Program

AWS Activate Founders

The easiest AWS credits to get: apply yourself, no investor needed. Expect $1,000 to start; some startups are offered up to $5,000.

AWS Activate Founders is for self-funded and bootstrapped startups with no Activate Provider. $1,000, up to $5,000.

Credits: $1,000 to start, up to $5,000
Funding stage: Self-funded or pre-Series B
Company age: Founded in the last 10 years
AWS account: Paid Tier plan (not Free Tier)
Needs a provider?: No
Cost to apply: Free

At a glance

Credits: $1,000–$5,000
Decision time: 7-10 business days according to the FAQ and step-by-step guide; the main credits page says 5-10 business days. Approved credits appear in the Billing console within 3-4 hours.
Credits last: AWS doesn't publish a fixed term for this tier. Its guidance says credits usually expire within 1-2 years depending on the package. The exact date shows in Billing and Cost Management > Credits, and AWS won't extend it.
Access: Open application

Official application page

01 · Overview

A good fit if you are

Solo founders and bootstrapped teams
Startups not yet in an accelerator or VC portfolio
Teams testing an MVP who need a few months of hosting

Not for

Companies that already received Activate credits of equal or higher value
Government-owned or government-funded organisations
Companies without a working public website

Timeline and terms

Application window: Rolling. Applications are processed in the order received.
Decision time: 7-10 business days according to the FAQ and step-by-step guide; the main credits page says 5-10 business days. Approved credits appear in the Billing console within 3-4 hours.
Credit validity: AWS doesn't publish a fixed term for this tier. Its guidance says credits usually expire within 1-2 years depending on the package. The exact date shows in Billing and Cost Management > Credits, and AWS won't extend it.
Where: Global, except AWS China Regions (separate AWS Activate China program). AWS publishes no other country list for Activate.

Starts at USD 1,000 in Activate Credits. AWS says select participants may qualify for more over time, up to USD 5,000 in total. AWS does not publish the criteria for the extra credits.

What changed recently

2026-06-03/04 (between Wayback snapshots 2026-06-03 18:10 UTC and 2026-06-04 01:53 UTC)
Founders tier changed from a flat USD 1,000 to 'Up to USD 5,000' (start with USD 1,000; select participants may qualify for more up to USD 5,000). Eligibility now reads 'Self-funded' only. Source
2026-01-22
Activate Terms updated: by giving your website URL you authorise AWS to collect public information from it automatically to evaluate your credit application. Source
2026-01-09 to 2026-02-10 (between Wayback snapshots)
Credits page added the requirement that the AWS account be on a Paid plan; Free account plans are not eligible. Source
2025-01 (first seen in snapshot 2025-01-06)
Founders eligibility on the credits page reworded from 'Self-funded or funded pre-series B' to 'Self-funded or pre-Series B (most recent funding round must be within the last 12 months, if applicable)'. Amount stayed at USD 1,000. Source
2024-04-01
Activate Terms updated (version dated April 1, 2024): Activate credits may now offset AWS Marketplace charges for third-party foundation models on Amazon Bedrock. The Feb 28, 2023 version had no such clause. Source

02 · Eligibility

Hard eligibility rules

You must

Self-funded or bootstrapped (no Activate Provider Org ID)
New to AWS Activate Credits, or asking for more credits than previously received
Founded in the last 10 years
Pre-Series B (applies to all Activate tiers)
Fully functioning company website (AWS may collect public information from it automatically to evaluate the application)
AWS account on the Paid plan (Free account plans are not eligible)
AWS Builder ID linked to an active AWS account (admin or root needed to link)
Business email on your startup's domain, used consistently on the Activate profile, the application and the AWS account

Excluded

Government entities (including government-owned or substantially funded organisations and quasi-governmental bodies)
Startups building on AWS China Regions (they're sent to the separate AWS Activate China program)
Accounts on the AWS Free account plan, until upgraded to Paid
Startups that have already received Activate Credits of equal or greater value, or reached the lifetime maximum
Startups funded beyond Series A
A second startup applying from the same AWS account as one that already received credits

Have this ready before you apply

AWS Builder ID (verified by email)
One-time AWS Activate profile
Business email on the startup's domain, matching across profile, application and AWS account
Live, fully functioning company website
AWS account ID on the Paid plan, linked to the Builder ID, plus admin/root access to verify the link
Business information: product, target market, current traction
Funding stage (self-funded) and founding date (within 10 years)
If AWS asks during review (anecdotal): proof of incorporation or registration and a written AWS use case

03 · How to apply

How to apply

1
Create an AWS Builder ID and sign in to the AWS Startups site.
2
Make sure your AWS account is on the Paid Tier plan. Free Tier accounts are not eligible for promotional credits.
3
Check that your company website is live and matches the company name you enter.
4
Apply for the Founders tier, using a company email on your own domain.
5
Track the status on the AWS Startups site. Credits land in the AWS account you chose.

