AWS Credits Promo Codes – $5k Credits (Active) – June 2026
Updated in June 2026.
We looked at every AWS free credits offer, promo code, and discount available online to find the ones that are active, inactive, legit, and fake. If you want to get free AWS credits or save on your monthly spend, then this guide is all you need.
| Deal | Who’s it for | Savings | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| NachoNacho AWS Credits | New & existing AWS users (Basic Plus members) | Up to $5,000 in credits | Active |
| NachoNacho AWS Cashback | New & existing users (free account) | 3% cashback on all cloud spend, lifetime | Active |
| AWS Activate Founders | Bootstrapped / self-funded startups | $1,000 in credits (self-serve) | Active |
| AWS Activate Portfolio | VC / accelerator-backed startups (pre-Series B) | Up to $200,000 in credits | Active |
| AWS Activate GenAI tier | AI-native startups (Bedrock, SageMaker, Trainium) | Up to $300,000 (some YC startups more) | Active |
| AWS Free Tier | All new customers | Up to $200 in credits + free service usage | Active |
| AWS Educate | Students (school/institutional email) | $35–$100 in credits + free labs | Active |
| AWS Nonprofit Credit Program (TechSoup) | 501(c) nonprofits & libraries | Up to $5,000 in credits/year | Active |
| AWS TechAction | Nonprofits & credit unions (donor/member engagement) | Up to $5,000 in credits | Active |
| AWS Imagine Grant | Nonprofits (esp. generative AI projects) | Up to $200K cash + $100K credits | Active |
| AIF2CLOUD promo code | AWS certification candidates (AI Practitioner exam) | 50% off AIF-C01 + free CLF-C02 voucher | Reported active online |
Free AWS Credit Offers for June 2026
AWS offers many free credit deals through its official programs or through its partners. Here are all of the official credit discounts you can apply for.
1. NachoNacho AWS Free Credits: up to $5,000 (active)
Receive $5,000 in AWS credits for eligible services by subscribing through the NachoNacho marketplace. The best part about this deal is that you can redeem it if you are a new AWS user or an existing one. As long as you haven’t already redeemed credits from other sources.
This deal is active and official. NachoNacho is the leading software and AI discount marketplace, with hundreds of deals and millions of dollars in savings. And while most of the deals on NachoNacho are accessible with a free account (like the next deal below), this $5,000 AWS credit deal is only available for Basic Plus accounts.
2. AWS Cashback: 3% on all cloud spend, lifetime (active)
Get 3% of your AWS cloud spend back, available to existing and new users. This is another official deal available on NachoNacho that you can access with a free account.
A connected bank account and/or card is required to redeem.
3. AWS Activate: $1,000 to $100,000+ in credits (active)
Active and the flagship startup program. The structure as of 2026:
- Activate Founders: $1,000 in self-serve credits, available to any early-stage founder, no VC or accelerator needed. Best route for bootstrapped/self-funded startups.
- Activate Portfolio: up to $200,000 in credits for provider-backed startups. Requires an Organization ID from an AWS Activate Provider (VC, accelerator, or incubator) and pre-Series B status. Note AWS’s own page now says up to $200K, though most third-party guides still cite the older $100K figure.
- Generative AI tier: up to $300,000 for AI startups using Bedrock, SageMaker, or Trainium. Some Y Combinator companies have reportedly received up to $500,000.
- Eligibility baseline: pre-Series B, founded in the last 10 years, AWS account on a paid tier plan, and either new to Activate or requesting more than previously received.
- Approval timing: decisions typically come within 5-10 business days.
4. AWS Free Tier: up to $200 in credits (active)
For all new customers: $100 USD in credits at sign-up, plus up to $100 more to earn as you explore key AWS services, with free usage of select services and free/paid plan options.
No promo code needed, it’s automatic on account creation.
5. AWS Educate (students): $35 to $100+ in credits (active)
All students get access to the Student Portal and free Online Labs plus a $35 credit grant; students at an organization that has joined AWS Educate are eligible for $100 in credits. Requires a school-issued/institutional email for verification.
6. AWS Nonprofit Credit Program (via TechSoup): up to $5,000 in credits (active)
This offer for nonprofits provides up to $5,000 USD in promotional credit, distributed through TechSoup and partner NGOs. Organizations may request one grant per fiscal year (July 1–June 30), valid for at least one year or until exhausted.
Note there’s some figure variation across AWS’s own pages. Older/related pages cite $1,000 or $2,000 base grants, and the amount is now tiered by the nonprofit’s annual operating budget. The $5,000 is the current program ceiling.
7. AWS TechAction: up to $5,000 in free credits (active)
Up to $5,000 in promotional credit for nonprofits and credit unions using AWS for donor and member engagement. Requires a short application with a project description, reviewed within 30 business days.
Importantly, a nonprofit that already received credit through the TechSoup Nonprofit Credit Program can also apply for TechAction.
8. AWS Imagine Grant: up to $200K cash + $100K credits (active)
This deal supports 501 (c) nonprofits with AWS credits and technical assistance. The Pathfinder award offers up to $200K in unrestricted financial support plus $100K AWS credit for innovative generative AI projects.
AWS Promo Codes for June 2026
AWS offers some promo codes to access better pricing on their products, however, they are mainly for their certification exam. As of June 2026, we found 1 promo code that appears valid.
1. AIF2CLOUD: 50% off AWS Certified AI Practitioner
From our research, users claim that the promo code AIF2CLOUD gives 50% off the AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) exam, valid through September 30, 2026, and passing it auto-grants a free Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) voucher redeemable before November 30, 2026.
