What is a free trial
A free trial is a benefit that Alibaba Cloud offers to new users, including both individuals and enterprises. It is designed to help you gain hands-on experience with cloud products or solutions before you purchase them. This makes it easier to understand and familiarize yourself with our services.
Free trials come in two types: product trials and solution trials:
Product trials cover many products in areas such as computing, storage, networking, databases, and artificial intelligence.
Solution free trials offer technical solutions and trial benefits for specific business scenarios. This helps you complete a Proof of Concept (POC) and make business decisions.
The detailed rules for free trials are as follows:
Product free trial rules
For details about the rules, duration, available products, and resource specifications for product free trials, visit the Free Trial page. Check the product card for the latest information.
Solution free trial rules
Solution free trial benefits are provided as trial points. Use trial points to cover the cost of resources created when you try a solution.
Solution free trials and product free trials are separate benefits. Using a solution free trial does not affect your eligibility for a product free trial.
1. Eligibility
Alibaba Cloud users who meet all the following conditions:
Be a registered Alibaba Cloud user.
Have complete user information, including a security phone number and payment method.
Have no overdue payments on your account.
2. Trial rules
Application and incentive rules
Solution free trial benefits are provided as trial points. Trial points are your credit for trying solutions for free. When you deploy a solution in free trial mode, trial points cover the cost of the resources. The number of initial trial points required varies by solution. Refer to the specific solution page for details.
Eligible users can claim an initial 50 trial points once on the deployment page of any solution that supports free trials. Each user can claim these points only once.
Incentive trial points: When you complete a free trial of a solution for the first time and pass the deployment check, you can get 5 incentive trial points. You can receive this incentive only once per solution. You can receive this incentive up to 10 times, for a total of 50 points.
The validity period of trial points starts from the top of the hour when you claim them and lasts for 1 year. For example, if you claim 50 trial points at 10:05:04 on May 1, 2026, the points become valid at 10:00:00 on May 1, 2026, and expire at 10:00:00 on May 1, 2027. If you receive 5 incentive trial points at 11:00:00 on May 1, 2026, those points become valid at 11:00:00 on May 1, 2026, and expire at 11:00:00 on May 1, 2027. We will notify you by email and internal message before your trial points expire.
Free trial operation rules
Cloud product resources in a solution free trial are created under a dedicated trial account. They can only be used for the current solution's trial and not for other commercial purposes. Do not upload personal data, sensitive information, or business secrets to the trial resources.
During a solution free trial, you can select the trial duration based on the solution's content, but you must ensure your account has enough trial points. Each trial for a solution cannot exceed 168 hours. If the duration is insufficient, you can extend the trial, provided you have enough trial points and the total trial duration does not exceed 168 hours.
During the free trial, follow the instructions in the user guide. Do not perform operations that are not described in the guide.
When you end the trial, when the trial period expires, or when your trial point balance reaches zero, the trial resources are released. The trial account is then destroyed, and all trial data is deleted.
To deploy a solution to your own Alibaba Cloud account, select the option to deploy directly without a free trial. You are responsible for the costs of all resources required for the deployment.
A user cannot try more solutions at the same time than the specified limit. A user also cannot try the same solution more times than the specified limit. For specific limits, refer to the information on the page.
Free trial resources are for the trial account holder's use only and cannot be transferred.
Trial point deduction rules
Trial points are credits used exclusively for Alibaba Cloud solution free trials. They cover the cost of resources created when you learn about and validate a solution.
Trial points are deducted at a 1:1 ratio against the cost in U.S. dollars, based on the actual bills for the resources used during the free trial. The initial estimated point consumption for each solution is for reference only. For the billing rules of each cloud product, see the Product Pricing page.
Trial points are deducted according to the product's billing cycle. Because different products have different billing cycles, trial points may be continuously deducted during the trial, or deductions may continue after the trial has ended.
If you have acquired trial points at different times, the points acquired earliest are deducted first.
Other rules
Alibaba Cloud reserves the right to adjust the scope of solutions, number of trial points, configurations, and rules for free trials at any time as needed. The information displayed on the page when you start a trial is the most current. However, adjustments to the rules will not affect any benefits you have already received.
Do not use trial resources for cryptocurrency mining or any other illegal activities. Do not browse, publish, or share any illegal content or content that infringes on the rights of others in the trial environment. If you violate these rules, Alibaba Cloud reserves the right to revoke your benefits and cancel your trial eligibility.
To ensure fairness, if you attempt to circumvent the rules or gain unfair advantages through dishonest means such as cheating, fraud, network attacks, or fake transactions, Alibaba Cloud reserves the right to take action. This includes stopping your current trial, resetting your trial points, canceling your trial eligibility, and revoking fraudulent transactions. If necessary, Alibaba Cloud may also pursue legal action.
How to apply for a free trial
Apply for a product free trial
Log on to the Alibaba Cloud official website and go to the Free Trial page.
