups Get in 2026?
AWS offers startups $1,000 to $300,000 in free credits depending on your stage, affiliations, and the programs you qualify for. These credits work across all AWS services - including Amazon Bedrock, which lets you run Claude, Mistral, Llama, and other AI models through a single API.
For AI startups, AWS credits are the largest cloud credit program available in 2026, far exceeding what Azure or Google Cloud offer through comparable programs. They cover not just compute and storage, but also foundation model inference through Bedrock. AI Perks provides guides to every AWS credit program and shows you how to stack them with credits from other providers.
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.
How Do AWS Startup Credit Programs Work?
AWS runs multiple credit programs for startups at different stages. The credit ranges vary significantly based on your startup profile, and most startups qualify for more than they realize.
| Your Startup Stage | Credit Range | Key Factor |
|---|---|---|
| Just getting started | Up to $1,000 | Basic application |
| Accelerator or VC-backed | $25,000 - $100,000 | Partner affiliation |
| AI-native company | $100,000 - $300,000 | Technology focus |
The entry-level tier is available to virtually any startup with no special requirements. It gives you enough credits to prototype and launch a basic AI product on AWS. Higher tiers provide dramatically more credits for startups with qualifying affiliations or a specific AI technology focus.
The differences between tiers go beyond just credit amounts. Higher tiers include additional benefits like dedicated technical support hours, architecture reviews, training resources, and go-to-market assistance. Understanding which tier matches your profile and how to position your application is the key to maximizing your credits.
Application strategies, qualifying organizations, and tier-specific details are available through AI Perks.
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.
Can You Use AWS Credits for AI Models on Bedrock?
Yes, AWS startup credits cover third-party models on Amazon Bedrock. This is a significant advantage - your single credit pool covers both infrastructure and AI model inference.
Bedrock gives you access to foundation models from multiple providers through a single API:
| Model on Bedrock | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | $3.00 | $15.00 |
| Claude Haiku 3.5 | $0.80 | $4.00 |
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $15.00 | $75.00 |
| Mistral Large | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| Llama 3.1 70B | $0.72 | $0.72 |
| Amazon Titan Text | $0.15 | $0.20 |
With $100,000 in AWS credits, you could run Claude Sonnet 4.5 for roughly 6 million requests at typical token usage. That is years of production AI workloads at zero cost.
Running Claude through Bedrock instead of directly through Anthropic means a single credit pool covers everything - your compute, storage, databases, and AI model inference. No separate billing, no separate credit applications. For teams already building on AWS, this simplifies operations significantly.
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.
Why Are AWS Credits Valuable for AI Startups?
AWS credits cover your entire infrastructure stack, not just AI models. That is the key difference between AWS credits and direct provider credits from OpenAI or Anthropic.
Consider a typical AI SaaS product: you need a backend server, a database, object storage for user files, a CDN for fast delivery, and Claude API access for your AI features. With direct provider credits, you only cover the Claude API. With AWS credits through Bedrock, you cover all of it in one pool.
Here is what AWS credits cover for a typical AI startup:
- Amazon Bedrock - Foundation model inference (Claude, Mistral, Llama, Titan)
- EC2 / ECS - Compute for your application backend
- S3 - Storage for training data, user uploads, logs
- RDS / DynamoDB - Databases for your application
- Lambda - Serverless functions for API endpoints
- CloudFront - CDN for global content delivery
- SageMaker - Custom model training and fine-tuning
Most AI startups spend 60-70% of their infrastructure budget on compute and AI inference. AWS credits eliminate both costs simultaneously. A startup running Claude on Bedrock plus standard web infrastructure can operate for 1-3 years on high-tier credits.
That is enough runway to find product-market fit without burning investor money on infrastructure.
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.
How Do AWS Credits Compare to Direct Provider Credits?
AWS credits and direct provider credits serve different purposes. Direct credits from Anthropic or OpenAI cover only their specific API usage. AWS credits cover your entire stack.
| Factor | AWS Credits | Direct Provider Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | All AWS services + Bedrock AI | Single provider API only |
| Credit range | $1,000 - $300,000 | $5 - $150,000 |
| AI models | Claude, Mistral, Llama, Titan | Provider's models only |
| Infrastructure | Compute, storage, databases, CDN | None |
| Billing | Single AWS bill | Separate per provider |
The ideal strategy is to have both. Use AWS credits for infrastructure and Bedrock-based AI workloads. Use direct provider credits for provider-specific features or when direct API pricing is more favorable than Bedrock pricing.
