IBM Cloud Free Tier: 40+ Lite Products and $200 New-Account Credit

IBM Cloud’s current free entry point combines always-free Lite plans with a time-limited credit for eligible new Pay-As-You-Go accounts. IBM advertises more than 40 products with Lite plans that do not expire and cannot themselves generate charges. The broader Pay-As-You-Go account can access billable products, and eligible first-time accounts currently receive a US$200 promotional credit for 30 days.

Payment details are required up front and IBM may place a nominal authorization hold to verify the card. IBM says the account is not charged until a billable service is consumed, but users remain responsible for usage outside Lite allowances or after promotional credit is exhausted. Lite resources have operational limits: IBM’s current free-tier documentation says inactive apps can sleep after 10 days and Lite service instances can be deleted after 30 days without development activity. Review each service plan before provisioning, set billing alerts and do not assume that every product shown in the IBM Cloud catalog is included in a Lite allowance.