Add up every credit program a typical early-stage startup can actually claim in 2026 and you clear half a million dollars of vendor spend: cloud compute, AI API usage, data infrastructure, payment processing fee credits, and SaaS discounts. Almost nobody claims even half of it, because the programs are scattered across dozens of vendor pages and some disqualify you if you claim them in the wrong order.
This is the checklist, in claiming order. Every program here is tracked in the catalog with eligibility notes and a step-by-step guide.
Step 0: know the two rules
- Rule 1: most big programs are one-per-company, forever. If you claim a small self-serve tier now, you may burn eligibility for the 100x bigger partner tier later. Check the program's tiers before submitting.
- Rule 2: partner channels multiply the amounts. The same vendor that gives walk-ins a few thousand dollars gives accelerator, VC-affiliated, or platform-referred startups 10x to 100x more. If a program has a partner tier you can plausibly reach in the next six months, wait.
Step 1: pick your primary cloud (the biggest single check)
Claim exactly one as your main bet; the majors will all take your workloads, and the money is comparable:
- AWS Activate: up to 100,000 dollars for startups with an Activate Provider (accelerator, VC, or platform partner); a smaller founders tier exists for everyone else. Our AWS Activate guide covers the tiers.
- Google for Startups Cloud Program: cloud credits with a dedicated AI tier that can reach six figures across two years for AI-first companies.
- Microsoft for Startups: Azure credits that scale by stage and include Azure OpenAI usage, which is the quiet way to get frontier-model spend covered.
You can hold a secondary cloud's smaller tier for redundancy, but concentrate: partner tiers reward commitment.
Step 2: AI API credits (stack all three)
Unlike clouds, the AI platforms are not mutually exclusive. Claim each:
- OpenAI startup credits, typically via a partner program or your cloud marketplace.
- Anthropic credits for Claude, with amounts that jump sharply through accelerator partners.
- Google Gemini credits, usually bundled into the Cloud Program AI tier.
Between them, five figures of inference is realistic for a company that qualifies for even the mid tiers. While you wait on approvals, the free tiers and trial keys cover development.
Step 3: infrastructure and data
The pattern repeats one layer down. Worth claiming in almost every stack:
- Databases: MongoDB, Neon, and friends run startup programs with credits that can reach five or six figures on the partner tiers.
- Inference and GPUs: Together AI, Nebius, and several GPU clouds credit new startups directly, on top of free GPU options.
- Observability and analytics: Datadog, Sentry, PostHog, Mixpanel and peers all have startup tiers that cover year one.
- Deploy and frontend: Vercel and similar platforms run credit programs through their partner networks.
None of these require exclusivity; the only cost is application time, and most approve in days.
Step 4: money infrastructure and fee credits
- Stripe processing fee credits: waived fees on your first revenue, commonly claimed through a bank partner or accelerator.
- Startup banking marketplaces: Mercury, Brex, and peers bundle partner discounts and deposit bonuses; the startup bank perks guide ranks them.
- Business card software credits: several cards reimburse recurring software spend, covered in business card software credits.
Step 5: the SaaS long tail
Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Linear, Figma, and a hundred smaller tools give startups a free year or deep first-year discounts. Individually small, collectively five figures a year. Sort the catalog by value and claim the ones already in your stack; skip the ones that would push you onto tools you do not need. A credit for software you would not otherwise buy is worth zero.
Realistic totals
| Layer | Typical claimable range |
|---|---|
| Primary cloud | 25,000 to 350,000 dollars |
| AI API platforms | 5,000 to 150,000 dollars |
| Infra, data, observability | 10,000 to 200,000 dollars |
| Fees, banking, cards | 2,000 to 25,000 dollars |
| SaaS long tail | 5,000 to 30,000 dollars |
The wide ranges are the partner-tier effect from Rule 2. A solo founder claiming self-serve tiers lands near the bottom and that is still real money; a funded startup working partner channels clears the headline number.
Bottom line
Treat credits like a funding round with a checklist: one primary cloud claimed at the best tier you can reach, all three AI platforms stacked, infra and data programs swept, fees and banking covered, SaaS claimed where it matches your stack. Every program here is verified and guided in the catalog; create an account and work top to bottom.
Related reading: startup cloud credits compared, AWS Activate tiers, grants and accelerators.