CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial
Cloud Provider Credits
$400 in credits
New organizations receive $400 in free credits to trial CockroachDB Cloud, available across all cluster plans.
Who qualifies
Every condition below is taken from the vendor’s own published criteria. Read them before you spend an afternoon on the application.
Partner referral needed
There is no self-serve application. You need a referral from an approved VC, accelerator or incubator — start with your lead investor’s portfolio-benefits page.
New customers only
Existing or previously paying accounts are excluded. If you are already on a paid plan, ask before you migrate — some vendors make an exception, most do not.
Startups
The programme is aimed at startups. Vendors read this loosely, but expect to describe the company and what you are building on the application.
New organizations receive $400 in free credits to trial CockroachDB Cloud, available across all cluster plans.
About CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial
Quick answer
New organizations receive $400 in free credits to trial CockroachDB Cloud, available across all cluster plans.
CockroachDB Cloud is a fully managed, distributed SQL database service offering horizontal scalability and strong consistency. This program grants new organizations $400 in free trial credits, automatically applied to compute, storage, and bandwidth costs across all cluster tiers, enabling founders to evaluate the platform at production scale before committing to paid plans.
CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial at a glance
CockroachDB Cloud is a fully managed, distributed SQL database service offering horizontal scalability and strong consistency. This program grants new organizations $400 in free trial credits, automatically applied to compute, storage, and bandwidth costs across all cluster tiers, enabling founders to evaluate the platform at production scale before committing to paid plans.
- $400Free trial credit per new organization
- 3Cluster plan tiers eligible (Standard, Advanced, Basic)
- 30 daysGrace period after trial credits expire
- AutomaticCredit application (no manual claim required)
The CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial offer explained
New CockroachDB Cloud organizations receive $400 in free credits that automatically apply to the first $400 of monthly charges, covering compute, storage, and bandwidth across any cluster plan. The credits are non-transferable and valid for a single organization; once exhausted, a payment method must be on file to continue service. Email notifications alert users to usage milestones, and a 30-day grace period prevents data loss if credits expire before payment is added.
Heads up: credit programs change their terms and caps regularly — confirm the current offer on the application page before you plan around it.
Apply to CockroachDB Cloud Free TrialHow CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial compares
Here's how CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial stacks up against other cloud infrastructure credits in the same category:
| Program | Headline offer | Category |
|---|---|---|
| CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial | $400 in credits | This page |
| Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub | Up to $150K Azure credits + GitHub Enterprise free | Cloud Provider Credits |
| AWS Activate | Up to $100K in free AWS credits | Cloud Provider Credits |
| Google Cloud for Startups | Up to $350K in free GCP credits | Cloud Provider Credits |
Who should apply — and who shouldn't
Apply if
- You need a horizontally scalable, ACID-compliant SQL database and want to trial it at realistic scale before paying.
- Your startup is evaluating multiple database vendors and want to compare CockroachDB's performance and cost structure risk-free.
- You're building a multi-region or high-availability application and need to test CockroachDB's resilience without initial spend.
- You prefer a managed service (no ops overhead) and want to avoid the complexity of self-hosted distributed databases.
Skip if
- Your database needs are simple (single-region, low concurrency) and a simpler, cheaper database (PostgreSQL, MySQL) would suffice.
- You're already committed to another database vendor and have no budget flexibility to evaluate alternatives.
- Your monthly database costs will significantly exceed $400 and you lack runway to absorb the transition to paid billing immediately after trial.
More Cloud Provider Credits
If CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial isn't the right fit, compare it against Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, AWS Activate, Google Cloud for Startups, Cloudflare for Startups — or browse the full Cloud Provider Credits category.
