How to Create a Free Azure Account Step by Step
Creating the Free Azure account
- Click on “Start for free” button.
- A sign-in form will be redirected to you. A Microsoft account is required. If you don’t have one, you have generate or create one, or after Microsoft bought it, there’s even the option to use a GitHub account.
Microsoft sign-in form
- You will be redirected to Identity Verification via the card form after your successful authorization.
Identity verification by card form
- Now that only the agreement remains to be reviewed, click sign up and your Azure free account is generated. Oh, congratulations!
Agreement and sign up button
- Please use this connection if you haven’t been redirected to the Azure Portal.
Once you logged in you can see the screen like this :
Free Services with Free Account
Microsoft would be more than generous to us for your first registration. You are going to be supported with:
- For the duration of the first month, € 170 or $ 200 free credit. The credit expires when the first month ends and you will be asked to select one of the subscriptions available.
- 12 months of complimentary popular services.
- 25 programs for free individually. Offers in different regions can vary.
- Now you can start using most popular services of azure like Azure Computing service , Azure data factory and many more.
What is the Learn sandbox?
Many of the learning activities use the sandbox, a technology that generates a temporary subscription that is linked to your Azure account. For the duration of the Learn module, this temporary subscription helps you to build Azure tools. After you have completed the module, Learn automatically cleans up the temporary resources for you.
You are welcome to use your personal subscription to complete the exercises in a module when you complete the Learn module. However, the sandbox is the preferred approach to use, since it allows you to build and evaluate tools from Azure at no cost to you.
Directory
Azure Active Directory is associated with each Microsoft account or Microsoft service (AAD). AAD is the cloud-based identity and access management service for Microsoft.
If you are using one of Microsoft’s services, you have an AAD-related account from your Xbox account to Office365, and the directory (Tenant) is dedicated to you only.
The directory is a cloud-based identity and its human-readable identifier is always available, ending with the suffix onmicrosoft.com. Such an identifier is uniquely global. After clicking your name in the upper right corner, you can see the name of your AAD and then click the Switch directory icon.
Displaying the name of your directory in Azure Portal
Subscriptions
Multiple subscriptions can be kept in one registry. For Azure resources, it acts as a single billing unit. These are the subscription forms that are most commonly used:
- Pay-as-you-go -You will be paid annually for services you used in the current month, as the title refers to. This is an easy option after a free trial for one month. You have nothing to think about if you just want to use free services.
- Azure Open Licensing -Purchased vouchers from third-party retailers. You will receive the code that you will be submitting in the Azure Portal online form.
- Visual Studio Enterprise Subscription-If you are a VS Business user, free monthly credits amounting to $200 are granted to you.
If you are not interested in the free trial month, you can upgrade your subscription to the Upgrade button in the top left corner of the Azure Portal home page immediately.
Upgrade button in Azure Portal
You may also add a threw-page subscription to the subscription. You can navigate to the top of an interactive search area.
Search subscriptions
Or, you should be able to see the path to the subscription page in the Azure services section and also in the Navigate section if you are really a newbie and do not play with the settings of your homepage.
Subscription links at Azure Portal homepage
If you’re on the subscription tab, use the Add button. The page with subscription deals will be redirected to you. I have disabled the Pay-As-You-Go Pick offer button, as you can see in the picture below, since my free trial month is still running. But I’d be able to update my account by having a link next to it.
Deepak Goyal is certified Azure Cloud Solution Architect. He is having around decade and half experience in designing, developing and managing enterprise cloud solutions. He is also Big data certified professional and passionate cloud advocate.