Best offer on record: Starter credit for every new Baseten workspace (~$30, no application needed). 3 verified findings, checked 2026-10-22.
Offers
Starter credit for every new Baseten workspace (~$30, no application needed) medium confidence
Every new Baseten account gets a one-time starter credit of ~$30 applied automatically to the workspace's invoice before any payment method is charged; no redemption step. Credits cover Model API calls (per-token, e.g. DeepSeek/GLM/Kimi/gpt-oss open models) and dedicated GPU deployments/training (per-minute GPU billing). The default Basic/Startup plan is $0/month with pure pay-as-you-go: no platform fee, no minimums, no idle-time billing (scale-to-zero supported). Baseten's FAQ states verbatim "new Baseten accounts come with $30 of free credit so that you can start running models for free"; the current pricing page FAQ says only that new accounts "come with credits" without restating the figure. There is no perpetual free tier or free-model tier.
Eligibility
Anyone who signs up — no .edu, no startup screening, no credit card required to sign up or receive the credit. One-time per workspace (spinning up a second workspace under the same account does not stack). No region limit stated. After the credit is exhausted, a payment method is required to keep deployments running (deployments are deactivated otherwise).
How to claim
1) Sign up at app.baseten.co (email/Google/GitHub); 2) confirm the email; 3) create a workspace (name + region) — it is the billing boundary; 4) the starter credit is credited automatically, nothing to redeem; 5) check the balance in the billing dashboard; 6) add a payment method only if you want to continue past the ~$30.
Expiry
One-time grant, not renewable, no recurring monthly allowance; no published expiry date for the credit itself. Standing offer as of 2026 (last re-verified by third parties in Sep-Oct 2026).
Gotchas
Trial-then-paid, not a free tier: once ~$30 is burned, pay-as-you-go with a card is required. Basic-tier default rate limits are ~15 req/min and ~100K tokens/min (not a guaranteed no-card free allowance). The $30 figure comes from Baseten's FAQ/changelog, not the current pricing page headline, so treat as ~$30 and confirm against your own workspace's billing view. If you are an eligible startup, using this credit on your first workspace can disqualify you from the AI Startup Program (net-new-customers rule — see next finding).
Baseten AI Startup Program — up to $25,000 (Dedicated Inference/Training) + up to $2,500 (Model APIs) high confidence
Two separate credit pools: up to $25,000 in credits for Dedicated Inference or Training, and up to $2,500 in credits for Model APIs (combined ceiling $27,500, discretionary — amounts granted vary by startup, not guaranteed). Program perks beyond credits: response-time support escalating to shared Slack/Zoom channels, exclusive networking events, cross-cloud autoscaling access, and GTM support (launch/funding amplification, consultations, webinars). The same offer is listed as a non-starred entry on Google Cloud's Startup Perks page: "Up to $25K for Dedicated Deployments or Training and up to $2.5K for Model APIs — Get inference and training credits to get started on Baseten platform"; the Google Cloud Startup Perks page confirms the entry is unchanged in this form in 2025-2026.
Eligibility
Early-stage AI-first, VC-funded startups: funding stage Seed to Series A, company started less than 5 years ago, AI core to primary products. Net-new Baseten customers only (never received any Baseten credits before). No .edu email, no funding cap, and no regional limit stated; education institutions, governments, nonprofits, IPO'd/acquired companies, dev shops/consultancies/agencies are excluded per Baseten program acceptance terms. Not a student offer — there is no Baseten student/education program (no .edu path exists; third-party 'education discount' listings for Baseten are unverified boilerplate).
How to claim
Direct route: submit the application at https://www.baseten.co/talk-to-us/startup-program (form; Baseten follows up; manual, selective review — not guaranteed). Google route: join the Google for Startups Cloud Program (Start tier: unfunded digital-native startup, founded within 24 months, up to $2,000 GCP credits; Scale tier: VC-funded, up to $200K GCP credits, up to $350K for AI startups), then redeem the Baseten perk via the Perks page (cloud.google.com/startup/perks). Have funding-stage proof ready; the Baseten application gates you even when arriving via Google.
