Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Always-Free Tier: What You Actually Get and How to Set Up Your First VM

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s Always Free tier is genuinely one of the most overlooked deals in cloud computing, and it includes real compute you can run indefinitely, not just a 12-month trial. It’s also changed recently in a way worth knowing about before you sign up, so here’s what you actually get today and how to stand up your first VM.

What’s actually in the Always Free tier

Two separate compute allocations, and they work differently:

• AMD-based VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro: up to 2 instances, each with 1/8 OCPU and 1 GB RAM. Small, but genuinely enough to run a lightweight web server, a small database, or a personal project server around the clock, forever, at zero cost. This allocation has not changed.
• ARM-based Ampere A1: this is the one that changed. As of a June 2026 update, the free ARM allocation was reduced from 4 OCPU / 24 GB RAM total to 2 OCPU / 12 GB RAM total, split across up to 4 instances however you like. Enforcement of the new limit for existing over-allocated instances began August 18, 2026, so if you set something up before then based on the old limits, check your current allocation before assuming it’s unchanged.

Alongside compute: 200 GB total block storage, 10 GB object storage, a small Autonomous Database allocation, and an always-free load balancer, all genuinely free with no time limit, not just for a trial period. Always confirm current limits directly on Oracle’s own Always Free Resources page before planning around specific numbers, since this is exactly the kind of thing that gets revised.

AMD E2.1.Micro vs. ARM Ampere A1: which to pick

For most small personal/test workloads, the ARM Ampere allocation is the better choice even after the reduction. 2 OCPU and 12 GB RAM (even split as one bigger instance) meaningfully outperforms two 1/8-OCPU, 1 GB AMD instances for anything beyond a very light static workload. The tradeoff: ARM means some software needs an ARM-compatible build, which is a non-issue for most modern Linux distros and containerized workloads, but worth checking for anything with a niche or legacy dependency.

Setting up your first VM, step by step

1. Sign up at cloud.oracle.com. A credit card is required for identity verification even for the free tier, but you won’t be charged unless you explicitly move to paid resources.
2. From the console, go to Compute → Instances → Create Instance.
3. Under Image and Shape, choose your OS image (Ubuntu and Oracle Linux are both common choices with good default support) and select either the VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro shape or an VM.Standard.A1.Flex (Ampere) shape sized within your current free allocation.
4. Under Networking, let it create a new VCN (Virtual Cloud Network) if this is your first instance. The defaults are reasonable for a first deployment.
5. Under Add SSH Keys, upload your public key (or generate a new pair and download the private key immediately, since it’s shown only once).
6. Create the instance, then note its public IP address once it’s running.
7. Connect: ssh -i /path/to/your/key [email protected] (the default username depends on the image: ubuntu for Ubuntu images, opc for Oracle Linux).

The one thing that trips up almost everyone the first time: the firewall

A fresh OCI instance is unreachable on any port other than SSH by default, and unlike some other clouds, there are two layers to open, not one:

# 1. OCI's own Security List / Network Security Group (done in the console):
#    Networking > Virtual Cloud Networks > your VCN > Security Lists >
#    add an Ingress Rule for the port you need (e.g. TCP 80/443)

# 2. The instance's own OS-level firewall:
sudo iptables -I INPUT 6 -m state --state NEW -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT   # Oracle Linux (iptables-based)
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp                                                        # Ubuntu (if ufw is active)

Forgetting the OS-level rule after opening the cloud-level one (or vice versa) is the most common reason a freshly-deployed web server “isn’t reachable,” since both need to allow the port, not just one.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Always Free tier actually free forever, or does it convert to paid after a trial period?
It’s genuinely ongoing, separate from the $300, 30-day free trial credit Oracle also offers new accounts. The Always Free resources remain free indefinitely as long as you stay within the current limits, the trial credit is a separate, time-limited bonus on top.

Can I run a real production workload on the free tier?
For something genuinely small (a personal blog, a side project, a learning environment, a lightweight monitoring endpoint) it’s more than capable, and precisely the kind of setup this is well suited for. For anything with meaningful traffic or availability requirements, treat it as a starting point to prototype on rather than your final production sizing.