oracle-cloud-free-tier-guide

oracle-cloud-free-tier-guide.md

how to leverage oracle's temping offers

free tier limits

The limits of the free tier say that you can create up to 4 instances.

• x2 x86 instances (2core/1g)
• x2 ampere instances (with 4core/24g spread between them)
• 200GB total boot volume space across all intances (minimum of 50G per instance)

create your account

The first step is to create your oracle cloud account here: https://signup.cloud.oracle.com/

You will need a valid credit card for signup, "We do not accept virtual cards or prepaid cards. We accept credit cards and debit cards only."

login

Log into your new account you created above.

create a vm instance

On the home screen, there should be a hamberger button in the top left. Click it, and the resource pane opens. Select "Compute" and then "Instances".

Click on the "Create instance" button on the next page.

name & region

Enter a name for your instance. Then give the form a second to autofill, and a region should be selected with the "Always Free-eligible" badge to the right.

shape

Click "edit" next to "Image and Shape", and then "Change shape".

x86

To create an instance with an x86 based processor, just leave everything default and click "Select shape".

arm

To create an instance with an arm processor, select "Ampere" and then check the box next to "VM.Standard.A1.Flex".

Then you are given a CPU and Memory slider. You have 4 cores and 24G to use between your (max of) 2 instances. You can give one instance all 4 cores and 24G or make two instances with a variable size.

image

Click on "Change image" next.

This choice is personal preference. Choose the Image Name, OS, and Build based on what you need.

Then click "Select image" at the bottom.

networking

I usually don't change any defaults here, but you can at your discretion.

ssh keys

Next, under the ssh section, select "paste public keys" and paste in your public key (normally found in ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub in most *nix like systems). You can also upload that file, or generate a key-pair from within the options.

boot volume

Most of the time this section can be left as default.

You have 200G of disk space in the free tier, and if you use up 4 VMs then the minimum disk size of 50G (the default) is fine. If you plan to make fewer instances than 4, you can adjust the size as needed.

deploy

You will be dropped to a loading screen, and after a few it will turn green and display a public ip that you can now ssh with the username ubuntu and the private key of the public one you specified above.

ssh [email protected]

Is it still working for you? I'm trying that in Brazil region, and if I create the ARM instance, it say's Always Free Eligible, but after created, it doesn't show the "Always Free" badge.

same to me. india Region-A1 shape--2C-12GB Ram-does n't show the "Always Free" badge.

Hello @rssnyder ,
I hope you are doing well. Is your oracle cloud still working in 2025 and what are the services or tools you have used or tested so far. As I went through other comments, docker seems to have issue in ARM instance. If oracle generously allow me to create an account, then I will likely to use it as remote desktop for all my daily use and install few services like keypass, few custom scripts and cron jobs.

@TonyTornCity and others, the OCI always-free tier continues to work for me without issue since 2019. I have created x86 and ARM instances, yes sometimes a region may be out of capacity, so you have to try another region or come back at another time.

I am also using the free managed kubernetes offering and blob storage for free, and have never been charged.

@rssnyder, if possible, could you please share a guide on how to setup kubernetes, your own or what you had followed when you set it up. Or we can refer any guide over internet or from AI agent's help.

@TonyTornCity what about https://github.com/robinlieb/terraform-oci-free-tier-kubernetes

Hello @rssnyder , I hope you are doing well. Is your oracle cloud still working in 2025 and what are the services or tools you have used or tested so far. As I went through other comments, docker seems to have issue in ARM instance. If oracle generously allow me to create an account, then I will likely to use it as remote desktop for all my daily use and install few services like keypass, few custom scripts and cron jobs.

hi All
i confirm it still working in 2025 (did mine on July 7). but as @Blfrg said you need to go through PAY-AS-GO and bam it will work

Hi @rssnyder, @cjedro , hi all
Thanks for all this guide.
Can you, (or anyone) also please share is experience /info about the type of workload that "he have been able / could be run" with it's setup?
@rssnyder -- x2 Ampere Instances ?
@cjedro -- cluster of 4 nodes: one control plane and three worker nodes. Each node uses the Arm-based Ampere A1 core and 6 GM of memory ?
Anyone else workload's experience ? (will be welcome)
I think it's wiil be a plus in addition to this guide to better plan a setup on OCI's free tier
Thanks

Hi, @DevinNorgarb I suspect that there was a miner in my docker setup (docker from the official hub, I didn't realize that it was there), so they just blocked the whole account without any warnings. Forever and ever, without access to any data on the VPC and no the reason information. So, just remember that.

hi @DevinNorgarb
Please what did you men by there was a mine?
This may help others (me included) avoid facing this issue.
Thanks

Hi, @DevinNorgarb I suspect that there was a miner in my docker setup (docker from the official hub, I didn't realize that it was there), so they just blocked the whole account without any warnings. Forever and ever, without access to any data on the VPC and no the reason information. So, just remember that.

hi @DevinNorgarb Please what did you men by there was a mine? This may help others (me included) avoid facing this issue. Thanks

Double-check the Docker images you plan to use before deploying to Oracle Cloud. You could try running the containers locally first to see if any have heavy resource consumption, which might indicate hidden miners.