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An Azure plan gives you access to Azure services at standard pay-as-you-go rates under the Microsoft Customer Agreement. If the rates change, we'll notify you at least 30 days in advance. We'll also notify you in advance if we add any new services to the Azure platform and inform you of any associated fees for using them. You'll be charged only if you use the new services. You're responsible for any taxes that might result from receiving services at no charge.

Limits, quotas, and constraints

See the Azure limits, quotas, and constraints documentation. If you need to exceed these limits, contact customer service so that we can adjust your limits appropriately.

Cancellation policy

You may cancel this plan at any time. Payment is required for any outstanding fees that your account incurs.

Service-level agreements

Each Azure service has a set of robust service-level agreements (SLAs). See the SLAs for individual Azure services. SLAs are not provided for services during preview or that are offered free of charge.

Resource commitment

All increases in service usage are subject to the availability of the service resources. Examples of such increases include adding to the number of running compute instances or increasing the amount of storage in use.

If an Azure free account is not incurring charges or is inactive for more than 90 days, we reserve the right to remove any compute resources, including hosted services, virtual machines, and websites. We will provide notice a month before removing any compute resources. You can avoid becoming inactive by doing either of the following every 90 days:

  • Sign in to the Azure portal.
  • Access your resources via Azure APIs.

Microsoft reserves the right to modify or discontinue any of the free services or the free account offer at any time with or without notice.

Additional terms by benefit type

Free account

Pay-as-you-go pricing

FREE ACCOUNT

Upgrades and spending limits

With the Azure free account, eligible customers receive a $200 credit, which can be used within the first 30 days on most Azure services. Unused credit cannot be carried over to subsequent months and cannot be transferred to other Azure subscriptions.

Within 30 days of sign-up or upon exhaustion of the credit (whichever occurs first), you must upgrade to pay-as-you-go pricing by removing the spending limit to continue using the Azure free account and select free services for the term.

Exclusions

Azure credit may not be used to purchase Azure support plans, Azure DevOps, Visual Studio subscriptions, Visual Studio App Center services, Azure ExpressRoute, third-party branded products, products sold through Azure Marketplace, or products otherwise licensed separately from Azure (for example, Microsoft Entra ID Premium).

You will not facilitate, engage in, or participate in any use of Azure services for crypto-currency mining, denial of service attacks, spamming, or illegal activity, and/or any use that could cause harm to Microsoft or others, and will enforce strong internal controls to prevent the same.

Microsoft may occasionally contact you regarding your use of your Azure services, and you will upon such request provide reasonable documentation regarding your use. If Microsoft believes for any reason that such Azure services are being used for any prohibited purpose, Microsoft may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your access to Azure services.

Communication policy

Throughout the 12-month duration of your Azure free account, you may receive periodic email communications with best practices, training, tips and tricks, and offers related to Azure. You can stop receiving communications by opting out via the unsubscribe link in the emails. Read the Privacy Statement.

Payment options

All you need is a phone number, a credit card or a debit card (non-prepaid), and a Microsoft account or a GitHub account. Only credit cards are accepted in Hong Kong and Brazil. Your card will not be charged initially except for a temporary authorization hold. Any taxes that may result from receiving services at no charge are the sole responsibility of the recipient. Read about Azure pricing.

PAY-AS-YOU-GO PRICING

Upgrading from an Azure free account

If you upgraded from an Azure free account offer, you will continue to have access to select free services for the remainder of the 12-month duration of that offer (beginning on the date you signed up). Credit provided as part of the Azure free account offer will be valid until 30 days from the date you signed up.

After you upgrade, your account will be billed at standard pay-as-you-go rates for your usage above the free amounts. Microsoft reserves the right to change or discontinue any of the select free services or Azure free account offer at any time with or without notice.

Payment options

Both debit card and credit cards are accepted. We do not accept prepaid or virtual credit cards. Read about Azure pricing.

Temporary authorizations

We may place a temporary authorization on your credit or debit card before the billing date to secure a subsequent charge. This charge will be reversed after you’re billed or the temporary authorization is no longer needed. Check with your financial institution if you have questions about the processing of the reversal authorization.