What the credit covers
- Fully managed distributed SQL database
- Automatic multi-region replication and failover
- ACID transactions with strong consistency
- Horizontal scalability without resharding
- Pay-as-you-go pricing (compute, storage, bandwidth)
- Cost estimation and forecasting tools
- Email usage milestone notifications
- 30-day grace period post-trial
- Standard, Advanced, and Basic cluster tiers
- Global region availability
Programme tracks
What CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial publishes for each stage — confirm on the application, since credit programmes are re-cut more often than list pricing.
| Track | Value | Who it is for | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Pay-as-you-go | Monthly | Single-region clusters · Suitable for development and testing · Lower compute and storage costs · $400 trial credit applicable |
| Standard | Pay-as-you-go | Monthly | Multi-region replication available · Production-grade SLAs · Automatic backups and point-in-time recovery · $400 trial credit applicable |
| Advanced | Pay-as-you-go | Monthly | Premium support and dedicated resources · Advanced monitoring and analytics · Custom configurations and scaling · $400 trial credit applicable |
How to apply
5 steps. The last one is the part most people skip.
- 1
Get the referral before anything else
CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial has no self-serve application for this programme. Ask your lead investor, accelerator or incubator for their partner link — most Tier 1 funds keep a portfolio-benefits page listing exactly this. Without it the rest of the process is closed to you.
- 2
Open CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial through the link on this page
It carries our referral tag. The terms you get are identical either way, and it never changes what this page says about the programme.
- 3
Have the eligibility evidence ready
Applications are checked against 3 conditions — partner referral needed, new customers only, startups. Incorporation date, cap table and a one-line description of what you are building cover most of it.
- 4
Size the migration against the 1 month window
Credits start burning from activation, not from when you get round to using them. Work out what you will genuinely consume in that window before you move production workloads across.
- 5
Know the rate you land on when it runs out
New organizations receive $400 in free credits to trial CockroachDB Cloud, available across all cluster plans.
Where this programme wins and loses
What works
- No sponsor required Direct signup; no VC referral, partner nomination, or application review delays the credit provisioning.
- Automatic application Credits apply immediately to the first $400 of costs; no manual claim, redemption code, or administrative overhead.
- All plans eligible Credit works across Standard, Advanced, and Basic cluster tiers, so you can test at your desired performance level.
- Grace period safety net 30-day grace period after credits expire prevents accidental data loss and gives you time to add payment method or migrate.
- Usage transparency Email milestones and cost estimation tools help you forecast spend and plan the transition to paid billing.
- Production-scale testing $400 is sufficient to run realistic workloads and evaluate CockroachDB's multi-region, high-availability capabilities.
What doesn't
- Limited credit amount $400 may be exhausted quickly if you run high-compute clusters or have significant data transfer; not enough for long-term free usage.
- Single-organization limit Credit is tied to one organization; if you need to test multiple configurations or team setups, you cannot split or reuse the credit.
- Vendor lock-in risk CockroachDB's distributed SQL model and pricing structure may not be ideal for all workloads; switching databases post-trial incurs migration cost and engineering effort.
The bottom line
The $400 credit is substantial enough to test CockroachDB at meaningful scale, with no sponsor gatekeeping or hidden strings. The 30-day grace period and automatic application reduce friction, making this a low-risk way for early-stage founders to evaluate a production-grade database without upfront commitment.
CockroachDB Cloud Free Trial FAQ
The questions we actually get asked about this programme.
Ask us something elseAny new CockroachDB Cloud organization. There is no stage, geography, or revenue restriction; eligibility is based solely on account creation.
Credits apply to the first $400 of charges. Once exhausted, a payment method must be on file. A 30-day grace period follows credit expiry to prevent data loss.
No. This is a direct offer to new organizations; no sponsor, referral code, or application is required.
You enter a 30-day grace period. If you add a payment method during this window, billing continues normally. If not, your cluster is paused and data is retained for a limited time.
CockroachDB's terms do not explicitly prohibit stacking, but combining with other offers (e.g., startup programs, volume discounts) should be confirmed directly with their sales team.
Credits are provisioned automatically upon account creation; no approval process or waiting period. You can deploy a cluster and begin using credits immediately.
