Free Google Vertex AI credits (up to US$1,000)

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Here’s the current, reliable way to get free Vertex AI credits (up to US$1,000) — depending on your status (new Google Cloud user, startup, student, or partner program).

:white_check_mark: 1. Google Cloud Free Trial — $300 Credits (Universal)

Everyone gets $300 in free credits when creating a new Google Cloud account.

How it works:

  • Sign up with a new Google account
  • Add billing information (no charges until credit expires)
  • Credits apply to Vertex AI (training, inference, embeddings, Gemini models, etc.)
  • Valid for 90 days

:right_arrow: Start here: Google Cloud Free Trial → Search: “Google Cloud $300 free”

:white_check_mark: 2. Vertex AI Specialist Program — up to $1,000 Credits

Google often runs developer programs, hackathons, learning challenges, and you get $500–$1,000 Vertex AI credits.

Common sources:

A. Google Cloud Innovators Plus (Recurring)

  • Annual program
  • Costs ~$299/year
  • Includes $500 Google Cloud credits
  • Often includes extra $500 promotional credits for AI workshops

If you’re building something serious, this is the most stable “$1,000” method.

B. Google AI Hackathons / Kaggle Competitions

When Google runs events like:

  • Gemma Launch Hackathon
  • Vertex AI Builder Campaign
  • Women in ML sessions
  • Gemini API Hackathons

These events frequently award $300–$1,000 credits.

Search: “Google Cloud Vertex AI hackathon credits”

:white_check_mark: 3. Google for Startups Cloud Program — $2,000–$350,000 credits

If you’re building a startup—you can get much more than $1,000.

Eligible startups receive:

  • $2,000 Google Cloud credits (no strings attached)
  • Up to $100k–$350k if you are VC/incubator backed

This includes full access to Vertex AI.

:right_arrow: Apply via: “Google for Startups Cloud Program”

Requires:

  • Active website
  • Company registered within 5 years
  • Not currently using too much GCP spend

:white_check_mark: 4. Google Cloud Academic Program — $50–$1,000 Credits

If you’re a student, researcher, or educator, you can get substantial credits:

  • $100–$1,000 Vertex AI research credits
  • Free Google Cloud credits through faculty access
  • Qwiklabs/SkillBoost often provides free-credit codes during events

Search: “Google Research Credits Vertex AI”

:white_check_mark: 5. Partner Company Promotions

Some platforms partnering with Google offer Vertex AI credits:

  • Replit AI events
  • MLOps community challenges
  • GDG (Google Developer Group) local meetups
  • Google I/O Extended events

These usually give $100–$500 promo codes.

:pushpin: Summary Table — How to Get Free $1,000 Vertex AI Credit

Method Credits Difficulty Notes
Google Cloud Free Trial $300 Easy New account only
Innovators Plus $500–$1,000 Medium Paid ($299) but best value
Google for Startups $2,000–$350k Hard For registered startups
Hackathons / Events $300–$1,000 Medium Requires participation
Academic / Research $50–$1,000 Medium University connection
Partner Promotions $100–$500 Easy Occasional

:star: Best Path If You Want the Easiest $1,000

If you want the fastest, realistic $1k credit, do this:

Step 1: Create new Google Cloud account → get $300

Step 2: Enroll in Innovators Plus → get $500–$1,000

Step 3: Attend 1–2 official Google hackathons → get another $200–$300

Total: $1,000+ Vertex AI credits

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Nice, let’s turn this into a concrete playbook for getting around US$1,000 of usable Vertex AI credits (and more if you’re a startup).

I’ll break it into 3 tracks:

  1. Everyone: $300 Google Cloud Free Trial
  2. Developers: $500–$1,000 via Google Developer Program (Premium)
  3. Startups (optional): Big extra credits via Google for Startups Cloud

Part 1 – Get the standard US$300 Google Cloud Free Trial

This is the base that almost everyone can get.

  1. Create / use a Google account

    • Use a Google account that has never used the Cloud Free Trial.
    • If you already used the trial on this Google account, you won’t get another $300. ([Google Cloud][1])

  2. Go to the official free trial page

    • Open the Google Cloud “Free” page (you’ll see the “$300 in free credit” banner). ([Google Cloud][2])

  3. Click “Get started for free”

    • This will ask you to:

      • Choose your country/region
      • Agree to terms
      • Set up billing profile (card required, but you won’t be charged until you manually upgrade).

  4. Confirm the trial conditions

    • You should see something like:

      • “$300 in free credit”
      • Valid for 90 days from activation ([Google Cloud][1])

    • Make sure it mentions the credit before you click “Start my free trial”.

