Is subscription only active while free credit unexpired?

Question

I just received an email from Microsoft Azure, entitled "We're sorry to see you go".

The email message reads (screenshot attached):

Let us know how we can do better next time Your free credit expired on January 11, 2025, and because of this we’ve deleted your subscription and any associated data and services. Your experience is important to us. Please share your feedback and we’ll use it to improve our services and better meet your needs next time.

Please note the wording of the message: "Your free credit expired on January 11, 2025, and because of this we’ve deleted your subscription and any associated data and services."

I have an AWS free-tier account and I have no issues whatsoever due to unavailable free credit.

I understand that to continue using Azure after my free credit expired I have to sign up for a "pay-as-you-go" subscription, but a "pay-as-you-go" subscription isn't free-tier as advertised.

So, my question is: If subscription is only active while free credit unexpired or in "pay-as-you-go" subscription, why is the first year advertised as "Azure free account"?

Answer 1

Hi @yzr

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform! Thank you for asking your question here.

1. After your free credits expire, you can switch to a pay-as-you-go plan, which means you’ll pay for the services you use, but some services will remain free within certain limits.
2. You can choose to stick with free-tier services, which are available for free as long as you stay within the usage limits.
3. If you no longer need Azure, you can cancel your account to avoid being charged further.

The first year is advertised as an "Azure free account" because during that time, you get two things:
free credits worth $200 for the first 30 days, and free-tier services for 12 months. However, once your free credits run out or after the 12-month period, your account transitions to a pay-as-you-go subscription. At that point, you have to pay for anything beyond the free-tier services.

So, the first year is called "free" because of the free credits and free services offered, but after that, to keep using the services, you need to either stay within the free-tier limits or move to a paid plan.

If you have any further queries, do let us know

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If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and "Upvote it".

Answer 2

Hello yzr,

Thanks for your question.

The models of AWS and Azure are different per free trial.

Azure provides access to certain free-tier services for 12 months, but only if you upgrade to a pay-as-you-go subscription after the free credit expires.

Your subscription and services are disabled when your credit runs out or expires at the end of 30 days.

After you upgrade, you'll have continued access to free services for 12 months and you get charged only for usage beyond the free services and quantities.

The above is documentated here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/avoid-charges-free-account?source=recommendations

Please let me know if you need more clarification from me.

You can mark it 'Accept Answer' and 'Upvote' if this helped you

Regards,

Abiola

Answer 3

Hi,

After the first 30 days of Azure Free, your subscription is automatically disabled unless you convert it to Pay-As-You-Go. Once you convert to Pay-As-You-Go you can still use certain services for free for 11 more months, plus the "always free" services.

Based on the email you received I'm guessing you signed up for Azure Free in November, allowed it to automatically be Disabled after the first 30 days, and now since you didn't Re-Activate after another 30 days they deleted your subscription and any data within.

I believe since you allowed your subscription to be deleted your only option is to create a new Pay-As-You-Go subscription without the benefit of the remaining 10 additional months of free services I described above. You could create a billing support ticket and confirm if there is any way you can get your old subscription back (and with it 10 months of free services).

Avoid charges with your Azure free account

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/avoid-charges-free-account

Please click Accept Answer and upvote if the above was helpful. If something is unclear please add a comment below.

Thanks.

-TP