What is the best way to get free DigitalOcean credits?

Hi friend, can you explain your use case with more detail?

The best way is to have a legitimate business and join our Hatch program. Hatch is our global startup program that helps you grow your business. Spend less time worrying about cloud infrastructure and more time building great things: https://www.digitalocean.com/hatch/

“Best” is subjective! We have a few different programs that offer credits depending on your situation. Please keep in mind almost all promo code-based credits for new users are not stackable, so please don’t write to our support team if you’re trying to use all the promo codes you find around the internet at once. :)

If you’re a new DO user:

If you’re a student then the best way is to check out the GitHub student pack where you can get a $50 promo code (you must have a valid student ID) https://education.github.com/pack

Sign up for our Infrastructure as a Newsletter -> https://www.digitalocean.com/community/newsletter

Have a friend on DO? Ask an existing user for their user referral link. They can find it by logging into their DO control panel.

We sponsor lots of podcasts that have special credit offers for their listeners. Check out Changelog, Screaming in the Cloud, or Python Bytes - even if you’re not hunting for a promo code they’re all great shows and worth checking out!

If you’re an DO existing user:

Share out your referral link - you can also write your own DO tutorials or reviews on your own site (or on your open source software project website) and include your referral parameter on any link that points back to our site and still get credit. https://www.digitalocean.com/referral-program/

Write some tutorials for us! We have a new program called Write for DOnations where we will match your tutorial payout (cash or DO credit) with a donation to an open source/tech related charity: https://www.digitalocean.com/write-for-donations/

wadenick mentioned the Hatch program - Hatch is our program for startups that offers not just infrastructure credits, but also advice, special events, early access perks and more - however, you must be series A or earlier startup with one of our incubator/VC partners in order to qualify. https://www.digitalocean.com/hatch/

DO <3 OSS -> If you need credits for your open source project fill out this little form for our Developer Relations team for consideration: https://do.co/oss-sponsorship-form

You can check out some of the OSS projects we currently sponsor here! https://www.digitalocean.com/open-source/

Doing a conference talk and need to power your demos? Apply for some credits via the Droplets for Demos program. https://www.digitalocean.com/droplets-for-demos/

Hope that helps!

Happy coding.

• Sam