Oracle Cloud gives you a lifetime free tier — no expiry, no credit card charges as long as you stay within the free limits. This includes a free ARM virtual machine powerful enough to host a real website.
No auto-charge. Oracle will not charge you unless you manually upgrade to paid resources.
https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/
Click Start for free.
Click Verify my email and enter the code sent to your inbox.
Enter your: - Address, City, State, Postal Code
This is required for account verification — not for billing.
Oracle requires a credit or debit card to verify identity.
⚠️ If your card is declined, see the fixes below.
Transaction declined → Enable international transactions on your card via your bank's app or by calling support
Virtual cards not working → Use a physical debit or credit card
Prepaid cards failing → Oracle doesn't accept most prepaid cards — use a regular bank card
Still failing → Try a different card (family member's card works if you don't have your own)
Log in at cloud.oracle.com. You'll see the OCI Dashboard.
From here you can create your first virtual machine.
⚠️ Always choose VM.Standard.A1.Flex (ARM shape) — that's the free one. Avoid any shape that shows a cost estimate.
Account not activated after 30 minutes → Check spam folder for the confirmation email
Email already used → Use a different email address or log in if you already have an account