Oracle Ampere A1: The Best Free Cloud Compute
Oracle Cloud's Ampere A1 is the most compelling free-tier compute in cloud computing. Here is what you get permanently with no time limit.
Always Free A1 specs: Up to 4 OCPUs (Ampere Altra ARM processor), up to 24GB RAM, 200GB Block Volume, 10TB/month outbound bandwidth.
Performance: The Ampere Altra is a server-grade ARM processor. A single A1.Flex configured as 4 OCPU/24GB benchmarks comparably to a Hetzner CAX31 (~€12/month) in real-world web workloads.
What you can run on the free tier: Full production API server (Django/Node.js/Rails), self-hosted PostgreSQL with 24GB RAM, multiple Docker containers, k3s Kubernetes cluster, CI/CD runner, WireGuard VPN server.
Limitations: Home region restriction (always-free resources only in signup region), no GPU without PAYG billing, port 25 blocked by default (upgrade account to open).
How to get it: Our Oracle New Account ($40) provides immediate A1 access. Alternatively, sign up at oracle.com with your credit card for the same always-free resources.