Best offer on record: Free 'Build' tier for Chat (always-free developer tier). 4 verified findings, checked 2026-10-22.
Offers
Free 'Build' tier for Chat (always-free developer tier) high confidence
Read on the live official pricing page today (2026-10-22). Build = $0/mo, 'No Credit Card Required', 'Makers get higher limits' cross-note. Includes: 1,000 MAU/month, 100 concurrent connections, up to 1M total API calls/mo, up to 100K Query-Channel calls/mo, up to 10 GB API bandwidth/mo; all core Chat features (1:1 DM, group channels, threads, reactions, presence, offline support, push notifications, URL enrichment, Giphy, polls, basic moderation, global edge network) with Community Support. Paid plans for comparison: Start $399/mo (annual) / $499 monthly for 10K MAU; Elevate $599/mo (annual) / $675 monthly.
Eligibility
Anyone, no application, no .edu requirement, no startup age/funding caps, no credit card required, no stated region limits. Just sign up.
How to claim
1) Sign up at getstream.io (email, Google or GitHub). 2) Create a Chat app in the dashboard. 3) Build tier is the default; nothing further to activate. Can build immediately.
Expiry
No expiry; renews monthly; hard caps — exceeding them requires upgrading (or a Maker Account), no auto-billing occurs without a paid plan. Overage rates when on paid plans: MAU $0.09/user, concurrent $0.99, stored messages $5.00/1M, channels $100/1M, API calls $7/1M, QC calls $2.50/100K, API bandwidth $0.40/GB, CDN $0.17/GB egress / $0.07/GB storage.
Gotchas
The previously-known free dev tier (up to 50K MAU / 1M messages/mo) no longer exists — live page caps the free tier at 1,000 MAU (50x cut) and storage/channel limits are 'Limits Apply' (hard caps, not published numeric overage on Build). Build excludes multi-tenancy/Teams, SAML/SSO, HIPAA, AI moderation, campaigns, auto-translation. Push delivery itself is included, but you must wire your own APNs/FCM credentials and third-party egress can add CDN bandwidth cost. Free tier is community support only.
Maker Account — free 'startup program' for small teams ($100/mo free credit for makers) high confidence
Read on the live official maker page today (2026-10-22): 'Stream is free/gratis/complimentary' when you meet all requirements. What you get: Chat — modified Start Plan with ALL Start capabilities but capped at 2,000 MAU and 100 concurrent connections; Activity Feeds — Start Plan; Video & Audio — Build Plan; AI Moderation — Pay-as-you-go with $100 monthly credit; Vision Agents — open source; 'Hard limits - no surprise bills'. Page warns 'availability is limited'. Blog (updated 2025-08-19) adds older concrete figures: Chat 2,000 MAU/mo, Feeds 125K API calls/mo, Video 333K participant-minutes/mo, AI Moderation $100 credits, no credit card required.
Eligibility
All three: five or fewer team members; less than $100k in funding (cumulative raised); less than $10k/month revenue. No .edu or student requirement (solo students qualify as <=5-person 'companies'); no credit card required; no stated region limits, but slots are 'limited' (first-come/availability, not guaranteed).
How to claim
1) Create a Stream account (or new account along the way). 2) Sign in to the Stream dashboard and open getstream.io/maker-account ('Apply Now' routes to dashboard login with ?next=/maker-account). 3) Fill out the brief application form. 4) You can start building immediately while it is reviewed; a 30-day free trial auto-activates and converts to the Maker Account on approval.
Expiry
No published expiration or renewal cycle; benefits are tied to continuing eligibility (team size, funding, revenue). If the company grows past the caps, the free status no longer applies and a paid plan is expected. 30-day trial bridges application review.
Gotchas
Trial-vs-free confusion: during review you run on a 30-day trial, not the maker account, until approval. The modified Chat Start plan keeps only 100 concurrent connections even though MAU doubles to 2,000 — heavy real-time apps will hit the concurrent cap fast. Hard limits mean no overage billing but also no headroom. 'Availability is limited' means approval is discretionary; $100 moderation credit is per-month, not a lump sum; after the credit, AI Moderation is pay-as-you-go.
30-day free trial of paid plans (no credit card) medium confidence
Stream's maker-account blog (updated 2025-08-19) states: applying 'will automatically activate a 30-day free trial (no credit card required) that will be converted to the Maker Account upon approval.' The case-study corpus (e.g., Student+, 2020) also references a Stream 'trial period' for paid products. The dedicated /chat/trial/ URL now 301-redirects to the dashboard signup (dashboard.getstream.io/signup/?product=chat), so the trial is claimed through signup rather than a standalone trial page.
Eligibility
Any new Stream account; no credit card required per the official blog; no .edu requirement; no stated region limits.
How to claim
1) Sign up at getstream.io / dashboard.getstream.io. 2) The 30-day trial of the product plan starts on sign-up/application. 3) On trial end, either the account converts to an approved Maker Account (if eligible) or moves to a paid plan / free Build tier.
Expiry
30 days from activation; converts to Maker Account upon application approval. No auto-renewal stated for the trial itself.
Gotchas
The live marketing pages I read today (pricing, maker) no longer print '30-day trial' language, so the duration comes from the official blog (Aug 2025) rather than a page re-read today — hence medium confidence. Trial != free forever: post-trial you are expected to either be approved for the Maker Account or pay. Credit-card-free claim is stated for the maker/trial path; paid plans generally require payment on checkout.
Student / education license: none exists medium confidence
No .edu-based student program, education discount, or academic license was found on Stream's official pages as of 2026-10-22. The ed-tech solutions page is sales-oriented (for education companies, 'a member of our sales team will be in touch'). Students effectively use the same offers as everyone else: the free Build tier (1,000 MAU) or the Maker Account (students/solo builders qualify: <=5 people, <$100k funding, <$10k/mo revenue). Stream's own June 2025 case study describes a university student shipping an award-winning app on 'free Stream chat APIs' via a plain free account.
Eligibility
N/A — not a distinct offer. Students access the free Build tier (no eligibility) or the Maker Account (same startup/maker caps; no .edu required).
How to claim
N/A — use the Build tier signup or the Maker Account application (dashboard -> getstream.io/maker-account).
Expiry
N/A — follows the underlying Build tier (no expiry) or Maker Account (no published expiry).
Gotchas
Do not expect a .edu login, student discount, or academic pricing; any education deal would be a sales/enterprise conversation, not a self-serve program.