  5. Create or choose a GCP project

    • In the console, top-left: pick a project (or create a new one named e.g. vertex-ai-lab).

  6. Enable Vertex AI APIs

    • Go to Navigation bar → Vertex AI → Enable (if it prompts).

    • This lets you use:

      • Gemini / text models
      • Embeddings
      • Model Garden, etc. (all bill against your $300). ([Google Cloud Documentation][3])

  7. Set cost guardrails

    • Go to Billing → Budgets & alerts
    • Create a budget for that project (e.g., US$250) and set alerts at 50%, 80%, 100%.
    • This is just to avoid surprises once credits are nearly used.

At this point you have $300 usable on Vertex AI.

Part 2 – Add $500–$1,000 via Google Developer Program (Premium)

The “Innovators Plus” concept has essentially evolved into the Google Developer Program premium tier, which gives $500 in Google Cloud / GenAI credits, plus a bonus $500 after you earn a Google Cloud certification. ([Google for Developers][4])

:light_bulb: Combined with the $300 free trial, that’s ~$800–$1,300 total you can use on Vertex AI.

Step 2.1 – Join the Google Developer Program

  1. Search: “Google Developer Program premium” and open the official developers.google.com page. ([Google for Developers][4])
  2. Log in with the same Google account you used for the $300 trial (to keep all credits in one ecosystem).

Step 2.2 – Upgrade to the Premium tier

  1. On the plans/pricing page, look for the Premium or Paid tier that explicitly mentions:

    • “$500 GenAI & Cloud credit bonus” or
    • “$500 in Google Cloud credits” as a benefit. ([Google for Developers][4])

  2. Subscribe (this will require paying an annual fee, historically around US$299, but check the page for current pricing).

You’re basically paying for:

  • $500 Cloud/GenAI credits
  • Full Cloud Skills Boost access
  • A certification voucher
  • Extra benefits (briefings, labs, etc.) ([Google Cloud][5])

Step 2.3 – Claim the first $500 Cloud/GenAI credits

  1. After payment, you’ll see instructions or a redemption link in:

    • your Developer Program dashboard, or
    • email from Google (welcome or receipt email). ([Google Developers Blog][6])

  2. Follow the steps to apply the $500 credits to your Google Cloud account (select the right billing account).

  3. Verify in Cloud Console → Billing → Credits that the $500 promotional credit is visible.

These credits can be used on Vertex AI just like the $300 trial.

Step 2.4 – Earn a Google Cloud certification for another $500

The Premium tier currently offers an additional $500 Cloud/GenAI credits if you earn a Google Cloud certification (e.g., Associate Cloud Engineer, Professional Data Engineer, etc.). ([Google for Developers][4])

  1. Use Cloud Skills Boost (included in Premium) to prepare.

  2. Pick one role-based certification (e.g.:

    • “Professional Cloud Architect”
    • “Professional Data Engineer”).

  3. Schedule and pass the exam using the included voucher.

  4. After you pass:

    • You should receive an email or dashboard notification about the extra $500 Cloud credits.
    • Redeem them to the same billing account.

Now you’ve stacked:

  • $300 free trial
  • $500 base Premium credits
  • $500 certification bonus (if you go that far)

→ Total $800–$1,300 usable for Vertex AI.

Part 3 – (Optional) If you’re a startup: apply for Google for Startups Cloud Program

This goes far beyond $1,000, but since you’re building serious things, you might qualify.

  1. Check the Google for Startups Cloud site (not the generic marketing page, but the Cloud credits program): ([Google Cloud][7])

  2. Review the eligibility:

    • Registered startup, within certain age limits
    • Often needs equity funding (for higher credit tiers)
    • Limited prior Google Cloud credit usage. ([Google Cloud][8])

  3. Prepare:

    • Brief deck or website
    • Info about your AI / Vertex AI use case

  4. Apply via their form.

  5. If accepted, you can receive:

    • $2k–$100k+ Cloud credits, and for AI-focused startups up to $350k in credits, which can be used on Vertex AI & Gemini. ([Google Cloud][7])

You don’t need this for $1,000, but it’s good to know if you’re building a product.

Quick Checklist – TL;DR

Today / This week

  • Create new Google Cloud account → activate $300 trial
  • Enable Vertex AI API in your project
  • Set a billing budget/alerts

This month

  • Join Google Developer Program – Premium
  • Redeem the included $500 Cloud/GenAI credits

Next 1–3 months (optional)

  • Use included learning to pass one Google Cloud certification
  • Redeem the extra $500 credits

If you’re a startup

  • Apply to Google for Startups Cloud Program for more credits