Setup Amazon AWS Free Tier Account
AWS is a cloud computing platform that offers a wide range of services and resources that bloggers and website owners need. We will register and verify an AWS account exclusively for you, using your own email.
It provides a vast array of services, the most important for bloggers being:
- Amazon SES (Simple Email Service): A scalable and cost-effective email platform for sending and receiving emails.
- Amazon CDN Cloudfront: A content delivery network (CDN) that accelerates the delivery of website content to users globally.
- Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service): A scalable storage service for storing and retrieving any amount of data from anywhere.
General
Q: What is the AWS Free Tier?
The AWS Free Tier provides customers with the opportunity to explore and test AWS services free of charge up to specified limits for each service. It includes a 12-month Free Tier, an Always Free offer, and short-term trials. The specific details and limits for each service can be found on the Free Tier page. If usage exceeds the free tier limits, standard rates apply.
Q: When does the AWS Free Tier expire?
The 12-month Free Tier lasts for one year from the account activation date. Always Free services remain free as long as you have a valid AWS account. Short-term trials have a specific duration or one-time usage limit. After the free tier period or if usage exceeds the limits, standard rates apply.
Q: What are the requirements to qualify for the AWS Free Tier?
The AWS Free Tier is available to all types of customers, including students, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and larger organizations. If linked to an Organization under AWS Organizations, only one account within the organization can benefit from the Free Tier. Eligibility is determined based on the Free Tier terms and conditions.
Q: Are there any limitations on using the AWS Free Tier?
The AWS Free Tier is not limited to specific use cases. It offers free usage tiers for certain services, allowing you to launch new ideas, run existing applications, and more. Popular use cases include hosting low-traffic websites, social media applications, development, and test projects, and proof of concepts.
Billing
Q: Can each account under Consolidated Billing access the Free Tier?
No, with Consolidated Billing, only one Free Tier is available per Organization.
Q: Does unused free usage roll over to the next month?
No, the AWS Free Tier is applicable to monthly usage and does not accumulate or roll over.
Q: What happens if I exceed the Free Tier limit in a month?
If usage exceeds the monthly free tier limits, standard pay-as-you-go rates apply. Refer to the AWS Pricing page for detailed pricing information.
Q: How can I track my usage and monitor free tier limits?
You can view your current and past usage activity by service and region in the Billing & Cost Management Dashboard. AWS provides tools like AWS Budgets and Cost Explorer to manage costs and usage. Control your AWS costs with the 10-Minute Tutorial.
Q: I’m eligible for the free usage tier, but I received a charge. Why?
The free tier applies only to certain participating AWS services up to specific usage limits. If you go beyond those limits or use services not included in the offer, standard rates will apply. Review your usage activity in the Billing & Cost Management Dashboard.
Regions
Q: Can I use the AWS Free Tier in any region?
The AWS Free Tier is applicable to participating services across all regions. Free usage is calculated monthly across all regions and applied automatically to your bill. Unused monthly usage does not carry over. The AWS Free Tier is available in most regions, excluding AWS GovCloud (US) with the exception of Lambda.
Instances
Q: Where can I find information on using specific instance types as part of AWS Free Tier?
Refer to the AWS Free Tier FAQs for Windows and Amazon RDS instances. Availability of t2.micro instances may vary by region, and alternative options like t3.micro instances might be available. Check the console or describe-instance-types API for region-specific details.
Q: Does the AWS Free Tier include Amazon S3 Reduced Redundancy Storage (RRS)?
No, the AWS Free Tier does not include Amazon S3 RRS storage. It provides 5 GB of Amazon S3 standard storage, which has the highest durability.
Q: What EC2 instance sizes are available for free?
The availability of EC2 instance sizes in the free tier depends on the region. While some regions may not offer t2.micro instances, alternatives like t3.micro instances might be available. Refer to the region-specific console or describe-instance-types API for the free tier instance options.
