Aiven's always-free tier covers 5 services at $0/month: PostgreSQL (1GB storage, 1GB RAM, 1 CPU/VM, single node, network egress included), MySQL (1GB storage, 1GB RAM, network egress included), Apache Kafka (up to 250 KiB/s combined produce+consume, max 5 topics x 2 partitions, up to 3-day retention, free Karapace Schema Registry + REST proxy, only ONE free Kafka service per organization, no Kafka Connect/MirrorMaker 2/integrations/tiered storage), OpenSearch (4GB RAM, 20GB persistent storage, up to 20 shards, single node, k-NN/vector enabled by default), and Valkey (1GB RAM, network egress included). It is a permanent free tier, not a trial: no expiry, no time limit, no credit card required. Free services are automatically powered off during extended inactivity and can be reactivated anytime; Aiven reserves the right to shut down services that violate acceptable use or are unused for extended periods. No SLA; support is documentation-only. No specific cloud/region can be chosen (geographical area only, e.g. Europe/NA/APAC).
Eligibility
Open to anyone — no .edu email, no age cap, no company verification, no region-of-residence restriction, and no credit card. Free of any trial or time limit. The only implicit caps: one free Kafka service per organization, and per-service resource caps listed above. ClickHouse has NO free plan.
How to claim
Sign up free at aiven.io (no credit card, no trial form), open the Aiven Console, create a service (PostgreSQL/MySQL/Kafka/OpenSearch/Valkey) and select the free plan — service is live in minutes. Startup credits: apply via the form at aiven.io/startups (Typeform), acceptance ~2 business days, 15-min kickoff call, then apply the credit code to your Aiven account.
Expiry
No expiry or renewal — the free tier persists indefinitely within limits; services power off on prolonged inactivity but can be reactivated at any time. Aiven can discontinue/reduce the program (they did reduce storage in 2025).
Gotchas
Not a trial, but: (1) idle services auto-power-off, so no uptime SLA and no production use; (2) since 15 May 2025, PostgreSQL/MySQL free storage is only 1GB (was 5GB) — a full 5GB-database won't fit; (3) network egress is included only up to the free tier's stated network allowance — the free-tier page labels PG/MySQL/Valkey as 'network costs' included, verify on the plan page if your traffic is heavy; (4) you cannot pick a specific cloud/region on free plans, so cross-cloud peering/VPC features are unavailable; (5) no connection pooling or service integrations on free PostgreSQL; (6) the paid upgrade path is the new $5/month Developer tier (launched Nov–Dec 2025) with 8GB storage and no auto power-off; (7) one-off prize competitions (Dec 2025 $5,000 free-Kafka competition closed 31 Jan 2026; $1,000 free-tier competition closed 17 Apr 2026) are marketing campaigns, not recurring credits.
Aiven for Startups (formerly 'Cluster') — up to $100,000 platform credits over 12 months high confidence
Aiven for Startups (the program formerly called 'Aiven Cluster', revamped Aug 2023) grants from $12,000 up to $100,000 in Aiven platform credits usable over 12 months across all managed services (Kafka, PostgreSQL, MySQL, OpenSearch, ClickHouse, Valkey, etc.), plus startup-Slack community, technical guidance/office hours from Aiven solution architects, promotion on Aiven channels, and virtual events. Partner-marketplace listings (e.g. Stand Together Ventures, Aug 2026) state explicit stage-based tiers: $12K pre-seed, $30K seed, $75K Series A, $100K Series B, with the option to upgrade tier as the company grows; the $12K tier also exists for startups with no partner affiliation. Credits are valid 12 months; no payment commitment after they expire.
Eligibility
Startup founded no more than 7 years ago; external funding raised from pre-seed up to and including Series B; application with company website + business email (personal emails rejected as verification); preferred affiliation with an Aiven ecosystem partner (VC, accelerator, incubator — e.g. Techstars, Digital Ocean Hatch which offers a $10K variant, Aalto Startup Center, SMU iie with $30K). Excluded: agencies, consulting firms, NGOs, and educational institutions; applicants must be a new Aiven customer or a paying customer with monthly invoice under $400, and must not have previously received startup credits. No .edu requirement (it is a company program, not a student one).
