Guides
What we have learned from reading program terms so you do not have to. No listicles, no affiliate links.
Mistral AI and Figma: worth claiming even off the headline list
€30,000 in API credits with no investor required, and one of the only design-tooling discounts that exists pre-seed. Different gates, both worth the form.
Vercel, Render and Sentry: three smaller credits, three different gates
Vercel's $30K needs a sales conversation, Render's credits run from $500 to $100K depending on who backed you, and Sentry rides in partner packs.
What an enterprise buyer checks before they sign
What a larger prospect's security and support teams look for before they sign, and how to get SOC 2 and customer support tooling at startup prices.
Deel, Carta and Airtable: credits that don't feel like credits
None of these three take a direct application. They ride inside partner catalogs and bundles you may already hold — here is where to actually look.
The order you claim credits in decides how much you get
Most credit programs are one-time and tier you by what you raised on the day you apply. Sequencing is worth more than volume — here is the order that works.
AI model credits in 2026: which ones you can actually get
OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Together and ElevenLabs all give away API credits. The routes differ completely, and only some are open without an investor.
AWS vs Google Cloud vs Azure vs Cloudflare: cloud credits compared
Four programs, four completely different gates. Which one a seed-stage team should apply to first, and why the biggest ceiling is rarely the best offer.
What actually disqualifies you: the rules programs bury
Rejections almost never come from your product being unimpressive. They come from six specific, boring, fixable things — and one that is not fixable at all.
The bootstrapped stack: what you can claim with no investors
Most credit guides assume you have raised a round. Here is the set of programs that take unfunded companies, and roughly what it adds up to.
Your bank account is the highest-leverage perk application you will make
One onboarding, dozens of partner credits — including AI API credit with no self-serve route. Why fintech perk bundles beat one-at-a-time applications.
Credits expire: how founders waste a $100,000 grant
Twelve-month windows, no extensions, clocks that start at acceptance rather than first use. The expiry rules matter more than the amounts.
GPU credits are not cloud credits
Several large cloud programs explicitly exclude GPUs and dedicated inference. If you train or serve models, the headline credit may not touch your real bill.
The week your round closes: a credit checklist
Closing a round moves you up a tier in a dozen programs at once, and several of them have a clock attached to the round date. What to do in the first fortnight.
Find out what you qualify for today
Tell us four facts and we will come back with an ordered list — or look through the database yourself. No account, no charge.