{
  "schema_version": "1.2",
  "type": "howto_guide",
  "slug": "startup-credits",
  "canonical_url": "https://howtoin.nl/startup-credits",
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://howtoin.nl/startup-credits",
    "json": "https://howtoin.nl/content/guides/startup-credits.json",
    "markdown": "https://howtoin.nl/md/startup-credits.md"
  },
  "title": "How to get startup credits in NL",
  "short_title": "get startup credits",
  "summary": "Find cloud, AI and software credits your startup can use from the Netherlands, check which access route fits, and avoid expiry, billing and eligibility traps.",
  "themes": [
    "Business",
    "Work"
  ],
  "keywords": [
    "startup credits netherlands",
    "cloud credits startup netherlands",
    "startup software discounts",
    "startup cloud funding",
    "startup programme netherlands",
    "aws activate netherlands",
    "google for startups netherlands",
    "microsoft for startups netherlands"
  ],
  "audience": "Founders building a scalable startup in the Netherlands",
  "last_reviewed": "2026-10-10",
  "estimated_time": "About 30 to 60 minutes to shortlist the routes that fit, plus the provider's own application and review time",
  "intro": "Startup credits can reduce the cost of cloud, AI and software while a company is still small, but the headline value is rarely the whole story. Some offers are direct, some require venture funding or an approved accelerator, and some start charging normal prices when the benefit ends. The useful approach is to start from costs you already expect, match each offer to your real funding and partner route, and record the exit before you activate anything.",
  "before_you_start": "Have the same company facts ready for every application: your exact legal name, KvK registration, company website, work email, founding date, funding stage and a short description of what you build. Decide which tools you would choose without a credit. A large offer is not useful if it pushes you onto a platform you would not keep at normal pricing.",
  "timing": "The application itself may take minutes, but provider review times vary. The more important clock starts when a benefit is activated: some credits last a fixed number of months, some offers close on a published date, and some accounts move to normal billing when the credit is exhausted.",
  "authorities": [
    "aws",
    "cloudflare",
    "microsoft",
    "rvo"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authority_id": "cloudflare",
      "organisation": "Cloudflare",
      "url": "https://www.cloudflare.com/startups/",
      "label": "Cloudflare for Startups: current tiers and eligibility"
    },
    {
      "authority_id": "microsoft",
      "organisation": "Microsoft",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/startups/microsoft-for-startups/getting-started-mfs",
      "label": "Microsoft for Startups: Azure credit progression"
    },
    {
      "authority_id": "rvo",
      "organisation": "RVO",
      "url": "https://www.rvo.nl/subsidies-financiering/wbso",
      "label": "WBSO: 2026 tax benefit and application timing"
    }
  ],
  "steps": [
    {
      "number": 1,
      "id": "step-1",
      "anchor": "#step-1",
      "url": "https://howtoin.nl/startup-credits#step-1",
      "title": "List the costs you already expect",
      "description": "Write down the cloud, database, identity, analytics, CRM, support and collaboration costs you genuinely expect in the next 12 months. Start from the stack you need, not from the largest credit headline.",
      "action": "Make a short list of expected tools and rough monthly spend before you compare offers.",
      "warning": "A credit is not a saving if it moves you onto a platform you would not choose at normal pricing.",
      "source": {
        "authority_id": "cloudflare",
        "organisation": "Cloudflare",
        "url": "https://www.cloudflare.com/startups/",
        "label": "Cloudflare for Startups: current credit model"
      }
    },
    {
      "number": 2,
      "id": "step-2",
      "anchor": "#step-2",
      "url": "https://howtoin.nl/startup-credits#step-2",
      "title": "Work out which access route you have",
      "description": "Separate direct offers from routes that require verified funding or an approved partner. A real VC, accelerator or incubator relationship can unlock larger benefits, but a warm introduction is not the same as an approved provider route.",
      "action": "Answer the route questions in this guide and use partner proof only when the provider accepts it.",
      "documents": [
        "Funding stage and investor names",
        "Partner proof or referral details, if you have them"
      ],
      "warning": "Do not invent or overstate a partner affiliation to reach a higher credit tier.",
      "source": {
        "authority_id": "aws",
        "organisation": "AWS",
        "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/startups/credits",
        "label": "AWS Activate: Founders and Portfolio credit routes"
      }
    },
    {
      "number": 3,
      "id": "step-3",
      "anchor": "#step-3",
      "url": "https://howtoin.nl/startup-credits#step-3",
      "title": "Prepare one consistent application profile",
      "description": "Keep your legal name, company website, work email, founding date, funding stage and product description consistent across provider forms. Some providers verify the company and then unlock larger credit levels over time.",
      "action": "Prepare the reusable application kit before submitting the first form.",
      "documents": [
        "KvK registration details",
        "Company-domain email",
        "Public website",
        "Founding date and funding information"
      ],
      "warning": "Changing basic company facts between applications can slow verification or create avoidable questions.",
      "source": {
        "authority_id": "microsoft",
        "organisation": "Microsoft",
        "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/startups/microsoft-for-startups/getting-started-mfs",
        "label": "Microsoft for Startups: verification and Azure credit progression"
      }
    },
    {
      "number": 4,
      "id": "step-4",
      "anchor": "#step-4",
      "url": "https://howtoin.nl/startup-credits#step-4",
      "title": "Apply to the direct routes first",
      "description": "Direct routes are the fastest place to start when you are bootstrapped or pre-funded. Check each provider's current eligibility before you create a paid dependency or move a production workload.",
