Oracle's Free Cloud – Does it Really Work? My Experience with OCI Free Tier

| Added: March 7, 2025 | Total views: 67

 

Today, I want to share my thoughts on Oracle Cloud Free Tier, a set of free cloud services Oracle offers to every user. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical at first. Free virtual machines, databases, and ready-to-use environments for building applications? It sounded too good to be true. But I decided to test it out and see if it was really possible to build something meaningful. Now, after over two years of using it, I can confidently say – it actually works, and without hidden costs.

Free Virtual Machine – How I Set Up My Project in OCI

The first thing that caught my attention was the virtual machine (VM). Oracle offers some solid specs for a free solution:

✅ 2 CPU cores (AMD or ARM – the choice is yours)
✅ Up to 24 GB RAM (on ARM – a really impressive result for a free tier)
✅ 200 GB storage
✅ Public IP address

I decided to use this to host my project, www.legkoszkur.com, a web app built with Django. The entire system runs on Ubuntu, which gives a lot of flexibility. For the web app, I’m using nginx as the HTTP server and gunicorn as the WSGI server. The setup was smooth, and the server is running perfectly, offering excellent performance. No time limits, no hidden fees. What’s even more surprising, the server has been running for over two years and its performance hasn’t dropped at all. Working with Ubuntu on the VM in Oracle is really comfortable and hassle-free.

Oracle Autonomous Database – What Is It?

When it comes to Oracle Autonomous Database, this is a fully managed database that automatically adjusts to your application’s workload and requirements. It’s a great option if you don’t want to spend time managing a database but still need high performance and security.

Key features include:
✅ Automatic optimization – the database adjusts its parameters depending on the load, saving you time and resources.
✅ Security – automatic updates and backups ensure your data is safe and accessible without manual intervention.
✅ Ease of management – there’s no need for manual configuration or management, so you can focus on your apps and development.

Oracle offers two free instances of this database, each with 20 GB of space, which is enough for many applications.

Oracle APEX – Web Apps Without the Need for a Domain

Oracle APEX is a platform that allows you to build web applications with a low-code approach, meaning you can create an app almost without writing code. APEX is perfect for those who want to quickly create an app but don’t want to dive deep into programming.

Key features:
✅ Fast app building – you can build web apps without needing to code extensively.
✅ Free subdomain and SSL – you don’t need to worry about purchasing a domain or setting up an SSL certificate. Oracle provides everything you need to make your app accessible right away.
✅ Integrated with the database – APEX apps integrate easily with Oracle databases, simplifying data management.

This is a fantastic option if you want to create internal apps for data management, admin panels, or simply need a fast prototype.

Is It Worth Using OCI Free Tier?

In my opinion – absolutely yes. Oracle provides real resources that allow you to build more than just a test project. This isn’t a typical 30-day trial where everything disappears after the period ends. You can run your server, database, and web app without worrying about unexpected costs, and everything works stably and without fees.

After two years of using OCI Free Tier, I can confidently say that it’s an exceptional offer in the cloud market. If you’re looking for free cloud services for your projects – it’s definitely worth a try. I’m definitely sticking with OCI because it simply works.