Oracle Offers Free Autonomous Database on OCI with No Time Limit

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Oracle's OCI Always Free tier provides two Autonomous Database instances, each with 1 OCPU and 20 GB of storage, available indefinitely at no cost. The offering runs Oracle Database 23ai and includes AI Vector Search, accessible directly through a browser-based SQL interface without any client installation. Users can sign up at oracle.com/cloud/free using a personal email, though a credit card is required for identity verification. A key limitation is that the database automatically pauses after seven days of inactivity and may be permanently deleted if it remains stopped for a cumulative 90 days. Regularly connecting and running SQL queries is sufficient to keep the instance active and prevent data loss.

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