Find the product you want to try and follow the on-screen instructions to activate the cloud resource and grant authorization.
After the trial starts successfully, you can view the trial instance and related information in the console.
Apply for a solution free trial
Log on to the Alibaba Cloud official website, go to the Technical Solutions channel, and find a solution that supports free trials.
Go to the solution deployment page and click the Claim and Try button to receive your free trial points. Each user can claim points only once. The trial points are valid for one year after you claim them.
Click Try Now. The system creates a trial account, trial resources, and a trial environment for you. These are for your use during the trial period. Do not use trial resources for actual production workloads. After the trial ends, the trial account is destroyed and the trial resources are automatically released.
Manage free trials
Log on to the Billing and Cost Management console to view and manage your product free trials and solution trial points.
Manage product free trials
Log on to the Billing and Cost Management console. In the navigation pane on the left, click Benefits > My Trials. On the Service Free Trial tab, view and manage your free trial instances.
Manage solution trial points
Log on to the Billing and Cost Management console. In the navigation pane on the left, click Benefits > My Trials. Go to the Solution Trial tab to view information about your trial points, such as how they were acquired, your balance, expiration dates, and transaction history.
Frequently asked questions
Solution free trials
Why can't I start a trial?
If you cannot claim trial points, refer to the on-screen message for the specific reason.
You can also check the following conditions:
Check if your user information is complete.
Each user can only claim trial points once. Check if another account of the same individual has already participated.
Check if your account has any overdue payments.
If you have checked all the above and still cannot start a trial, contact our customer service staff.
Are solution free trials limited to one per individual?
Yes. Accounts of the same individual are identified by associated information during registration, logon, and use. If different Alibaba Cloud accounts share the same ID document, phone number, or email address, Alibaba Cloud considers them to be accounts of the same individual. Only one of these accounts can be used to claim trial points.
How can I view my trial point information and usage?
Using the account that claimed the trial points, go to My Trials - Solution Trial to view your trial point balance, expiration date, transaction history, and more.
If I don't use all my trial points this year, can they be carried over to next year?
No. Trial points are valid for one year and cannot be used after they expire.
I ran out of trial points during my trial. Can I buy more?
Trial points can only be obtained through the initial claim or by earning "incentive trial points" from your first free trial of a solution. There is currently no way to purchase them.
I ran out of trial points. Can I pay to try a new solution to get "incentive trial points"?
You can only earn "first deployment incentive trial points" by trying a solution for free for the first time. You cannot earn them by paying for a trial.
I don't have enough trial points. Can I use my remaining points and pay the difference?
No. When you start a solution trial, you must choose to either deploy using trial points or deploy by paying. You cannot combine both methods. For example, if solution A requires X trial points and your account only has X-5 points, you cannot use trial points for a free deployment. You can click "Do not participate in free trial, deploy directly" on the right to pay for the deployment.
How do I shut down or release a trial instance?
After you complete all operations on the deployment page, click "End Trial" in the upper-right corner. Alternatively, follow the user guide to manually release all instances and resources activated during the trial.
I accidentally released a trial instance. How can I get it back?
Released instances cannot be recovered. Trial resources are for a one-time experience only. Do not upload important data to trial resources.
After a trial instance is released, can I try it again?
Yes. If you release a trial product instance and have enough trial points, you can use more points to try the same solution again. However, you cannot exceed the maximum trial frequency for that solution.
After releasing a trial instance, can I try the same solution again and get "first deployment incentive trial points"?
No. You can only get "first deployment incentive trial points" the first time you try a solution.
When do trial points expire?
Trial points become valid at the top of the hour when you claim them and expire after one year. You can also check the status of expiring trial points on the My Trials - Solution Trial page in the Billing and Cost Management console.
Can I extend the validity period of my trial points?
The validity period of trial points cannot be extended.
After the trial expires, can I pay to keep the trial resources?
Trial resources are for POC use only and are isolated from production environments. You cannot pay to keep trial resources.
Why did I get a 'resource creation failed' error after starting a free trial with trial points?
If a product for the current solution is unavailable in a specific availability zone, some resources may fail to be created. You can try again later or try a different solution.
Why were some trial points deducted even though I received a 'resource creation failed' error?
If a product for the current solution is unavailable in a specific availability zone, some resources may fail to be created. Because a solution involves multiple products, trial points may be deducted for the resources that were successfully created.
You can submit a ticket to contact our engineers for assistance.
I started a trial and realized the duration is not long enough. Can I extend it?
Yes. If the duration is not sufficient, you can click the Extend button in the upper-right corner within 30 minutes before the trial ends. You must have enough trial points in your account to extend the trial, and the total trial duration cannot exceed 168 hours.
Why is the 'Start Trial' button grayed out and unclickable?
Check the text displayed below the button, or contact our customer service staff.