Exploring Free Services on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

While browsing through self-hosted solutions on Reddit, I stumbled upon a valuable discovery: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) offers a range of free services. Many users are taking advantage of these offerings to test and even host their projects at no cost.

However, it’s important to be aware that some accounts have been closed or services terminated, particularly if they remain idle or violate OCI’s policies. For example, Virtual Machines (VMs) that are left idle may be reclaimed. You can review the full list of always-free resources and their reclamation conditions on Oracle’s official site.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the key free services OCI provides:

• 4 Core ARM CPU
• 4 Gbps Bandwidth
• 24 GB of RAM
• 200 GB SSD Storage
• 10 Mbps Load Balancer

These resources are perfect for experimenting with technologies like Kubernetes, Docker (single or multiple machines), and Docker Swarm (for cluster management).

Personally, I explored Kubernetes but decided to put it on hold for now due to the complexity of its configuration files. Instead, I'm diving deeper into Docker Swarm, as it aligns better with my preference for simplicity. I already enjoy deploying applications using Docker Compose, so transitioning to Docker Swarm feels like a natural next step. One thing I’m not too fond of, though, is the relatively low load balancer bandwidth (10 Mbps), especially compared to the 4 Gbps network bandwidth. However, Docker has its own integrated load balancer, and Swarm is natively supported, so there’s no need for the cumbersome Kubernetes YAML files.

I won’t go into the details of how to create an OCI account—there are plenty of guides online. However, there are a few caveats to keep in mind:

1. Credit Card Requirement: You’ll need a valid credit card to sign up. OCI verifies it with a small transaction that is refunded almost immediately.
2. Free Trial and Always Free Services: Upon signing up, you’ll receive €250 in free trial credits. You can use this credit for paid tools and services, but make sure to terminate any chargeable resources once the trial expires or your budget runs out (whichever comes first). After the trial period, you’ll switch to a "Pay As You Go" plan. While validation is required, most users who stick to always-free services don’t get charged—though a few have reported minor charges. Also, ignore the €1.85 cost estimation for VMs—it’s a known bug.

Enjoy experimenting with these free OCI resources, but be sure to back up your data to a different platform, just in case.