Google Cloud Free Trial: $300 Credits for 90 Days (2026)

Short answer: yes, Google Cloud still gives new customers $300 in Welcome credit to use within 90 days. You need a payment method on file, but Google does not bill you during the trial and does not start charging unless you choose to upgrade. The credit works on most Google Cloud services, with important exceptions for AI users: it cannot pay for the Gemini API in Google AI Studio, nor for partner models sold as managed APIs, and trial accounts cannot attach GPUs. Below is exactly what you get, who qualifies, and how to avoid losing your work when the trial ends.

What you get

Google also notes that access to some products may be limited during the trial to prevent abuse. The full list of what is blocked is below.

Who qualifies

• New customers only. You must never have been a paying user of Google Cloud, Google Maps Platform or Firebase.
• One trial. You must not have signed up for the Google Cloud Free Trial before.
• A payment method. A card or other method valid for the trial period. Google uses it to verify identity and reduce fraud. In some countries Google also asks for bank account verification.
• Government bodies: U.S. and Mexican federal, state and local government entities are excluded unless Google agrees in writing.

Google's documentation does not list specific card types or countries where cards are rejected.

How to claim the $300 credit

1. Open cloud.google.com/free and click Get started for free.
2. Sign in with the Google account you want to own the billing account. Use a work or project account if you plan to hand this over later; changing billing ownership is easier than migrating resources.
3. Choose your country and account type and accept the Free Trial terms.
4. Enter your payment details. Expect an authorization hold of typically $0.00 to $1.00, which Google says is usually released within a few days to a month.
5. Once the billing account is created, the trial starts. Check Billing → Credits in the console to see the $300 balance and its expiry date.
6. Create a project, link it to the trial billing account, and enable the APIs you need.

The trial clock starts when the billing account is created, not when you first deploy something. Plan your experiments before you sign up so you can use most of the 90 days.

What the credit can't be used for

The Free Program docs and the Free Trial terms list these restrictions:

• Gemini API in Google AI Studio. The credit cannot pay for it. Google's Gemini billing docs say that starting March 2026 Gemini API costs are specifically excluded from the $300 Free Trial; credits granted before the change can still be used until they expire.
• Partner models as managed APIs. Generative AI partner models offered as a service are not covered.
• GPUs. You can't add GPUs to VM instances on a non-billable trial account.
• Cloud Marketplace, quota increase requests, Windows Server VMs and Google Cloud VMware Engine are all unavailable until you upgrade.
• Compute Engine usage is capped at eight cores of concurrent usage per Free Trial.
• Cryptocurrency mining is prohibited.

If your main goal is free access to Gemini models, you don't need the Cloud trial at all: the Gemini API free tier gives free, rate-limited access through AI Studio with no card. If you need GPUs or large AI budgets, look at the Google for Startups Cloud Program instead.

What happens when the trial ends

If you upgrade

Upgrading to a paid account unlocks every product, including GPUs and quota increases. Your resources keep running if you upgrade before the trial closes. Any remaining credit still applies, but only within the original 90 days; the terms say unused credits expire 3 months after the Free Trial start date. After that, usage above Free Tier limits is charged to your payment method.

If you do nothing

1. When the credit runs out or 90 days pass, the Free Trial billing account closes automatically and billing is disabled.
2. Resources are stopped and you lose access to the services. Stored data may be lost.
3. You get a 30-day grace period to upgrade and possibly recover stopped resources. During this period the terms also let you contact Google support to migrate data out (other than Compute Engine) or to upgrade.
4. After 30 days, Free Trial resources are permanently deleted.

Export anything you want to keep (databases, bucket contents, VM disk images) before day 90. Once the grace period passes, Google says trial resources are permanently deleted.

The always-free Free Tier

Separate from the $300, Google Cloud's Free Tier gives monthly free usage on about 30 products, with no end date (Google may change limits with 30 days' notice). Limits apply per billing account and don't roll over. A billing account is required. While on the trial, usage above Free Tier limits draws down the $300; on a paid account it is billed. Selected limits:

Some products also run their own trials: Spanner (90 days, 10 GB), AlloyDB (30 days), Looker (30 days) and Cloud SQL (30 days).

Getting real value from $300 in 90 days

• Set a budget alert on day one. Cloud Billing budgets can alert you as spend approaches a threshold, so you notice a runaway resource before it burns the credit.
• Prototype serverless first. Cloud Run and Cloud Run functions already have generous Free Tier limits, so small APIs and bots often cost nothing even before the credit is touched.
• Use BigQuery for data work. The 1 TiB monthly querying allowance plus the credit is enough to explore public datasets and build dashboards.
• Keep VMs small. The trial caps Compute Engine at eight concurrent cores, and an idle VM still bills. Stop or delete instances when you are not using them.
• Pick US regions for free-tier resources. The e2-micro and Cloud Storage free limits only apply in the listed US regions; the same resource elsewhere draws from the credit.

How it compares with other cloud credits

For individuals, the Google Cloud trial is one of the simplest credit offers: no application, instant approval, and a clear 90-day window. Other routes may suit you better:

• Azure for Students gives students credit with no card required.
• AWS Activate and Microsoft for Startups offer much larger credits for startups that qualify.
• Google for Startups Cloud Program is Google's own larger credit program for funded startups.
• For AI-only workloads, free API tiers such as Gemini and Groq may be enough without any cloud account.

Our guide on how to get free AI credits lists every route we track.

History and recent changes

• Before 17 August 2020: trial credit lasted 12 months. The Free Trial terms still note that accounts started before that date keep the 12-month expiry; newer trials expire after 3 months.
• March 2026: Gemini API usage costs were excluded from the $300 Free Trial (Gemini API billing docs).
• 13 October 2026: latest update to the Free Program docs at the time of our check. Some product names have changed, for example Agent Runtime appears in the Free Tier list.

Google's terms state it may terminate or modify the Free Trial at any time, with or without notice, so check the official page before you rely on the offer.