Oracle Cloud's Always Free tier is hard to rely on: free Arm capacity in your home region can run out, and Oracle's Always Free page now lists 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of Arm compute (checked 31 October 2026), not the 4 OCPUs and 24 GB older guides mention. Here are the best alternatives in 2026, with each provider's terms checked on its own page on 31 October 2026.
Why Oracle Cloud Free Tier Is Hard to Get
Oracle's free Ampere A1 ARM allowance is 1,500 OCPU hours and 9,000 GB hours a month, which Oracle equates to 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of memory, and it only runs in the home region you pick at sign-up. When that region has no free capacity left, you get an "out of host capacity" error; Oracle's FAQ says new capacity can take several days. Most users need a credit card and a mobile phone number to sign up, and Oracle may reclaim Always Free instances that stay idle (CPU at the 95th percentile, network and, on A1, memory use all under 20% over seven days).
Alternatives
| Provider | Free Tier | RAM | CPU | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Cloud | Always Free Ampere A1 (capacity depends on your home region) | 12 GB total | 2 OCPUs ARM | DevOps, bots |
| Google Cloud | $300 credit for 90 days, plus one e2-micro VM a month in three US regions | Varies | Varies | Trial projects |
| AWS | Up to $200 in credits on the Free plan (6 months) | Varies | Varies | Learning |
| Azure | $200 credit (30 days), plus 12 months of free amounts on popular services | Varies | Varies | Trial projects |
| Space-Node VPS-S | 4.99 EUR/mo (Standard; Premium starts at €4.20/month) | 4 GB | 3 vCores | Bots, small servers |
| Space-Node Discord Bot (Growth) | 0.50 EUR/mo | 512 MB | Full speed, no throttle | Discord bots |
Terms and prices as of 31 October 2026; the links to each provider's page are under Sources.
For Discord Bots
Space-Node's free Starter plan (64 MB RAM, 1 GB storage) is not available right now. The cheapest bot plan you can order is Growth: 0.50 EUR/month for 512 MB RAM and 10 GB NVMe storage, billed 3.00 EUR every 6 months plus a one-time 0.50 EUR setup fee on the 6 month and 1 year terms (as of 31 October 2026).
For Minecraft Servers
Free options come with limits: Minehut servers sleep when nobody is online, and Aternos is financed by advertising (both checked on their own sites on 31 October 2026). A low-cost paid option: Space-Node MC Coal at 2.70 EUR/month with 3 GB RAM and NVMe SSD for Minecraft up to 1.20.4, or MC Iron at 3.60 EUR/month with 4 GB for 1.21 and newer (as of 31 October 2026). Both run 24/7 without a sleep mode.
For Web Hosting and Dev Projects
- AWS Free Tier (new accounts get up to $200 in credits; a Free plan account closes after 6 months or when the credits run out, unless you upgrade to the Paid plan)
- Google Cloud trial ($300 credit for 90 days) and its Free Tier e2-micro VM in us-west1, us-central1 or us-east1
- Hetzner Cost-Optimized CX23 (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe) from €5.99 a month excl. VAT; on 31 October 2026 Hetzner's page marked every Cost-Optimized plan as not available
- Space-Node VPS-S (4.99 EUR/month on Standard; Premium VPS-S is 8.40 EUR/month)
- Space-Node web hosting for a website or WordPress blog: DirectAdmin and free SSL from 2.49 EUR/month
FAQ
Is Oracle Cloud Always Free still available? Yes. Oracle still offers Always Free services, with Ampere A1 compute listed as 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of memory (checked 31 October 2026). Capacity in your home region can run out, and Oracle then shows an "out of host capacity" error.
What is the cheapest alternative to Oracle Cloud? For a Discord bot, Space-Node's Growth plan costs 0.50 EUR/month; the free Starter plan is not available right now. A VPS starts at 4.20 EUR/month (Premium VPS-XS, 2 GB RAM); the Standard VPS-S is 4.99 EUR/month for 4 GB RAM. Prices as of 31 October 2026.
Can I run a Minecraft server on the free tier? Yes, a small Java Edition server runs on Oracle's free ARM instance, within the 2 OCPU and 12 GB limit. Mojang's Bedrock Dedicated Server needs an Intel or AMD processor, so it does not run on A1. Our Oracle Cloud Minecraft guide has the setup.
If you want a VPS without the capacity lottery, check out Space-Node VPS plans starting at 4.20 EUR/month with NVMe storage and DDoS protection included. Premium VPS plans (Ryzen 9 9950X) and Standard VPS plans (AMD EPYC 7452) can both be ordered now (31 October 2026).
Related: Oracle Cloud VPS review and limits, Best free Minecraft hosting
Sources
All opened on 31 October 2026:
- Oracle: Always Free Resources, Free Tier overview, Oracle Cloud Free Tier, Free Tier FAQ
- Google Cloud: Free program, Free Trial and Free Tier details
- AWS: AWS Free Tier
- Azure: Azure free account
- Hetzner: Cost-Optimized cloud plans
- Free Minecraft hosts: Minehut, Aternos
- Mojang: Bedrock Dedicated Server requirements