      "action": "Apply only to providers you would realistically use after the credit ends.",
      "timing": "Provider review times vary.",
      "warning": "Some startup offers exclude existing paid customers, so check the rule before upgrading from a free plan.",
      "source": {
        "authority_id": "cloudflare",
        "organisation": "Cloudflare",
        "url": "https://www.cloudflare.com/startups/",
        "label": "Cloudflare for Startups: direct and partner-backed tiers"
      }
    },
    {
      "number": 5,
      "id": "step-5",
      "anchor": "#step-5",
      "url": "https://howtoin.nl/startup-credits#step-5",
      "title": "Check Dutch support separately",
      "description": "Cloud and software credits reduce tool spend. Dutch schemes work differently. WBSO can reduce the wage-tax cost of qualifying technical research and development, while Vroegefasefinanciering and Innovatiekrediet are financing routes rather than free credits.",
      "action": "Check WBSO before the technical work starts and use the government Startup Box if you are unsure which financing route fits.",
      "documents": [
        "A description of the technical R&D work",
        "Project timing and expected R&D effort"
      ],
      "timing": "WBSO applies to future R&D work, so timing matters.",
      "warning": "Do not treat a government loan as a grant. Check repayment, interest and project conditions before applying.",
      "source": {
        "authority_id": "rvo",
        "organisation": "RVO",
        "url": "https://www.rvo.nl/subsidies-financiering/wbso",
        "label": "WBSO: conditions, timing and 2026 parameters"
      }
    },
    {
      "number": 6,
      "id": "step-6",
      "anchor": "#step-6",
      "url": "https://howtoin.nl/startup-credits#step-6",
      "title": "Record the exit before you activate",
      "description": "Write down the expiry date, covered products, excluded services, overage rules and the normal price you would pay after the benefit ends. Add a review date before expiry so you can decide whether to stay, reduce usage or move.",
      "action": "Add approved benefits to the shortlist in this guide and download the review reminders.",
      "timing": "Review long benefits about 60 days before expiry and shorter benefits about 14 days before expiry.",
      "warning": "A payment method can start being charged when a benefit ends or when usage falls outside the credit terms.",
      "source": {
        "authority_id": "microsoft",
        "organisation": "Microsoft",
        "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/startups/microsoft-for-startups/getting-started-mfs",
        "label": "Microsoft for Startups: credit levels and ongoing usage requirements"
      }
    }
  ],
  "documents": [
    "KvK number and exact legal company name",
    "A company-domain email address",
    "A public website that explains the product",
    "Founding date and current funding stage",
    "Investor or partner evidence when a route requires it",
    "A payment method and budget alerts where the provider requires billing details"
  ],
  "warnings": [
    {
      "kind": "common_mistake",
      "text": "Treating an advertised maximum as the amount you will receive. Several providers unlock value in stages or make the largest offer conditional on funding, partner proof or sustained usage."
    },
    {
      "kind": "common_mistake",
      "text": "Applying for software only because it is discounted. Credits are useful when they replace a cost you already expected, not when they create a new dependency."
    },
    {
      "kind": "common_mistake",
      "text": "Starting a paid plan before checking eligibility. Some startup offers require you to still be a new or free customer."
    },
    {
      "kind": "common_mistake",
      "text": "Forgetting the end date, excluded services or automatic overage billing before moving a production workload."
    },
    {
      "kind": "step_warning",
      "step": 1,
      "text": "A credit is not a saving if it moves you onto a platform you would not choose at normal pricing."
    },
    {
      "kind": "step_warning",
      "step": 2,
      "text": "Do not invent or overstate a partner affiliation to reach a higher credit tier."
    },
    {
      "kind": "step_warning",
      "step": 3,
      "text": "Changing basic company facts between applications can slow verification or create avoidable questions."
    },
    {
      "kind": "step_warning",
      "step": 4,
      "text": "Some startup offers exclude existing paid customers, so check the rule before upgrading from a free plan."
    },
    {
      "kind": "step_warning",
      "step": 5,
      "text": "Do not treat a government loan as a grant. Check repayment, interest and project conditions before applying."
    },
    {
      "kind": "step_warning",
      "step": 6,
      "text": "A payment method can start being charged when a benefit ends or when usage falls outside the credit terms."
    }
  ],
  "conditions": {
    "title": "Which startup-credit route do you have?",
    "intro": "Your funding, company age and real partner affiliations decide which offers are worth your time.",
    "options": [
      {
        "label": "Direct or bootstrapped route",
        "detail": "Several providers accept self-funded or pre-funded technology startups directly. Start with these before trying to manufacture a partner route."
      },
      {
        "label": "Institutionally funded route",
        "detail": "Verified venture or institutional funding can unlock offers that are closed to bootstrapped companies, or increase the value of an existing offer."
      },
      {
        "label": "Partner-backed route",
        "detail": "An approved VC, accelerator, incubator or ecosystem partner can unlock larger offers. Use only an affiliation you can prove through the provider's own route."
      }
    ]
  },
  "next_steps": [
    "Use the route checker on this guide and shortlist only the offers that fit your current company.",
    "Prepare the reusable application kit before submitting the first provider form.",
    "Record activation, expiry and review dates for every approved benefit.",
    "Check Dutch support such as WBSO separately, because it can reduce development costs in a different way from software credits."
  ],
  "related_guides": [
    "start-a-business",
    "start-freelancing"
  ],
  "publisher": {
    "name": "How to in NL",
    "url": "https://howtoin.nl",
    "relationship": "publisher",
    "parent": {
      "name": "Flux Forward",
      "url": "https://fluxforward.world"
    }
  }
}