Free tier VMs from cloud providers like Oracle, AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure offer a variety of use cases that can be both creative and practical. Here are some of the best use cases for free tier VMs:
1. Web Servers and Static Sites: Free tier VMs are ideal for hosting small web applications or static websites. For example, you can use AWS EC2 or Google Cloud Compute Engine to serve web requests for personal projects or small businesses[6][4].
2. Development Environments: They can be used to set up remote development environments for tools like VSCode, providing a dedicated space for coding projects without consuming local resources[2].
3. Media Servers: Free tier VMs can host media servers like Plex, allowing users to stream media across devices without needing to download content locally[2].
4. VPN Servers: Setting up VPN servers using tools like WireGuard or OpenVPN is another popular use case. This provides secure access to networks from anywhere[2].
5. Internet Radio Stations: Some users have successfully run internet radio stations using free tier VMs, hosting services like Shoutcast and Icecast[2].
6. Minecraft Servers: Hosting Minecraft servers is a fun use case, especially for gamers who want to play with friends online[2].
7. Monitoring Tools: Free tier VMs can be used to run monitoring tools like UptimeKuma and Smokeping to keep track of network performance[2].
8. Cloud Storage and File Sharing: Services like Nextcloud can be hosted on free tier VMs to provide file syncing and sharing capabilities[2].
9. Discord Bots: Hosting Discord bots for community management or automation tasks is another creative use[2].
10. Low-Use Evaluation Systems: Free tier VMs are also useful for testing and evaluating cloud services without incurring significant costs[7].
These use cases highlight the versatility and potential of free tier VMs for both personal projects and small-scale business applications.
Citations:
[1] https://dev.to/dkechag/cloud-provider-comparison-2024-vm-performance-price-3h4l
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/oraclecloud/comments/wk2e3b/what_do_you_use_your_oracle_free_tier_for/
[3] https://github.com/cloudcommunity/Cloud-Free-Tier-Comparison
[4] https://cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features
[5] https://cloud.google.com/free
[6] https://www.msp360.com/resources/blog/aws-free-tier-ec2-lambda/
[7] https://www.reddit.com/r/oraclecloud/comments/1fyefef/what_do_you_do_with_the_free_tier_vm/
[8] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-sg/answers/questions/2117618/how-to-reduce-charges-to-0-while-in-the-free-tier