This dual-source approach is how the most efficient startups operate. They draw from both pools simultaneously to maximize their total runway and avoid paying out of pocket for any AI or infrastructure costs.
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.
How Do AWS Credits Stack With Other AI Credit Programs?
AWS credits and direct provider credits are separate pools that work simultaneously. You can run Claude through both Bedrock (paid with AWS credits) and the Anthropic API (paid with Anthropic credits) at the same time.
| Your Profile | AWS Credits | Direct Provider Credits | Total Potential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo developer | $1,000 | $1,000-$5,000 | $2,000-$6,000 |
| Early startup | $25,000-$100,000 | $5,000-$25,000 | $30,000-$125,000 |
| AI startup | $100,000-$300,000 | $10,000-$50,000 | $110,000-$350,000 |
Stacking is the most effective strategy for maximizing your total runway. Apply to AWS programs and direct provider programs separately - they do not interfere with each other. The specific combinations, application order, and timing strategy are covered in AI Perks.
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.
How Do You Get Started With Free AWS Credits?
Step 1: Get Your Credit Guide
Subscribe to AI Perks for step-by-step application guides covering every AWS credit tier. The founding team from Y Combinator, Techstars, and Antler has applied to these programs dozens of times.
Step 2: Identify Your Tier
Determine which credit tier matches your startup stage. Solo founders, accelerator-backed teams, and AI-focused companies each qualify for different amounts ranging from $1,000 to $300,000.
Step 3: Submit Your Application
Apply through the appropriate AWS program for your tier. Entry-level credits are self-service and straightforward. Higher tiers involve a review process where positioning your application correctly matters.
Step 4: Enable Bedrock Access
Once credits are active, enable Amazon Bedrock in your AWS console to start accessing Claude, Mistral, Llama, and other foundation models. Your AWS credits cover all Bedrock inference costs automatically.
Step 5: Stack With Other Providers
Apply for Anthropic, OpenAI, and other direct credits simultaneously. These are separate programs that compound with your AWS credits for maximum total runway.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much free AWS credit can startups get?
AWS offers $1,000 to $300,000 in free credits depending on your startup stage and the programs you qualify for. Multiple tiers exist for different company profiles, from solo founders to AI-focused companies building foundational technology. AI Perks provides application guides for every tier.
Can I use AWS credits for Claude and other AI models?
Yes, AWS credits cover third-party models on Amazon Bedrock, including Claude from Anthropic, Mistral, Llama from Meta, and Amazon Titan. This means your single AWS credit pool covers both your full infrastructure and AI model inference with no separate billing required.
Do I need VC funding to get AWS credits?
AWS offers credit programs for startups at every stage, from bootstrapped solo founders to venture-backed teams. The amount you qualify for depends on your profile and affiliations. AI Perks covers the requirements and application strategy for every AWS credit tier.
How long do AWS startup credits last?
AWS startup credits provide extended validity periods, giving startups ample time to build, iterate, and find product-market fit before they expire. Planning your application timing to maximize overlap with credits from other providers is a critical strategy that can extend your effective runway well beyond any single program.
What is Amazon Bedrock and why does it matter?
Amazon Bedrock is AWS's managed service for accessing foundation models from Anthropic, Mistral, Meta, and others through a single API. It matters because your AWS credits cover Bedrock usage, letting you run premium AI models like Claude without separate billing or credit applications from each provider.
Can I stack AWS credits with Anthropic or OpenAI credits?
Yes, AWS credits and direct provider credits are completely separate pools that work simultaneously. You can run Claude through Bedrock using AWS credits and through Anthropic's API using Anthropic credits at the same time, effectively doubling your coverage for the same AI models.
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.
Your Infrastructure Should Be Free While You Build
AWS credits cover everything an AI startup needs - compute, storage, databases, and AI model inference. Combined with credits from other providers, you can build for years without paying for infrastructure.
With AI Perks, you get:
- Access to $5,000-$175,000+ in free AI API credits across all providers
- Step-by-step application guides for every AWS credit tier
- Stacking strategies to combine AWS credits with Anthropic, OpenAI, and more
- 200+ additional startup perks beyond AI credits
Stop paying for infrastructure before you have revenue.
Up to $300,000 in free AWS credits for AI startups. Get your application guide at getaiperks.com.
