Microsoft for Startups
Terms read on 13 Aug 2026
Up to $150,000 in Azure credits
Read this first
Nothing about the term, the expiry or the renewal is published outside the portal. Azure credits at this scale are usually time boxed, so the assumption to verify rather than inherit is how long the balance lasts and what the workload costs at list price once it is gone.
How to claim it, in 4 steps
Tick them off as you go. Saved in this browser.
What the terms actually say
The largest headline figure on this shelf after the hyperscaler programmes, and the one with the least published behind it. Microsoft states "up to $150,000 in credits" on the public startups page and then publishes no eligibility criteria, no tier thresholds and no credit duration anywhere a reader can reach without signing in. Everything specific happens inside the portal after you authenticate, where a level is assigned to your company. That means the $150,000 is a ceiling for companies Microsoft places at the top tier rather than a number anyone should plan against, and the honest way to read this entry is that the amount you would actually get is not knowable in advance from anything Microsoft publishes.
Who can claim it, in Microsoft for Startups's words
Microsoft publishes no eligibility criteria on any public page. The tier and the credit amount are assigned inside the portal after signup, so the requirements are not knowable before you apply.
What you get without this
An Azure free account gives $200 in credit to spend within 30 days, free monthly amounts of 20+ services for 12 months for new customers, and free monthly amounts of 65+ always-free services with no time limit. Pay as you go keeps both sets of free monthly amounts without the $200 credit or the 30 day window.
We list a perk because it beats walking up to the vendor unannounced. If it ever stops doing that, it comes off the index.
4 more perks readable in full before we ask for an email address.