What catches founders out

AWS checks your website automatically. A placeholder or broken site is the most common reason for rejection.
You can only move up: a later application must ask for more than you already received.
Credits don't cover taxes, and they don't cover AWS Marketplace software.
If you join an accelerator later, apply for Portfolio. You don't need to wait for Founders credits to run out.

What founders report Show

Summarised from public founder posts. Anecdotal, not official AWS policy.

Why applications get rejected

'Inconsistencies' between the application and the AWS account: the AWS account email isn't on the startup's domain, the business domain is wrong, a freemail address is used, or the website isn't functional (a founder posted AWS's rejection email listing exactly these fixes)
Generic 'does not meet one or more internal requirements' rejections with no specific reason; founders say AWS later asked for proof of incorporation or registration and a written use case
A landing page alone may not count as a functioning website (one founder's impression)

Approval times reported

'Within a few days' for a USD 1,000 Founders award (personal blog, May 2026)

Gotchas

An application can't be edited after submission; you have to cancel it, unlink the AWS account and reapply
Rejection emails are often generic, and follow-ups to Activate support sometimes go unanswered
Free-plan AWS accounts must be upgraded to Paid before applying

04 · Credits & stacking

What the credits cover

Covered

Over 200 eligible AWS services (AWS's own figure)
Compute, for example Amazon EC2, Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS
Databases, for example Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB
Storage, for example Amazon S3
Networking, for example Amazon CloudFront, Amazon VPC
Amazon Bedrock, including third-party models (OpenAI, Mistral AI, Anthropic, Meta and others)
Data lakes, analytics, IoT (AWS's examples)
AWS Developer, Business and Business Support+ support plans

Not covered

Amazon Mechanical Turk
AWS Managed Services
Ineligible AWS Support: Enterprise Support, Unified Operations, Enterprise On-Ramp, resold support, Partner-Led Support (Activate credits CAN cover Developer, Business and Business Support+ plans)
AWS Marketplace (exception: Activate credits can be used for third-party foundation models on Amazon Bedrock billed via Marketplace)
AWS Professional Services
AWS Training
AWS Certification
Amazon Route 53 domain name registration or transfer
Any services for cryptocurrency mining
Upfront fees for Savings Plans and Reserved Instances (recurring/no-upfront RI and Savings Plan charges are treated like other eligible usage)
Sales, use, gross receipts or similar transaction taxes
Any service not listed as eligible in the AWS Billing and Cost Management console for that credit
Historical bills: credits apply only to charges in or after the billing cycle in which they are applied

Stacking with other credits

Can combine with

Activate Portfolio later (you receive the difference between the new award and what you already got, up to the lifetime cap)
Credits from AWS EdStart or other AWS credit programs (AWS FAQ says these don't affect Activate eligibility)
Activate credits configured for AWS Business Support (separate credit type under the Activate Terms)

Can't combine with

Kiro Startup Credits while you hold current Activate Credits (AWS says Kiro Startup Credits are 'available to eligible startups without current Activate Credits')
A second concurrent Activate application (the smaller one is rejected automatically)
Other AWS promotional offers, unless AWS authorises it (AWS Promotional Credit Terms s.6)

Lifetime cap: AWS refers to a 'maximum lifetime value' of Activate Credits (not counting AWS Support plan credits) but publishes no figure for it. In 2023 the credits page listed 'Have not previously redeemed $100,000 total in AWS Activate credits' as a Portfolio criterion; that wording is gone from current pages.

05 · Alternatives

If this isn't the right program

AWS Activate Portfolio
Up to $200,000 if an accelerator, angel or VC gives you an Org ID.
Fintech and SaaS perks
Banks and tools like Brex or Mercury bundle Activate offers. See the Via section.

Sources

Checked October 2026. AWS can change amounts and rules at any time.

Facts on this page checked against official sources on 2026-10-04.

Questions

How much does AWS Activate Founders give?

It starts at $1,000 in credits. AWS says select startups may qualify for additional credits up to $5,000.

Can I apply without any investors?

Yes. Founders is built for self-funded startups. You don't need an Activate Provider.

Does a Free Tier account qualify?

No. The account must be on the AWS Paid Tier plan to receive promotional credits.

Can I get Founders and Portfolio credits?

You can move up to Portfolio later if you're backed by a provider, as long as you request more than you already received.

Prices and credit amounts are estimates and may change. Check AWS for current terms.