Azure AI Foundry (new-account credits)

Newly registered Azure accounts get a $200 general-purpose cloud credit, valid for 30 days, usable toward AI Foundry model-call spending

This is Azure's general-purpose new-account credit (not exclusive to AI Foundry) — the $200 covers Azure's entire service line, and AI Foundry's token-billed model calls can draw from it. Foundry's Playground and model-evaluation tools are themselves free, but actual inference calls are billed at standard rates from the very first token, with no long-term free quota independent of this $200. If you haven't upgraded once the 30 days expire, the credit is forfeited and you can no longer make calls. Registering an Azure account itself generally requires linking a credit card to verify identity.

⚠️This is fundamentally a 'cloud vendor's general-purpose new-account credit' rather than an AI-specific free tier — the 30-day window is on the short side, and Foundry has no fallback free quota once it expires, so plan your trial timeline accordingly. Businesses/startups can separately apply to Azure for Startups for a larger credit.