Startup Credits in India: AWS, Google, Zoho 2027

Quick answer: A bootstrapped Indian startup should begin with AWS Activate Founders (starts at USD 1,000, up to USD 5,000); a funded one can go for Activate Portfolio (up to USD 200,000) or the Google for Startups Cloud Program (up to USD 350,000 over two years). On the software side, Zoho for Startups wallet credits run for 360 days but come through incubators, and HubSpot for Startups cuts year-one pricing by 30 to 90 per cent. Get DPIIT recognition first.

How we researched this: We read the AWS Activate credits page, Google Cloud's startup programme page and its FAQ, Microsoft's India startups page, Zoho's startup programme page and FAQ, the HubSpot for Startups page, Freshworks' published startup programme terms and the Startup India recognition page. All were checked in October 2026. Credit amounts are quoted in the currency each vendor uses, and programme rules change often, so confirm on the vendor's page before you apply.

Three kinds of "startup offer", and why the difference matters

Most founders lump every startup perk together, but the form decides how you plan your spending.

• Cloud credits (AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure) are prepaid balances in US dollars that burn down against your usage bill. They help only if you were going to run servers anyway.
• Wallet credits (Zoho) are a balance you spend on Zoho subscriptions, with a fixed expiry.
• Percentage discounts (HubSpot, Freshworks) reduce the price of a specific plan, usually on a schedule that steps back up to full price.

The first two behave like cash with a deadline; the third behaves like a staircase. Misread which one you are getting and you will either let credits lapse or be surprised by a full-price invoice.

Here is the side-by-side, using each vendor's own wording as checked in October 2026.

Step zero: DPIIT recognition from Startup India

Almost every programme above asks, directly or indirectly, whether you are a real startup. In India the cleanest proof is the DPIIT certificate. The Startup India recognition page sets out the test: the entity must be a Private Limited Company, Partnership Firm, Limited Liability Partnership or Cooperative Society; turnover must be below INR 200 crore in any previous financial year (INR 300 crore for DeepTech); the entity counts as a startup for up to 10 years from incorporation (20 for DeepTech); and it must be working on innovation or improvement of products, services or processes. A business formed by splitting up or reconstructing an existing one does not qualify.

Two practical points follow. First, a sole proprietorship is not among the entity types the page lists, so a one-person trading firm that runs on a GST registration alone cannot take this route. Second, applications go through the National Single Window System (nsws.gov.in), where you add the "Registration as a Startup" form.

The same certificate also lets a recognised Private Limited or LLP apply under Section 80 IAC of the Income Tax Act for a tax holiday on three consecutive financial years out of its first ten; your CA should decide whether that is worth pursuing. A Private Limited is also the entity that cap table and ESOP tools are built around, so the structure choice carries into later funding rounds.

AWS Activate: three tiers, one fork in the road

Amazon Web Services runs the clearest tier table of the three clouds, and the fork is simple: are you self-funded or investor-backed?

Activate Founders is for bootstrapped companies. AWS says you start with USD 1,000 in credits and select participants can qualify for up to USD 5,000. You apply directly.

Activate Portfolio is for Pre-Series B startups and offers up to USD 200,000. You need an Organization ID from an Activate Provider, which AWS describes as an accelerator, angel investor or venture capital firm. If your investor is not an Activate Provider, this tier is closed to you until they join, so ask them before you plan around it.

AWS Credits for AI Startups is invite-only, for companies ready to scale after Activate Portfolio, at USD 200,000 or more, and goes through your AWS account manager. You cannot apply for it cold.

The general conditions on the page are: pre-Series B, founded within the last 10 years, an AWS account on a paid tier plan, and either new to Activate Credits or asking for more than you received before. The paid tier requirement catches people out, so check your account's plan before you submit.

The application has four steps on AWS's page: create an AWS Builder ID with a professional email, choose the credit tier, describe your product and funding stage, then link your AWS account and submit. AWS says you will hear back within 5 to 10 business days. The page also mentions Kiro Startup Credits for eligible startups that do not currently hold Activate Credits.

All Activate credits are in USD and subject to the AWS Promotional Credit Terms and Conditions. Those terms, not the headline number, say which services the credits cover and when they expire, so read them before you design your architecture around the balance. When the balance runs low, the guide on reducing AWS hosting costs in India is the next stop.

Google for Startups Cloud Program: the funding-type trap

Google Cloud Platform offers the biggest headline: up to USD 350,000 in cloud credits over two years for startups at Pre-Seed to Series A founded within the last 3 to 5 years. Google's FAQ, though, contains the clause that matters most for Indian founders. It says non-venture funding such as private equity, bank loans, government innovation programmes, grants, crowdfunding, or friends and family does not qualify for the Scale tier, though the startup may be evaluated for other tiers.

So the founder who raised a seed round from an angel is in a different position from the one who funded the company with a bank loan and family savings. For the second founder, the realistic target is the Start tier (USD 2,000), which Google describes for startups founded in the past two years with a working MVP, a clear business model and plans to seek venture funding soon.

Application rules from Google's FAQ that trip people up:

• Your business email domain must match your startup's public website domain.
• The Google Cloud account and billing account must be owned and administered by a user on that domain.
• You need the 18-character Google Cloud billing account ID, because credits are deposited into the account you select.
• The website must be live and describe your team and product. Google says it screens for sites that look AI-generated and may reject applications with a high volume of such content.
• The usual response time is 5 to 7 days; applications with missing information can take 10 days or more.

