Free VPS Forever: Oracle Cloud's Always Free Tier Explained (4 CPU, 24GB RAM)
AWS gives you a free VM for 12 months. Google Cloud gives you a tiny one forever. Oracle Cloud? 4 CPUs, 24GB RAM, 200GB storage — free forever. It sounds too good to be true, so I researched the actual terms. Here's what's real, what the catches are, and how to claim yours.
What you actually get
Oracle's Always Free tier (not the 30-day trial — that's a separate thing) includes:
- Ampere A1 ARM compute: up to 4 OCPUs + 24GB RAM, splittable into up to 4 instances
- 2× AMD micro VMs: 1 OCPU / 1GB RAM each
- 200GB block storage and 10TB/month outbound transfer
- 2 public IPv4 addresses
Compare that to AWS/GCP free tiers (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 30GB storage — and AWS expires after 12 months) and it's not close. This is the only free tier that can run real workloads: Docker stacks, game servers, VPNs, self-hosted apps, even small LLM inference.
The catches (read before signing up)
1. You need a credit/debit card. It's for identity verification — Oracle places a small temporary hold that drops off in a few days. No prepaid or virtual cards accepted. You won't be charged as long as you stay within Always Free limits.
2. "Out of capacity" errors are common. The free ARM instances are in high demand. Free accounts only get capacity in their home region (picked at signup — it can never be changed), so you may need to retry instance creation for days. Choosing a less crowded region helps.
3. Idle instances can be reclaimed. If CPU, network, AND memory all sit below roughly 20% for 7 straight days, Oracle may stop the instance. Real workloads (a blog, a bot, a VPN you actually use) are fine. Upgrading to Pay-As-You-Go removes this entirely — and Always Free resources stay free on PAYG.
4. One account per person, and during your first 30 days only create resources labeled "Always Free Eligible" to avoid accidental charges.
How to claim it
- Go to oracle.com/cloud/free and click "Start for free"
- Create the account (card verification as described above)
- In the console: Compute → Instances → Create Instance
- Image: Ubuntu. Shape: VM.Standard.A1.Flex → set 4 OCPU / 24GB RAM
- Make sure Assign a public IPv4 address is checked, and add your SSH key
- Launch, SSH in, and set a $1 billing budget alert for peace of mind
One gotcha: Oracle blocks all inbound traffic by default. You must open ports in both the VCN security list and the instance's own firewall (iptables) — otherwise your site won't be reachable even though everything looks fine.
Pair it with free AI tools
A free server is even better with free tooling around it. A few I use daily — all free, no signup:
- Toolxz AI Chat — free frontier AI models (Claude Sonnet 5, GPT 5.6, and more) right in the browser. Perfect for debugging server configs, writing Dockerfiles, or generating Nginx snippets at 2am.
- Temp Mail — disposable email for service signups and testing, keeps your real inbox clean.
- Secure Password Generator — strong random passwords for your server users and databases.
That's the whole stack: free VPS + free AI + free utilities. $0/month.
FAQ
Is Oracle Cloud Always Free really forever?
Yes — unlike AWS's 12-month trial, Always Free resources stay free for the life of the account as long as you remain within the limits.
Do I need a credit card?
Yes, for identity verification. A temporary hold is placed and removed within a few days; no charges apply within Always Free limits.
Why do I get "out of capacity" errors?
Free ARM capacity is limited per region. Retry over a few days, consider a less popular home region, or upgrade to PAYG (your free resources stay free).
Can my instance be deleted?
It can be stopped if completely idle for 7+ days (all usage metrics under ~20%). Keep a real workload running, or upgrade to PAYG to become exempt.
Founder of Toolxz (toolxz.com) — 45+ free browser-based tools. I write about practical AI tooling and developer workflows.
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