What happens to AWS Free Tier resources after the 12-month period ends?
Asked by
MellowPine47
I'm trying to distinguish AWS services with ongoing free usage from services that are free only during an introductory period. Is there an official, clearly filtered list showing the current Always Free services and their monthly allowances, such as Lambda requests, DynamoDB storage, or CloudFront data transfer? Also, what happens when the 12-month introductory period ends? Does AWS delete instances, databases, or stored data, or does the account simply switch eligible resources to normal pay-as-you-go pricing? Finally, do any ongoing free quotas remain available after the first year?
Answers
Be careful with services that appear free in small-scale testing. Some products may have limited free allowances, regional conditions, or introductory credits even if they aren’t labeled Always Free. Staying under a quota doesn’t guarantee a zero bill if another component—such as requests, data transfer, public IPv4 usage, snapshots, or attached storage—incurs a separate charge. Billing alerts and usage budgets are worth setting up before leaving resources running.
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After the introductory period ends, the account generally remains open and resources aren’t automatically deleted. Services that were free only during that period move to standard on-demand pricing, so running instances, databases, storage, and similar resources can start generating charges. The same applies if you exceed a monthly free allowance before the period ends. Services explicitly marked as ongoing free usage retain their stated quotas, although AWS can change the terms over time.
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The official AWS Free Tier page has filters for the offer type, including services listed as Always Free. Check the current terms for each service rather than relying on older lists, because AWS has changed its Free Tier structure and eligibility rules. Accounts created under newer terms may not receive the same 12-month benefits as legacy accounts.
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MellowPine47: Thanks! Is there an official AWS page that clearly distinguishes ongoing free usage from time-limited offers and shows the applicable limits?