On what the credits cannot buy: Google says they apply to most Google-built Cloud products billed pay-as-you-go, not to subscription-billed products, and not to third-party products bought through Model Garden or Google Cloud Marketplace. Workspace, Maps Platform and Ads are handled through separate credits or discounts. The Scale benefits listed on the programme page include 12 months of Google Workspace Business Plus at no extra cost, which matters if you were about to pay for Google Workspace; the Google Workspace versus Microsoft 365 comparison shows what you would otherwise spend.

Google also excludes dev shops, consultancies and agencies outright, so an Indian IT services firm should not spend a week on this application.

Microsoft for Startups, in brief

Microsoft Azure has its own route. Microsoft's India startups page advertises access to AI models, developer tools and up to USD 150,000 in credits, and says to sign up if you have an investor referral code or want to start building with Azure. The page does not lay out tier-by-tier conditions the way AWS does, so treat the figure as a ceiling and read the terms at sign-up. Running two clouds just to chase credits adds engineering cost, so apply where your team already has skills.

For hosting that does not need hyperscaler credits at all, VPS and cloud hosting in India covers cheaper options for early-stage apps.

Zoho, HubSpot and Freshworks: credits for the business side

Cloud credits fund your product. These programmes fund the tools you run the company with: CRM, books, support desk.

Zoho for Startups

Per Zoho's page, eligible startups receive Zoho Wallet Credits that can buy any of its 55+ integrated applications, suites, upgrades, add-ons and monthly renewals. The credits are valid for 360 days from when Stage 1 is enabled and cannot be extended, refunded or cashed out. Stage 2 adds more credits for startups that host their domain email with Zoho, and the domain setup has to happen within 15 days of receiving Stage 1. Zoho Workplace and Zoho Mail cannot be bought with Stage 2 credits. Validation takes five to seven business days.

The eligibility is where Indian founders need care. The business must be a new or free Zoho user with no paid history and no earlier Zoho One or Wallet Credits. The page lists registration with a Zoho collaborator (an incubator or accelerator) or DPIIT recognition, but its FAQ states the programme is currently open only to startups associated with collaborators. It also says a startup holding only a Udyam (MSME) registration does not qualify. The practical step is to ask your incubator whether it is a Zoho collaborator before you create the account. The amount of credit is shown on Zoho's application flow, so we do not quote one here.

This programme pairs naturally with Zoho One, Zoho CRM and Zoho Books. One unwelcome fact from the FAQ: there are no special discounts on renewal after the wallet credits expire, so price the full-rate year before you commit your data. The Zoho CRM pricing guide lists what that full rate looks like.

HubSpot for Startups

HubSpot's page shows two bands. Startups with Pre-seed, Seed or Series A funding (not Series B or later) that are affiliated with an approved partner or have verified venture funding get 90% off in year one, 50% in year two and 25% in year three. Startups associated with an approved entrepreneurial organisation get 30% off in year one and 15% in year two. The pricing applies to net-new Professional or Enterprise level products only, and HubSpot says it can verify funding through Pitchbook or Crunchbase.

The staircase is the thing to model. The schedule on HubSpot's page stops after year three, so plan for list price from year four. Compare the multi-year cost of HubSpot CRM with the alternatives in HubSpot versus Zoho CRM cost in India before you build your sales process on it.

Freshworks

Freshworks' published startup programme terms are effective 9 February 2023 and describe two models. Since that date only the Discount Model applies to new registrations: a discount on the Pro plan only, available to startups referred by a Freshworks partner and meeting its funding criteria, capped at 30 agents per product, with the discount claimed within one year of signup. The older Credit Model gave credits on Pro or Enterprise plans that had to be used within one year of account activation. Because those terms are dated, ask Freshworks whether the programme is open before you plan around it. If it is, it applies to products like Freshsales and Freshdesk; for an Indian CRM comparison, see Zoho CRM versus Freshsales versus Kylas.

Which route fits your startup, and what happens when credits end

• A two-founder Pvt Ltd, bootstrapped, 8 months old, MVP live. Apply for AWS Activate Founders and the Google Start tier, ask the incubator about Zoho, and get DPIIT recognition in parallel.
• A seed-funded B2B SaaS company with an angel on the cap table. Ask the angel whether they are an AWS Activate Provider, apply for the Google Scale tier with proof of venture funding, and check HubSpot's 90% band.
• A proprietorship or Udyam-only manufacturer. Most programmes above will not fit, because they assume a startup entity or investor funding. Look at the vendors' ordinary free and entry plans instead; what is actually free in business software covers the limits.
• An IT services or agency business. Google excludes consultancies and agencies; AWS and Zoho may still work, but check the terms first.

Put the expiry dates in a calendar on day one: Zoho's 360 days, Freshworks' one year, and the AWS and Google terms you read at approval. Sixty days before each date, look at your real monthly usage and compare it with the full-price plan.

Once a foreign vendor starts invoicing you in dollars there is a tax question as well as a cost question; GST on foreign SaaS and reverse charge explains how that works. And if you are weighing which tools to adopt while the credits last, the best SaaS stack for Indian startups shows how to sequence them, while SaaS pricing in rupees shows what you will pay afterwards. For infrastructure comparisons, browse cloud platforms.

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