When has any service/business not had some sort of monetization attached to it? Of course it isn't free. Get a job.

Hi!

We don't have a trial service, but we do try to make it quick and simple to get started. Since you pay by the hour, you can spin up a server, check it, and the destroy for only pennies.

Our smallest plan starts at $ 0.007/hr. You can see all the details at:

https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/

Keep an eye on DO twitter account. They often offer $10 credits. Managed to make it last just over 4 months while I was learning.