Last updated: 11 September 2026. Checked against AWS's own Activate pages, FAQ and terms that day.
AWS Activate (often searched as "activate aws") is AWS's startup credit program, and in 2026 it has three tiers:
- Activate Founders: for bootstrapped and self-funded startups; starts at $1,000, and "select participants may qualify for additional credits up to $5,000".
- Activate Portfolio: up to $200,000, for startups with an Organization ID (Org ID) from an Activate Provider such as an accelerator, angel investor or VC firm.
- AWS Credits for AI Startups: invite only, $200,000+, for startups scaling after Portfolio.
To apply at all, your company must be pre-Series B, founded in the last 10 years, have a working website, and use an AWS account on the Paid plan. That last point catches new founders: AWS accounts now start on a six-month Free plan that cannot receive Activate credits.
Activate credits also pay for Claude and other third-party models on Amazon Bedrock, which makes Activate the free route to Claude for founders without a VC.
Founders vs Portfolio vs AI Startups
| Activate Founders | Activate Portfolio | AWS Credits for AI Startups | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credits | Starts at $1,000; up to $5,000 for select participants | Up to $200,000 | $200,000+ |
| Who | Bootstrapped or self-funded | Pre-Series B with an Activate Provider's Org ID | Invite only, after Portfolio |
| How | Apply directly | Apply with the provider's Org ID | Through your AWS account manager |
| Funding rule | - | Most recent round within the last 12 months | - |
Source: AWS's startup credits page and Activate FAQ, 11 September 2026. All credits are in US dollars and subject to the AWS Promotional Credit Terms.
Who is eligible
From AWS's credits page and FAQ:
- Stage: pre-Series B ("up to and including Series A"). Private equity rounds and anything after Series A are declined.
- Age: founded within the last 10 years.
- Web presence: "a functioning website or public profile". AWS says it may use automated means to read your public website to evaluate the application.
- AWS account: on the Paid plan (see the next section).
- History: new to Activate, or asking for more credits than you received before.
- Email: a business email on your startup's domain. "Free email providers are not accepted for business applications."
- Portfolio only: a valid Org ID, each usable once, and a most recent funding round within 12 months.
The April version of this page also listed "fewer than 10 employees" and "under $1M revenue". Neither appears on AWS's current pages.
The Free plan trap
New AWS accounts start on the Free plan: "$100 in credits immediately" plus up to $100 more for trying key services, up to $200 over six months. The account "closes on its own 6 months after you open it or when your credits run out". AWS keeps your content for 90 days after that, and you can still upgrade.
Free plan accounts are "not eligible for Activate promotional credits". So before you apply, upgrade the account: in the AWS console choose Upgrade plan, then Upgrade account. New customers on the Paid plan are also eligible for the same up-to-$200 signup credits, and you cannot go back to the Free plan once upgraded.
How to apply
- Create an AWS Builder ID on the AWS Startups site.
- Choose your tier. Founders if you are self-funded, Portfolio if you have an Org ID.
- Describe your startup: product, target market, current traction, funding stage and most recent funding date.
- Link your AWS account and submit. Linking needs root or admin access, and only one Builder ID can be linked to an AWS account. Use the same email as your AWS account.
- Wait. The credits page says 5-10 business days; the FAQ and AWS's guides say 7-10.
Credits start working from the month they are issued: "AWS Activate Credits cannot be used to offset or cover historical AWS bills."
Why Activate applications get rejected
AWS's own list of reasons:
- You already reached the Activate lifetime credit award.
- You applied with a different email than the one on your AWS account.
- No functioning website or public profile.
- Duplicate application.
- The Org ID was not valid.
- The company was founded more than 10 years ago.
- Inconsistent business information.
- The new offer is the same or smaller than a previous one.
- You applied for an offer you already received.
- The funding round is private equity or beyond Series A.
AWS's status messages add a few more: a free email provider, a funding round older than 12 months (Portfolio), a mismatch between the application's domain and the AWS account's email domain, a suspended account, the startup's region, and an internal business review. Most of these can be fixed before you apply again.
Applying again, and moving from Founders to Portfolio
You can apply again if the new application is for more credits than the last one, you have not hit the lifetime maximum (AWS does not publish the number), you have a valid Org ID, and you still meet the criteria. You receive the difference: "if you received $10,000 USD ... and you subsequently applied for $100,000 USD ..., you will receive $90,000 USD".
Only one application can be open at a time; if you submit two, the smaller is rejected automatically. A founder with two startups can apply for both, but each must have its own AWS account.
What the credits pay for
Activate credits cover eligible AWS services, and, by a specific exception, third-party foundation models on Amazon Bedrock: "AWS Activate Credits are also redeemable for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock ... from leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies, like AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Cohere, Meta, Mistral AI, Stability AI, and Amazon". The Activate Terms make it formal: Marketplace charges count as eligible "solely when incurring Bedrock 3P Model Spend".
Not covered: Amazon Mechanical Turk, AWS Managed Services, Enterprise-level support plans, other AWS Marketplace purchases, Professional Services, Training and Certification, Route 53 domain registration or transfer, cryptocurrency mining, and upfront fees for Savings Plans and Reserved Instances. They can pay for Business Support+, which starts at $29 a month; Developer and Business Support closed to new subscriptions on 1 December 2025.
