FAQ - Answering All Questions

AWS Free Tier 2025 Basics

❓Q1: How is AWS Free Tier 2025 different from the old Free Tier? A: Key differences:

  • $200 credit ($100 initial + $100 from tasks) instead of $0
  • 2 plan options (Free Plan vs Paid Plan) instead of 1 plan
  • 6-month protection (Free Plan) instead of 12 months
  • Auto-close account when credit expires (Free Plan)
  • 30+ Always Free services remain unchanged

❓Q2: I have an AWS account from 2024, am I eligible for Free Tier 2025? A: No. AWS Free Tier 2025 only applies to accounts created after July 15, 2025. Old accounts still use the traditional Free Tier.

❓Q3: Should I choose Free Plan or Paid Plan? A:

  • Free Plan if: Learning, experimenting, prototyping, don’’t need production services
  • Paid Plan if: Building production apps, need full service access, have AWS experience

Credit and Billing

❓Q4: How do I check my remaining credit? A: Access AWS Billing Console Credits section to view details.

❓Q5: Can credits be transferred to another account? A: No. Credits only apply to the granted account and cannot be transferred.

❓Q6: Which services are NOT covered by credits? A: Some services don’’t apply credits:

  • Reserved Instances
  • Savings Plans
  • AWS Marketplace (some products)
  • Support Plans
  • Domain registration

5 Credit-Earning Tasks

❓Q7: Can I complete the 5 tasks multiple times to get more credits? A: No. Each task only counts for credit once.

❓Q8: If I make a mistake on a task, can I retry? A: Yes. You can retry the task until you complete it correctly.

❓Q9: Which task is hardest and easiest? A:

  • Easiest: Set up AWS Budgets (10-15 minutes)
  • Hardest: Create RDS Database (30-40 minutes + waiting time)

Troubleshooting

❓Q10: Why am I being charged even though I have credits? A: Possible reasons:

  • Using services not covered by credits
  • Exceeding Free Tier limits
  • Using resources in non-eligible regions
  • Data transfer charges

❓Q11: How do I avoid unexpected charges? A:

  • Set up billing alerts at multiple thresholds
  • Use AWS Budgets with strict limits
  • Enable Cost Anomaly Detection
  • Review costs daily in the first week

❓Q12: When does the Free Plan account auto-close? A: When:

  • 6 months from account creation, OR
  • Credit balance = $0
  • Whichever comes first