Startup Cloud Credits in India: AWS Activate, Microsoft for Startups and Google for Startups Compared

Three cloud providers run startup credit programmes that Indian founders ask about most: AWS Activate, Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub and the Google for Startups Cloud Program. They look alike from a distance, but the rules differ in ways that decide whether you can apply at all. This guide compares them using only what each provider says on its own pages. We checked those pages on 14 November 2026. Credit amounts and eligibility change often, so treat every figure below as a snapshot and confirm it on the provider's page before you plan around it.

The short answer

All three programmes are applied for by the startup itself, and each provider decides who gets credits. A consultancy cannot approve, speed up or guarantee them. What a partner can do is help you prepare a clean application and then build and run the workloads that the credits pay for. That is the only role ROSTAN Technologies plays here.

AWS Activate

AWS describes two routes on its Activate credits page:

• Activate Founders is for bootstrapped or self-funded startups. You start with $1,000 in credits, and select participants may qualify for up to $5,000.
• Activate Portfolio is for pre-Series B startups and offers up to $200,000. You apply using an Organization ID from an Activate Provider, such as an accelerator, angel investor or VC firm.

AWS lists these eligibility points: pre-Series B, founded within the last 10 years, an AWS account on a paid tier plan, and either new to Activate credits or requesting more than you received before. You apply with an AWS Builder ID created with a professional email, choose your tier, give product, funding and company details, and link or create an AWS account. AWS says you will hear back within 5 to 10 business days.

DPIIT and Startup India. Many Indian founders ask whether DPIIT recognition is required. AWS's credits page does not mention DPIIT or Startup India at all, so we cannot tell you it is or is not part of the process. If you are DPIIT-recognised, check the Startup India pages and the AWS page for the current position. Our own AWS startup credits guide walks through the application as AWS describes it.

Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub

Microsoft sets out the process on its application page on Microsoft Learn.

• Credits on joining: $200 in Azure credits if you apply without an investor referral code, or $1,000 in starter credits with a 10-character referral code from an investor, accelerator or VC in Microsoft's Investor Network. Microsoft says Investor Network startups may be eligible for up to $150,000 in startup credits.
• More credits later: Microsoft says additional credits (up to $150,000) can unlock based on factors such as business verification, service adoption and usage. Our Azure startup credits guide lists the milestones as Microsoft publishes them.
• Who is not eligible: companies that are not privately held and for-profit, that have raised Series C or later, that have received more than $350,000 in lifetime free Azure credits, or that are an educational institution, government organisation, consultancy or agency.
• How you sign up: with a personal consumer email address on a Microsoft account. Microsoft says work, school and company-domain emails are not accepted. Without a referral code you verify with your personal LinkedIn profile.
• Review time: Microsoft says it reviews applications within three business days.

Microsoft also notes that if your country or region is not listed in the sign-up flow, the offer is not available there. Confirm that in the flow itself.

Google for Startups Cloud Program

Google publishes the programme on its Google for Startups Cloud Program page. On the day we checked, the page described a Grow and Scale tier for startups with pre-seed to Series A funding, founded within the last three to five years, with credits shown as up to $100,000 in year one, or up to $250,000 for AI startups, plus a 20% credit on spend in year two. It also listed a lighter tier aimed at bootstrapped and self-funded builders that did not state a credit amount.

The page lists requirements such as a working MVP, a verified company domain, a Google Cloud account with a billing ID, a company email address matching your public website, and not having previously received more than $5,000 in Google Cloud credits. It excludes dev shops, consultancies and agencies, and says Google Cloud makes the final decision. Tiers, wording and numbers on Google's page change, so check Google's page for the current terms rather than relying on this summary.

Side-by-side

Figures checked on 14 November 2026. Amounts change, so confirm on each provider's page.

How to choose

• Start with your stack, not the biggest number. Credits are only useful against services you will really run. Moving a workload to chase credits can cost more than the credits save.
• Look at your funding status honestly. A bootstrapped team and a funded one are routed differently by AWS, and an investor code changes the Microsoft starting point.
• Read the exclusions first. If you are a services business, Microsoft and Google both exclude consultancies and agencies.
• Plan for the day credits end. Microsoft says the subscription converts to pay-as-you-go when credits are used or expire. Know your expected monthly bill before then.

Where ROSTAN fits

We do not issue, approve or guarantee credits, and we cannot influence a provider's decision. If you want help, we can check your documents and answers before you apply, and design and build the workloads that run on the credits. See our guides for AWS startup credits and Azure startup credits.

Written & reviewed by

Virender Kumar

Head of Cloud & Database, ROSTAN Technologies

Virender Kumar leads the cloud and database practice at ROSTAN Technologies, covering Oracle Database administration, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and enterprise cloud migration. More from Virender →