AWS Credit Discount Analysis
The most important thing to understand about AWS “discounts” is that they aren’t really coupon codes. Almost every deal in this guide falls into one of three mechanisms that behave very differently.
Most are one-time credit grants (Free Tier, Activate, Educate, the nonprofit programs, Imagine Grant): a fixed pool that gets consumed and then expires in 12–24 months, which means the headline figures are ceilings, not what typically lands in your account.
The clearest example is Activate Portfolio: the $200K number is real but rare, with most accounts seeing closer to $5K–$25K, gated less by the application than by whether your VC or accelerator hands over their Organization ID. The second mechanism is ongoing cashback (NachoNacho’s 3% lifetime), the only deal here that never expires and the only one relevant to an existing high-spender who has already burned through their credits.
The third (promo codes) exists almost exclusively for certification exams, which is why finding just one valid code isn’t a gap in the research but an accurate reflection of how AWS works.
No single deal wins for everyone, so the best pick depends entirely on the reader. A bootstrapped founder should take Activate Founders ($1K, self-serve) and, if they’re a genuinely new AWS account, stack the NachoNacho $5K on top for the highest realistic haul available without a VC.
A backed startup should skip Founders and go straight to Portfolio via their provider’s Org ID, where the bundled Business Support and solutions-architect access often matter more than the credit figure itself. Students get the most from Free Tier rather than Educate’s small $35 grant, AI-native startups are the only ones for whom the $300K GenAI headline is worth chasing, and nonprofits are the most underrated segment of all.
Alternatives to AWS Credit Offers
A clear alternative to AWS is Google Cloud, which commonly also offers several programs for companies to access free credits. 2 notable discounts available on NachoNacho include the following:
- Up to $250,000 credits: Through NachoNacho’s access to the Google for Startups Cloud Program, eligible startups can get up to $200,000 in Google Cloud cost coverage over two years (learn more).
- 4% cashback on all cloud services: Get 4% of your Google Cloud spend back on all services, available to both new and existing users (learn more).
Other GCP credit deals you may be interested in are:
- Google Cloud Free Tier, new-customer credit: $300 in free credits for new customers to explore GCP, plus 20+ products free up to monthly usage limits. Automatic on sign-up.
- AI startup track: Higher ceilings (reported up to $300K–$350K) for AI-first startups building on Vertex AI or Gemini, often including third-party model credits and enhanced support (learn more).
Does AWS Offer a Student Discount?
AWS doesn’t offer a traditional “student discount” in the sense of a percentage off your bill, but it does run a dedicated student program, AWS Educate, that effectively functions as one by giving free credits and training instead of a price cut.
Here’s how it works. All students can create an AWS Educate account and get access to the Student Portal, free online labs, and a $35 credit grant. If your school has formally joined AWS Educate as an institution, that grant rises to $100 in credits. Verification is done through a school-issued or institutional email address, so a personal Gmail won’t qualify.
AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud Pricing Comparison
Another way to save on cloud spend is to look at the other platforms offering these services. The most prominent ones are Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.
All three operate on the same pay-as-you-go foundation and price basic compute remarkably similarly, so the real differences show up in commitment discounts, storage, egress, and which ecosystem you’re already in. No single provider is cheapest across all categories, which is why workload-specific analysis matters more than broad generalizations.
On-demand compute: Comparing a like-for-like general-purpose Linux VM (2 vCPU, 8 GB) as of mid-2026: a Google e2-standard-2 runs about $0.067/hour versus $0.096 on Azure (D2s_v5) and $0.1008 on AWS (m7i.large). This means Google Cloud’s instance is roughly 34% cheaper per hour than the AWS equivalent for this class, with Azure sitting in between.
Storage and egress: Object storage (S3, Azure Blob, Cloud Storage) is functionally near-identical, but Azure tends to lead on standard object storage pricing by a meaningful margin. Roughly $0.005/GB cheaper than AWS, which adds up to about $5,000 annually at 100 TB. On the cold/archival end, AWS Glacier Instant Retrieval (~$0.004/GB) is now more expensive than GCP Archive (~$0.0012/GB), though Glacier offers millisecond access. For data transfer, all three give the first 100 GB/month of egress free, then charge roughly $0.09–$0.12 per GB depending on provider and destination.
FAQs
Can I get free AWS credits as an existing customer?
It depends on the deal. Most official AWS credit programs (Free Tier, Educate, the standard Activate tiers) are aimed at new or near-new accounts. But two options work for existing customers: the NachoNacho $5,000 credit (available to new and existing users, as long as you haven’t already redeemed $5,000+ in AWS credits elsewhere) and the NachoNacho 3% cashback.
Do I need a credit card to claim AWS credits?
Yes, in nearly all cases. AWS requires a valid payment method on file to open an account and redeem promotional credit, even though your card won’t be charged until your usage exceeds the available credit. The nonprofit programs through TechSoup work the same way. AWS Educate is the main exception, since some student starter accounts don’t require a card.
How long do AWS credits last before they expire?
Generally, 12 to 24 months from issuance, depending on the program, and AWS has reportedly become stricter about enforcing these dates in 2026 with no extensions. Nonprofit credits via TechSoup are valid for one year or until used up.
Are the “70% off AWS” coupon codes I see online legitimate?
Almost never. AWS infrastructure pricing doesn’t work through percentage-off checkout codes. Any site advertising big “% off AWS” deals (outside of certification exams or the partner programs covered here) is typically not legitimate.
Written by Andres Muñoz
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