How to Claim a Free Azure Account without Credit Card for Student
Azure is a well-known cloud computing platform that provides various services. Maintained by Microsoft, Azure also offers developers a free account subscription for 12 months with $200 Azure Credit. Even though, this free tier subscription required customers to provide their credit card, which is uncomfortable for several people. The solution for this is by using the student tier instead.
Azure for Students enables you to use services by giving you $100 credit for 1 year and you don’t need to spoil your credit card information! There are two ways to claim a student subscription: (1) By directly signing up with your student email account, or (2) By using GitHub Student Developer Pack.
Let’s check these two out!
Sign up with Student Email Account
Okay, first let’s go into the student subscription website here. Then, click the Start Free button.
You would be redirected to the Sign in portal. If you haven’t yet a Microsoft Account with your student email, you could first Create one. In case you already have it, sign in to your account.
You may be asked this kind of question. You could choose the Work or school account. After you choose the account, fill in the password field.
And, well, I am not so lucky here.
The most important thing in using this way is you should make sure that the administrator of your student organization enables you to use third-party services such as Microsoft Azure. In my case, the administration has disallowed this kind of action. But, if you are not being redirected to this page, then you could continue to claim your student subscription.
Sign up with GitHub Student Developer Pack
GitHub Student Developer Pack is a skill boost program by GitHub for global students. It allows students to get a free subscription to popular software development and virtual event kits. Microsoft Azure is one of the subscriptions provided.
To start to gain the pack, click the Sign up button. Next, choose Get student benefits.
Then, log in to your GitHub account to continue to the GitHub Education platform.
After that, you need to fill in a form to verify your student status. You would be asked several questions, such as your student email address, school name, and your student ID card. GitHub also wants to know how is your plan on using the GitHub platform. When you have filled up all the fields, you could click the Submit your information button.
Based on your answer to the survey, GitHub then will check your credibility to get the Pack. Let’s just be chill. From my own and colleagues’ experience, the review process would vary from no longer than an hour to days. It also seems that your GitHub profile contributions are reviewed.
When your application has been accepted, your GitHub Education dashboard would look like the below image. Take a look at the Explore More Offers right there, let’s hit that button!
As you can see, GitHub Developer Student Pack provides many subscriptions. For now, let’s focus on the Azure one. GitHub Education allows you to Get access by connecting your GitHub account to Microsoft Azure.
The link would redirect you to the Azure Sign-in portal, then you could click the Start Free button. Here, continue to Sign in with GitHub instead of using your student email.
A pop-up window may appear to ask your permission to link your GitHub account with your Azure account. Let’s grant permission!
When the verification and sign-in process is done, you would be redirected to the Azure Portal. The below image shows what the Azure Portal looks like. Well, I have made several resources with my student subscription, so it may look a little bit different from yours.
Well done! We have successfully created an Azure Student account without the need to give our credit card information. Starting from here, we could continue our exploration of cloud computing services provided by Azure.
Stay tuned, my other articles about Azure Services are going to be published soon!