Expiry
No credit expiry date or renewal mechanism is published on the program page as of today.
Gotchas
'Up to' figures are ceilings, not grants. Net-new-customer rule: if you already burned the ~$30 starter credit on a workspace you plan to use, you likely disqualify yourself — route your first serious workload through the application instead. Amount awarded is at Baseten's sole discretion; applications are selective. Whether a credit card is required to enroll, and any regional limits, are not stated on the official page. The Google channel adds a prerequisite (Google program membership) but the Baseten criteria still apply on top.
Google Cloud Startup Perks — Baseten entry (channel: redeem via Google for Startups Cloud Program) medium confidence
On Google Cloud's Startup Perks page (AI infrastructure and tools section), Baseten's perk is one of 30+ partner offers and, unlike starred entries (Datadog, ElevenLabs 33M credits, Cartesia 12 months, OpenRouter $1K), it carries no star — meaning it is open to all Google for Startups Cloud Program members, not just Scale-tier (VC-funded) members. Redemption happens through the Perks page after joining the program. Google's own program credits (Start tier up to $2,000 valid 1 year; Scale tier up to $200K, up to $350K for AI-first startups, year 1 100% up to $100K/$250K plus 20% up to $100K more in year 2) are separate from the Baseten credits. The Baseten entry text on the Perks page matches Baseten's own program page figures exactly.
Eligibility
Members of the Google for Startups Cloud Program. Start tier: technology startup planning to seek VC funding soon, founded within the last 24 months, not yet received Google Cloud credits beyond free trial. Scale tier: VC-funded, Pre-Seed/Seed within last 5 years and Series A within last 12 months, not yet received more than $5,000 in Google Cloud credits. The Baseten perk itself additionally requires Baseten's own startup criteria (Seed-Series A, <5 years, AI-first, net-new Baseten customer). No .edu path; no student tier.
How to claim
1) Apply to the Google for Startups Cloud Program (cloud.google.com/startup) and get approved; 2) open the Startup Perks page (cloud.google.com/startup/perks); 3) select the Baseten entry and follow its claim/application flow (which lands on Baseten's application form); 4) complete the Baseten application with funding-stage evidence.
Expiry
Google program: GCP credits valid 1 year; Baseten credits: no expiry published. Perks catalog is ongoing; Baseten's figures unchanged in 2025-2026. Some Google-wide perks on the same page carry their own terms (e.g., Google Workspace Business Plus free 12 months requires the company domain not have been on paid Workspace within 31 days).
Gotchas
The Perks page is JS-rendered and could not be fetched directly today — its Baseten entry was verified via the search-provider's full text of cloud.google.com/startup/perks, which matches Baseten's own program page; re-check before acting. Non-starred does not mean automatic: the Baseten application is still selective. Stacked credits (GCP program + Baseten) don't change Baseten's 'net new customer' rule.
Fall Into Inference (Sept-Dec 2025, sunset 2025-12-20): Baseten ran a promo, 'Until December 20, 2025... up to $10,000 of free inference credits' for new Baseten customers (official page baseten.co/talk-to-us/fall-into-inference, acceptance terms last updated 2025-09-02). It has ended and is no longer listed on the current Google Perks page or Baseten's site; as of 2026 the standing offers are only the ~$30 starter credit and the AI Startup Program ($25K/$2.5K). No 2025-2026 change to the Startup Program amounts: both $25K and $2.5K re-confirmed on Baseten's official program page and on cloud.google.com/startup/perks today. No student/education free offer exists for Baseten — no .edu email or education license anywhere; Baseten's program acceptance terms explicitly exclude educational institutions, government entities and nonprofits. Baseten's pricing-page FAQ no longer restates the $30 figure (says only 'new accounts come with credits'), so the exact starter-credit amount rests on Baseten's FAQ/changelog (~$30) and third-party re-verification; minor model deprecations in Sep 2026 do not affect credit programs.