How to create a free AWS account
You create a free AWS account at aws.amazon.com by signing up with an email address and a payment method — the payment method is for identity verification, not an automatic charge — after which AWS creates a “root user” for that account, which you should immediately secure before doing anything else. The sign-up itself is short, but what you do in the first few minutes afterwards matters more than the sign-up: an unsecured root user and an unwatched budget are the two ways a beginner’s free account goes wrong. Here is the process conceptually, and the steps to take right after.
The sign-up process
The exact screens change from time to time, so treat this as the shape of the process rather than a click-by-click guide — for the current flow, follow AWS’s own sign-up documentation. In outline, it runs:
- Go to the AWS sign-up page and start a new account.
- Provide an email address, an account name, and a payment method — the payment method verifies your identity and is required even for free usage.
- Complete an identity verification step, which typically involves confirming a phone number or code.
- AWS creates your account with a single “root user” tied to that email — the most powerful identity on the account, able to do anything, including close it.
Secure the root user immediately
The root user is not meant for daily use, and leaving it unsecured is the most common early mistake. Do these before anything else:
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on the root user — it is the single highest-value security step available on a brand-new account.
- Create an IAM user for yourself with appropriate permissions, and use that for everyday work instead of the root user (see our guide on what identity and access management is).
- Set a billing budget or alert straight away, so any spend above what you expect notifies you rather than surprising you on a statement.
Why a payment method is needed for “free” usage
It can feel odd to hand over card details for something described as free, but the payment method is AWS’s identity check, not a promise you will be charged. It exists to deter abuse of free accounts and to have a payment instrument on file for anything you use beyond what is included at no cost — it does not mean you are billed automatically for staying within free usage.
What “free” actually covers now
AWS moved new accounts onto a credit-based free plan in 2025, replacing the older always-free and twelve-month-free structure — the details and amounts change, so this is deliberately not the place to quote them. Check AWS’s official Free Tier page for the current terms before you start building, and read it again if it has been a while since you last checked (see our guide on the AWS Free Tier for certification practice for how to use it for study).
Avoiding surprise charges
Beyond the billing alert you set at sign-up, form a habit of shutting down or deleting resources — servers, databases, storage — once you are done experimenting with them, rather than leaving them running. Most surprise AWS bills from beginners are not a single expensive mistake; they are something small left running quietly for weeks after a tutorial finished.
What comes next
Once the account exists and the root user is secured, you have everything you need to start practising hands-on — which is the point of creating the account in the first place. For where to go from here, see our guides on how to learn AWS for free and how to get started with AWS.
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