Google Cloud's official "Free Google Cloud features and trial offer" documentation now states that the $300 Welcome credit can't pay for Gemini platform (formerly Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform / Vertex AI) services if you sign up for a free trial or upgrade to a paid account on or after November 16, 2026. The same page says the credit already can't pay for Gemini API costs in AI Studio, or for generative AI partner models offered as managed APIs. For new developers hoping to call Gemini models on trial credit, the remaining routes from tomorrow are the Gemini API free tier or a Prepay billing plan.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Effective date: if you sign up for the free trial or upgrade to a paid account on or after November 16, 2026, the $300 credit can no longer pay for Gemini platform (formerly Vertex AI) services (Google Cloud docs)
- ✓Gemini API costs in AI Studio were already excluded from the credit; Google points users to the Gemini API Free tier or a Prepay billing plan
- ✓Generative AI partner models offered as managed APIs (model as a service) can't use the credit either
- ✓Everything else stays: $300 credit valid for 90 days; after upgrading to paid, remaining credit is kept but must be used within 90 days of signup
- ✓The wording names upgrading to paid as a trigger too, so existing trial accounts planning to spend credit on Gemini should watch when they upgrade
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Background
Google Cloud's $300 Welcome credit has long been a main way for indie developers and students to try Gemini models for free: sign up for the trial, call Gemini in Vertex AI (now Gemini platform), and pay with credit. As model usage soars, cloud providers are narrowing what free credit can buy.
How the change works
Google runs Gemini through two tracks: the Gemini API in AI Studio (generativelanguage.googleapis.com) and Gemini platform (aiplatform.googleapis.com). Per the official docs, the AI Studio track was already excluded from the credit; this change closes the Gemini platform track too, for anyone who signs up for the trial or upgrades to a paid account on or after November 16. Partner models offered as managed APIs are excluded as well.
Numbers
This is not a benchmark story. The only official figures: a $300 credit, valid for 90 days, with the change effective November 16, 2026. Google has not published a reason for the change.
What developers should do
If you plan to run Gemini on trial credit, note that the docs name both signing up and upgrading to paid as triggers, so timing matters. New accounts after that date can use the Gemini API Free tier (rate-limited) or a Prepay plan; the credit still works on other products such as Compute Engine and Cloud Storage. For production projects, set a budget alert so spending doesn't silently move to your card once credit runs out.
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