Best offer on record: Netlify Free plan (credit-based, current default). 5 verified findings, checked 2026-10-22.
Offers
Netlify Free plan (credit-based, current default) high confidence
$0/month with a hard 300-credit monthly limit. Confirmed on the official pricing page and docs today: 300 credits/mo, 'You'll never be charged for the Free plan', hard limit means no auto-recharge and no credit packs. At current credit rates (bandwidth 20 cr/GB, production deploys 15 cr each, compute 10 cr/GB-hr, web requests 2 cr/10k) this is ~15GB bandwidth OR ~20 production deploys per month. Includes: unlimited deploy previews, Functions + Edge Functions, AI models, Netlify Database, Blob storage, global CDN, custom domains with SSL, 1 concurrent build, 1-day observability/analytics retention. Sign up on the Free plan for a new account (all new accounts default to credit-based plans as of 9 Sep 2025).
Eligibility
Open to anyone (individual audience). No .edu email, no startup age/funding requirement, no referral. Global. No credit card required to sign up or use — the hard credit limit means there is no billing mechanism and no auto-recharge/add-on purchase path on this tier. New accounts can start on Free without payment details.
How to claim
Sign up at app.netlify.com / netlify.com and select the Free plan, then deploy from Git, AI, or API. No card, no application. Just create an account and push a site.
Expiry
Credits reset monthly; the $0 tier is ongoing (no sunset). If a project exceeds 300 credits it pauses until the next billing cycle instead of charging.
Gotchas
Credit-based, NOT the legacy 100GB/300-build-minute metered plan — do not compare by bandwidth. Unused credits do not roll over. Only 1 concurrent build and 1-day observability retention. Credits-out = project paused (not billed). AI inference is metered separately ('varies by model') and can burn credits faster than static hosting.
Free plan for qualifying open-source projects: 10,000 credits/month, free production deploys, deploy previews on every PR, unlimited team members, and sites stay live even if credits run out (extra credits at Pro rates if needed). This is a genuinely free offer distinct from the 300-credit Free tier.
Eligibility
Project-based, not student/startup-specific. Requirements: OSI-approved (or Creative Commons with attribution/public-domain) license, a Code of Conduct in the repo, a visible 'This site is powered by Netlify' link/badge, and the project must be non-commercial. Commercial projects excluded. No .edu or funding requirement; open to any qualifying OSS project (docs sites, changelogs, issue trackers, team blogs).
How to claim
Apply via the Open Source application form (opensource-form.netlify.com, linked from the open-source page/policy). Netlify reviews the repo (license, CoC, activity) and provisions the plan; approval can take days to a week.
Expiry
Ongoing; renews monthly. Netlify will downgrade (with notice) if the project no longer meets the criteria or the Netlify link is missing.
Gotchas
Non-commercial only — even commercial support/hosting disqualifies. Requires the backlink. It applies to the project/repo, not to individual maintainers. (Secondary source corroborates 10,000 cr/mo confirmed against the policy page.)
Netlify for Startups (VC-backed program) low confidence
Discounted pricing — NOT a free-credit or free-tier offer. Eligible startups receive a discount on Netlify (including AI Gateway and Agent Runners), shared only on approval. It is referral-only: you enter through an accelerator, investor, or partner that works with Netlify.
Eligibility
VC-backed portfolio companies of Netlify's approved venture partners. Referral only — apply through that partner (accelerator/investor), not a self-serve form. Not available to bootstrapped/non-VC startups, and not .edu-based.
How to claim
Ask your VC/accelerator whether they are an approved Netlify partner, then apply through that partner. There is no public self-serve application (the official /startups/ URL currently 404s; details come from a third-party directory).
Expiry
Ongoing, shared on approval; no fixed stated expiry.
Gotchas
It is a discount, not free hosting/credits — do not list it alongside the free tier as a 'free' offer. Requires VC backing and a partner referral. Official page not retrievable today (404), so terms were read from a third-party directory (last checked 11 Oct 2026); verify directly with your investor before relying on specific numbers.
Netlify Creator Program (earn free Pro) high confidence
Secondary reward program, not a student/startup free tier: publish educational blog post or video about Netlify (topics: shipping with AI, Netlify platform, everyone-is-a-developer). Reward per published piece: 3 months of Netlify Pro (at $20/mo value) plus Netlify credits/resources at onboarding and a swag pack.
Eligibility
Content creators who produce original, ready-to-publish, educational content on Netlify. Not gated on .edu or startup status; new and returning creators welcome. Content must be original and not fully AI-generated.
How to claim
Fill in the application form on the Creator Program page (topic, format, audience, links to past work). Editorial team reviews; ~3 weeks pitch-to-publication; accept → onboard → create → publish → receive 3 months of Pro.
Gotchas
Rewards are per published piece, so recurring but requires new content each time. 3 months of Pro is a time-boxed grant, not a permanent free tier. This is a creator incentive, not a student or startup license.
No dedicated student / education license (and no trial credits) high confidence
Netlify has no separate education plan, student discount, .edu-verified license, or one-time trial-credit offer. Netlify support staff have repeatedly stated there is no educational plan; students are directed to the self-serve Free plan or the Open Source plan (for open repos). No .edu requirement anywhere — access is via the universal Free plan.
Eligibility
Not applicable — no such offer exists.
How to claim
No claim mechanism; there is nothing to apply for. Students simply use the $0 Free plan (300 cr/mo, no card) or, for open-source coursework repos, the Open Source plan.
Big 2025-2026 change: the old usage-metered Free/Starter plan (100GB bandwidth, 300 build minutes, 125,000 function invocations, 1M edge invocations, 10GB storage, no card) is now a LEGACY plan. From 4 Sep 2025 all NEW accounts use credit-based plans (Free = 300 cr/mo). Existing legacy accounts keep their old plan but may switch to credit-based (irreversible). So the 'known' free tier was restructured from metered (100GB) to credit-based (300 credits ≈ ~15GB or ~20 deploys). Other timeline: 1 Oct 2025 credit-pack rebalance (Personal 500cr/$5, Pro 1500cr/$10; Pro monthly cut 5000→3000 credits); 17 Apr 2026 Pro = unlimited seats, form submissions made free on all credit plans, meter rates changed (bandwidth 10→20 cr/GB, compute 5→10 cr/GB-hr, web requests 3→2 cr/10k). No student/education program was launched or sunset; one never existed. Startup program is a VC-backed discount (referral-only) and is not a free-credit offer; its official /startups/ page returned 404 today, so specifics come from a third-party directory.