How to claim
Apply through the Aiven for Startups form (aiven.io/startups, Typeform: aiven-startups.typeform.com/to/STphOA6R); select your VC/accelerator affiliation if you have one; on acceptance (~2 business days) you get a welcome email, book a 15-min kick-off call with the Startup Program Manager, and receive a credit code; sign up on Aiven, apply the code, and spend credits on any managed service for 12 months.
Expiry
Credits must be used within 12 months of receipt; no auto-renewal. Program has been running since Nov 2021 (launched as Cluster), revamped Aug 2023 (funding cap raised Series A→B, age cap 5→7 years, new $12K tier), and is branded 'Aiven for Startups' as of 2026.
Gotchas
The official page says amounts 'vary based on your startup's credit tier' without publishing the per-stage numbers — the $12K/$30K/$75K/$100K mapping comes from partner listings, not the main page. Credits are not cash: they offset Aiven service spend only, and unspent credits lapse after 12 months. Approval is discretionary ('apply anyway' is encouraged but not guaranteed). A partner (VC/accelerator/incubator) affiliation is effectively expected for the higher tiers. The Digital Ocean Hatch variant caps at $10,000 even though the headline is $100K. Verify current form/eligibility in the Typeform at application time.
No dedicated student/education program (negative finding) medium confidence
No dedicated education program, .edu license, student discount, or student credits program was found in Aiven's official pages or press releases as of 2026-10-22. Aiven supports students indirectly: (1) the always-free tier is explicitly marketed for 'learning databases & streaming' and is open to any individual — a student with a personal email can get free managed PostgreSQL/MySQL/Kafka/OpenSearch/Valkey with no credit card; (2) free online 'Aiven Developer Workshops' (aiven.io/developer-workshops) are open education events; (3) universities (Aalto Startup Center, SMU iie) partner on the STARTUP program side, where their incubatee startups (companies, not students) get $30K–$100K credits. Notably, the startup program explicitly EXCLUDES educational institutions as applicants. Confidence is medium rather than high because the web-search budget for this session was exhausted before a final confirming sweep of aiven.io/education-style URLs could run.
Eligibility
Not applicable — no student/education offer exists to qualify for. (Students qualify for the general free tier by simply having an Aiven account; no .edu email required or beneficial.)
How to claim
No application or license step — students simply use the always-free tier (aiven.io/free-tier, no credit card). Free Aiven Developer Workshops (aiven.io/developer-workshops) are open, free training sessions on PostgreSQL/Kafka/OpenSearch.
Expiry
n/a
Gotchas
Do not confuse university partner listings (Aalto, SMU) — those are startup-company offers for incubatees, not student licenses; the startup program's terms bar educational institutions. If Aiven ever launches an education program it would likely surface at aiven.io/startups or the press room; check the free-tier page, not a nonexistent '/education' page.
2025-2026 changes that materially altered the free landscape: (1) 15 May 2025 — free-plan storage for PostgreSQL and MySQL reduced from 5GB to 1GB for all new and existing free services (changelog aiven.io/changelog/6ad6c429-6c1c-4418-abfb-2ca82f927414); no data loss, connections unchanged, but hobbyists needing more must move to paid 'hobbyist/Developer' plans. (2) Nov 12 / Dec 10 2025 — a new $5/month Developer tier launched for PostgreSQL and MySQL (1 CPU, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, Basic support, services never auto-power-off, region area but not cloud selection); one changelog dated Nov 12 2025 says the Postgres Developer plan starts 'at $8 USD' while the Aiven blog states $5 — treat $5/month as the advertised starting price and verify in-console. (3) Dec 10 2025 — the Kafka free tier itself is new (previously Kafka had no $0 plan); before that date the free tier was PostgreSQL/MySQL/OpenSearch/Valkey only. (4) The startup program rebranded from 'Aiven Cluster Startup Program' to 'Aiven for Startups' (revamp in Aug 2023: age cap 5→7 years, funding cap Series A→B, new $12K non-partner tier; current form is aiven.io/startups). (5) One-off prize competitions, not recurring offers: $5,000 Free Kafka competition (closed 31 Jan 2026) and $1,000 Free Tier competition (closed 17 Apr 2026, winner announced 27 Apr 2026). Nothing was shut down in this window; the only reductions were the 2025 free-tier storage cut and Kafka's free-service-per-org limit (1).