Oracle Cloud Free Tier
Best for: A full Linux VPS for $0. The most generous always-free cloud infrastructure.
Always-Free Resources (2026)
| Resource | Limit |
|---|---|
| Compute (ARM) | Up to 4 OCPU cores, 24 GB RAM (Ampere A1) |
| Compute (AMD) | 2 micro instances (1/8 OCPU, 1 GB RAM each) |
| Storage | 200 GB total (block + boot) |
| Network | 10 TB egress/month |
| Load balancer | 1 instance (10 Mbps) |
| Databases | 2 Autonomous DBs (up to 20 GB each) |
| Monitoring | 500 MB log ingestion |
Key Strengths
- Most generous free VPS on the market — 24 GB RAM / 4 cores for free
- Truly “always free” (no time limit)
- ARM Ampere A1 instances are performant (common in production)
- Can run Docker, databases, web servers, VPN, anything
- 10 TB egress is extremely generous
Weaknesses
- Account approval is notoriously difficult — Oracle rejects many sign-ups
- Limited to specific regions (US East, US West, London, Frankfurt, etc.)
- ARM instances can be “out of capacity” in popular regions
- Complex setup — not beginner friendly
- If you exceed free tier limits, billing starts (no hard cap)
- Some users report accounts terminated without warning for “policy violations”
The Verdict
Oracle Cloud is the best free VPS if you can get approved. Consider it lottery — worth trying, but don’t rely on it. Apply with a business email and US-based region for highest approval odds.
Alternatives
- cloudflare-pages + Workers — for serverless/static (no VPS needed)
- Google Cloud Run — 2M requests/month free (12-month $300 credit then limited always-free)
- AWS Free Tier — 12-month trial + limited always-free (Lambda 1M req/mo)
Sources
- oracle.com/cloud/free
- space-node.net Oracle free VPS review 2026
- github.com/savyasathe/free-vps