Expiry: AWS's guides say credits "usually expire within 1-2 years depending on the package". The exact date is in the Billing and Cost Management console, and "the AWS Activate team is unable to extend the expiration date". AWS emails reminders 60 and 30 days before expiry and at 75% and 100% used. Credits cannot be refunded, split or transferred.
Using Activate credits for Claude
Because Bedrock's third-party models are covered, Activate is how a founder without a VC gets free Claude usage. Anthropic's own startup credits need institutional funding and work only on its first-party API (Claude for Startups). Founders credits of $1,000 to $5,000 go a long way on Claude Haiku 4.5 or Sonnet 5 through Bedrock.
Neither Google's nor Microsoft's startup credits pay for Claude, so for a Claude-based product AWS is the cloud whose credits line up with the model.
Extras besides credits
- Offers: member-only discounts and trials from companies such as Zendesk, Stripe, Datadog, Brex, HubSpot and Chargebee; some depend on your credit package or location.
- AWS Startup Advisor at no charge, build templates, a migration planning tool, and a startup showcase.
- Lofts, Spotlights and Accelerators: in-person programs listed on AWS Startups.
- Kiro Startup Credits for Kiro Pro+ are separate, and you cannot have active Activate credits when you apply for them.
AWS vs Google vs Microsoft
| AWS Activate | Google for Startups Cloud | Microsoft for Startups | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Without an investor | $1,000, up to $5,000 (Founders) | $2,000 (Start tier, founded within 24 months) | $1,000, then $4,000 after verification |
| With a VC or accelerator | Up to $200,000 (Portfolio) | Up to $200,000, or $350,000 for AI | Usually $100,000, up to $150,000 |
| Frontier models the credits pay for | Claude and others on Bedrock | Gemini and Gemma | OpenAI models on Azure |
| Credit life | Usually 1-2 years | 12 months (Start), 2 years (Scale) | Up to 2 years |
The programs are independent; apply to all three. See Free Google Cloud Credits and Microsoft for Startups.
What changed since this page's April version
| April version said | September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Founders: $1,000 | Starts at $1,000; up to $5,000 for select participants |
| Portfolio: $1,000 to $100,000+ | Up to $200,000; AI Startups $200,000+ by invitation |
| Founders eligibility: under 10 employees, under $1M revenue | Not on AWS's pages; pre-Series B, 10 years, working website, Paid plan |
| Includes $350 of Developer Support credits | Developer and Business Support closed to new subscriptions in December 2025; credits can pay for Business Support+ |
| Decision in 1-3 business days | 5-10 or 7-10 business days, depending on the AWS page |
| Credits valid 1 year | Usually 1-2 years, by package |
| (not covered) | New accounts start on a Free plan that cannot receive Activate credits |
Frequently asked questions
How much does AWS Activate give? Activate Founders, for self-funded startups, starts at $1,000 and can go up to $5,000 for select participants. Activate Portfolio gives up to $200,000 to startups with an Org ID from an accelerator, angel investor or VC firm. Invite-only AWS Credits for AI Startups start at $200,000.
Who is eligible for AWS Activate? Startups that are pre-Series B, were founded within the last 10 years, have a functioning website or public profile, and apply from an AWS account on the Paid plan with a business email on their own domain. Portfolio applicants also need a valid Org ID and a funding round within the last 12 months.
Why was my AWS Activate application rejected? AWS's common reasons: a free email provider or an email that does not match the AWS account, no working website, an invalid Org ID, a company older than 10 years, funding beyond Series A, inconsistent business details, a duplicate application, or asking for an amount no larger than a previous award. Fix the issue and apply again.
Can I use AWS Activate credits for Claude? Yes. AWS says Activate credits are redeemable for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock, naming Anthropic among others, and the Activate Terms treat Bedrock third-party model spend as eligible even though other Marketplace charges are not.
Do AWS Activate credits expire? Yes. AWS says they usually expire within 1-2 years depending on the package; the exact date is in the Billing and Cost Management console, and the Activate team cannot extend it. Credits also cannot cover bills from before they were issued.
Why do I need a Paid plan for AWS Activate? New AWS accounts start on the Free plan, which lasts six months and is not eligible for Activate or other promotional credits. Upgrade the account to the Paid plan in the console before applying; new Paid plan customers still get up to $200 in signup credits.
Can I apply for AWS Activate more than once? Yes, if the new application is for more credits than you received before, you have not reached the lifetime maximum, and you have a valid Org ID. AWS then awards the difference, for example $90,000 if you had $10,000 and are approved for $100,000.
Related guides
- Claude for Startups Program 2026 - who qualifies, how to apply
- Free Google Cloud Credits 2026: $300 Trial to $350K Startups
- Microsoft for Startups 2026: Credits, Eligibility, Benefits
- Free AWS Credits - every route
- Free LLM APIs 2026 - every free tier checked, which need no card
- Free Cloud Credits for Developers - every cloud provider compared
- Free Startup Credits 2026: Complete Guide
Got AWS Activate credits? Tell me which tier and how long it took. I update this guide with what founders actually see.
