Stage 2 · Lesson 5 of 8
The Azure free account and Azure for Students
As of September 2026, the gives 200 USD of for the first 30 days plus 12 months of select free services and a set of always-free services. It has a spending limit; to keep going after 30 days, or once the credit is used, you move to , which removes that limit.
If you are a full-time university student, Azure for Students gives 100 USD of credit for 12 months with no credit card, renewable while you study. Check the official pages before signing up, because offers change.
Common trapmoving to pay-as-you-go with no set and leaving a VM or database running that the credit used to hide.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 2 cheat sheet entries come with the full roadmap. Unlock
Resources for this stage
Start with
- CourseFreeMicrosoft Learn: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) training
Microsoft · Beginner
Free official learning paths with browser sandboxes: cloud concepts, Azure architecture and governance
Keep handy
Also worth your time
A clear table of who owns what across IaaS, PaaS and SaaS on Azure
- Learn to CloudGo deeper
A free, open curriculum for the whole path to a cloud role, to see where this stage fits