Best offer on record: Startup with IBM credit program (Builder/Premium, up to $120K). 5 verified findings, checked 2026-10-22.
Offers
Startup with IBM credit program (Builder/Premium, up to $120K) high confidence
As of 2026-10-22 the program is no longer publicly available. https://developer.ibm.com/startups/ and its subpages (e.g. /startups/premium/) return 301 redirects to a generic 'IBM Build Partners Technical Group' community page (community.ibm.com), which contains no Startup-with-IBM content, no credit tiers, and no application form. The historical structure was Builder ~$1,000/mo + Premium ~$10,000/mo of IBM Cloud credits over 12 months. The task's claim that the current public offer is a $200 new-account credit plus always-free services is consistent with what the live pages show.
Eligibility
N/A — program appears wound down; no application page exists as of 2026-10-22
How to claim
No longer claimable — application/program pages removed; URLs 301 to generic community group page
Expiry
Program no longer publicly listed as of 2026-10-22 (wind-down observed via redirect of all program subpages)
Gotchas
Do not confuse with other IBM partner programs; the community group it redirects to (IBM Build Partners Technical Group, 961 members, watsonx-tagged) is a general community, not a startup credit program
$200 IBM Cloud new-account credit (30 days) high confidence
New IBM Cloud accounts get USD 200 of general cloud credit usable for 30 days ('Try any IBM Cloud product with $200 in credit to use over the next 30 days'). The 30-day trial also includes 2 GB of runtime and container memory free for 30 days, access to provision up to 10 services, and free help-desk support. This is the current successor offer for startups/individuals now that the Startup program is gone.
Eligibility
New IBM Cloud accounts; credit card NOT required for the 30-day trial. Free-tier signup 'asks for your credit card to verify identity' but you are not charged for free-tier usage. No .edu or startup-age/funding requirements stated; no region limit stated on the page.
How to claim
Sign up at cloud.ibm.com/registration: 'Try IBM Cloud free for 30 days' or 'Get started for free'; credit applies to the account automatically; no promo code needed for the base $200
Expiry
Credit valid 30 days from account creation; trial features last 30 days; always-free products 'never expire'
Gotchas
Trial vs free: $200 credit and the 2 GB memory offer are time-boxed (30 days) and are a trial, not a free tier; always-free (Lite) products are the non-expiring part. Non-Lite usage beyond the credit is billed; CC requested for identity at free-tier signup even though trial needs none.
Always-free IBM Cloud 'Lite' services (40+ products) high confidence
40+ products have an always-free 'Lite' plan with no credit card charge for Lite usage. Documented limits include: Hyper Protect Virtual Server 1 vCPU; IBM Cloudant 1 GB storage; Db2 SaaS 200 MB storage; Event Streams 1 partition; Watson Speech to Text 500 min/mo; Watson Text to Speech 10,000 chars/mo; Watson Language Translator 1,000,000 chars/mo; Watson Assistant 10,000 API calls/mo; API Connect 50,000 calls/mo; Container Registry 5 GB/mo pull; App ID 1,000 events/mo; Watson ML 20 capacity unit-hours; plus free 'Terraform-as-a-service' Schematics, and 30-day trials for Secrets Manager and IBM Cloud Internet Services.
Eligibility
Any IBM Cloud account (free-tier signup asks for a CC to verify identity, but 'you will not be charged for any usage within the free tier' and Lite products 'never expire and you can't be charged for them—ever'); no .edu or startup requirement
How to claim
Create a free IBM Cloud account, then provision services on the 'Lite' plan instead of paid plans; Lite is a plan choice at provisioning time, nothing to apply for
Expiry
Always-free, no expiry for Lite plans; monthly quotas reset on the 1st of each month
Gotchas
Lite instances sleep after 10 days of inactivity and are deleted after 30 days; hitting a monthly cap suspends that service for the rest of the month; egress/data-transfer and any non-Lite (paid) usage is billed normally — 'unlimited inbound' is not guaranteed and Lift CLI is the only page item stating unlimited inbound.
Service-specific promo credits (new accounts) medium confidence
In addition to the base $200, the official free page lists promo credits for new accounts: USD 1,000 IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud; USD 1,000 for 120 days for Bare Metal Servers for VPC (code VPC1000); USD 2,500 for up to 90 days for IBM Power Virtual Server (code POWERVS2500); USD 5,000 for 90 days for Backup & Recovery (code BUYBRS); USD 500 over first 3 months via code TRYCOS; USD 400 for IBM Cloud Logs.
Eligibility
New-account/first-purchase offers; codes suggest claim-at-provisioning; no .edu requirement. Startup- or region-specific restrictions not stated on the page.
How to claim
Cited codes are entered/applied when ordering the corresponding service in a new IBM Cloud account (offer codes like VPC1000, POWERVS2500, BUYBRS, TRYCOS)
Expiry
Per-offer: 30 days (Db2 Warehouse), 120 days (VPC), 90 days (Power Virtual Server, B&R), 3 months (TRYCOS)
Gotchas
These are one-off first-use credits tied to specific services — they don't substitute for the always-free Lite plans; availability of the listed codes may vary by account/region and the page does not spell out redemption mechanics.
IBM SkillsBuild (free education platform, student/faculty/K-12 tracks) high confidence
IBM's education offering is 100% free: skillsbuild.org describes '100% free learning' with courses in AI, cybersecurity, data, cloud, and industry tracks; audience tiers for adult learners, university students/educators (AI projects, 'portfolio-ready projects'), and high-school students/teachers (teacher toolkit, foundation skills). Includes industry-recognized digital credentials, an 'AI Level Up' assessment, and free virtual events. IBM's stated goal: skill 30 million people globally by 2030. This is the main 'education license/free-for-students' substitute that remains — it is free content, not cloud credits, and there is no .edu-gated license today.
Eligibility
Open to anyone (no .edu email requirement stated, no CC required); university and high-school tracks are for students/educators but are publicly accessible
How to claim
Create a free account at skillsbuild.org (or via developer.ibm.com) and take courses/pathways; credentials issued on course completion
Expiry
No expiry — perpetual free access; IBM 'skill 30 million by 2030' commitment is the program horizon
Gotchas
It is learning content, not a cloud-credit offer — do not expect any IBM Cloud compute/storage from it; credential value is 'industry-recognized' but employer-dependent.
- Startup with IBM (historically up to ~$120,000 in IBM Cloud credits via Builder ~$1,000/mo and Premium ~$10,000/mo, 12 months) appears wound down by late 2026: developer.ibm.com/startups/ and /startups/premium/ now 301-redirect to a generic 'IBM Build Partners Technical Group' community page with no program content, tiers, or application path; ibm.com/cloud/startups resolves to a generic products listing with no startup program. The live successor offers are the $200 new-account credit (30 days), the 40+ always-free Lite services, and the service-specific promo credits listed above. Exact sunset date not published on the pages checked today. - No student-specific cloud-credit program (e.g., .edu-gated credits) is publicly listed today; the education free offer is SkillsBuild's 100% free learning platform. - IBM developer learning portal paths such as developer.ibm.com/learn and ibm.com/education now 404; free learning content has consolidated around developer.ibm.com (courses/tutorials/learning paths, all free) and skillsbuild.org.