Bootstrapped startup perks
44 of the 104 active programs on this site let a startup with no outside investors apply directly. Each row shows what the program offers, the limits that still apply (funding cap, company age, region) and how long it lasts, highest published value first.
“Bootstrapped-friendly” comes from each program's official eligibility rules: it must take direct applications, and its rules must either accept bootstrapped or self-funded teams or be open to any stage with no funding requirement. 17 programs whose rules don't settle it are listed separately, and the 43 that need investors or a partner are at the bottom. See how we verify.
- Bootstrapped OK
- 44
- No funding cap stated
- 26
- Rules don't say
- 17
- Need investors or a partner
- 43
Latest check against official pages: Nov 4, 2026
Open to bootstrapped startups 44
Apply directly. No investor, accelerator or partner needed.
Offer
$10,000 (self-serve) to up to $350,000 (partner-funded) in Cloudflare credits
Bootstrapped route: Tier 3: $10,000 in credits, no minimum funding
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
- Under 10 years old
Offer
$2,000 (Start) to $350,000 (Scale AI) in Google Cloud credits usable on Firebase
Lasts 2 years
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
Up to $5,000 (Founders) or up to $200,000 (Portfolio) in AWS Activate credits
Bootstrapped route: Activate Founders: start with $1,000, select startups up to $5,000
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
- Under 10 years old
Offer
Up to $200,000 in Neon + Databricks credits (up to $1,000 if self-funded)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
Up to $150,000 in Azure Startup credits
Applying directly: Start at $200 (no code); unlock up to $150,000 by verification and usage
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
Up to $120,000 in cloud credits + up to 2B Model Studio tokens
Why it qualifies
You can apply directly and no funding requirement is stated.
Offer
$10K on acceptance; up to $100K per Daytona's page ($50K per its terms)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $15M raised).
- Under $15M raised
- Under 5 years old
Offer
$1,000 starter credits, tiers up to $100,000 (12 months)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
Up to $23K in plan fees and credits for 12 months; $100K in Cloud credits for YC companies
Applying directly: Up to $23K (Scale plan for a year + $17K in credits)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $5M raised).
- Under $5M raised
Offer
100% off Team/Business for 1 year (up to $60K), then 25% off year 2
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $10M raised).
- Under $10M raised
- Under 10 years old
Offer
1 year of the Growth plan free (100M events/month or 200K MTUs, $60,000 value); 40% off year two
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $10M raised).
- Under $10M raised
Offer
USD 5,000 to USD 60,000 in OCI credits (12-month validity)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
You can apply directly and no funding requirement is stated.
Offer
Up to $50,000 in Civo credits (Launchpad $1K / Propel $10K / Elevate $50K)
Applying directly: Up to $1,000 / $10,000 / $50,000 by stage
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
You can apply directly and no funding requirement is stated.
Offer
$50,000 in credits for 12 months
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $5M raised).
- Under $5M raised
- Under 2 years old
Offer
2× your annual plan's monthly credits for a year (extra capped at $30K/yr); YC up to 5×
Applying directly: 2× monthly credits for 12 months
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $10M raised).
- Under $10M raised
- Under 5 years old
Offer
One-time $20,000 in E2B credits + Pro tier membership
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $5M raised).
- Under $5M raised
- Under 3 years old
Offer
Up to $10,000 in Prisma Postgres credits for up to 1 year
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
- Under 5 years old
Offer
33M characters over 12 months (ElevenLabs values it at $5,500+)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
One-time credit of up to $5,000 (1M+ search API calls)
Why it qualifies
You can apply directly and no funding requirement is stated.
Offer
$1K (Starter) or $5K (Venture) in GPU credits; bonus credits on $25K+ commits
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
Up to $5,000 in credits, valid 12 months
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $5M raised).
- Under $5M raised
- Under 2 years old
Offer
$1,500 off the Team plan (credits expire 1 year after upgrading)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
You can apply directly and no funding requirement is stated.
Offer
Save up to $1,200 per EOR team member for 12 months
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
93% off year one ($65/month), 50% off year two, 25% off year three
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $10M raised).
- Under $10M raised
Offer
Up to 90% off year one, 50% off year two, 25% off year three
Bootstrapped route: 30% off first year (Bootstrap Program)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
50% off up to 10 IDE, team-tool and AI subscriptions for 5 years
Lasts 5 years
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
- Under 5 years old
Offer
50% off your entire Langfuse Cloud bill for 12 months
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $5M raised).
- Under $5M raised
- Under 5 years old
Offer
50% off: $16,000 of MotherDuck for an $8,000 annual commitment
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $5M raised).
- Under $5M raised
Offer
Up to 50% off (under 100 staff); pay what you can from $1 (under 25 staff)
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $50M raised).
- Under $50M raised
- Under 5 years old
Offer
Up to 30% off Aikido (under $1.5M raised, or nonprofits)
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $1.5M raised).
- Under $1.5M raised
Offer
12 months of recurring free credits + startup pricing (amount not published)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
Free cap table (Carta Launch) up to 25 stakeholders and $1M raised; 20% off paid plans via perks platforms
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $1M raised).
- Under $1M raised
Offer
12 months of the Scale plan free ($299/mo list): 8M credits + $299 agent credits a month
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
You can apply directly and no funding requirement is stated.
Offer
6 months of Composio Pro free
Lasts 6 months
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $5M raised).
- Under $5M raised
Offer
Free for up to 12 months, including up to 30,000 customer profiles
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $10M raised).
- Under $10M raised
Offer
Matching ad credit after meeting a spend threshold within 60 days (amount varies by country)
Applying directly: Spend X, get X (e.g. $500 for $500)
Why it qualifies
You can apply directly and no funding requirement is stated.
Offer
Partner perks for Mercury customers (e.g. $5,000 AWS, $10,000 GitHub, 6 months Notion)
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
- Regions: US
Offer
Promotional ad credit after qualifying spend (2026 offer: $500 after $250; expires 90 days)
Why it qualifies
You can apply directly and no funding requirement is stated.
Offer
First year free on the Startup Plan (up to 1 billion events/year)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $8M raised).
- Under $8M raised
- Under 5 years old
Offer
Tiered Atlas credits + Voyage AI tokens (amounts not published)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
- Under 7 years old
Offer
Free Business plan (incl. AI) for 3 months direct, 6 months via a partner
Applying directly: 3 months free (1 month for SMBs)
Lasts 6 months
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
Books + federal and state tax filings for $750 for your first year
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
- Under 1 year old
- Regions: US
Offer
Up to €1,000 (Founders) / €9,000 (Early Stage) / €36,000 (Growth Stage) in credits
Applying directly: Founders €1,000 (1 year) / Early Stage €9,000 (6 months) / Growth up to €36,000 (1 year)
Lasts 1 year
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly.
Offer
Free Chat, Feeds, Video and Moderation plans (usage-capped) for teams of 5 or fewer
Why it qualifies
Bootstrapped teams can apply directly (funding cap: under $100K raised).
- Under $100K raised
Direct application, funding rules not stated 17
These programs take direct applications, but their official pages don't say whether a startup with no outside funding qualifies. Worth asking before you apply.
Offer
Up to $200,000 over 2 years (up to $350,000 for AI startups); $2,000 Start tier
Lasts 2 years
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Under 5 years old
Offer
€10,000 (Start) to up to €100,000 (Scale); US: up to $12,000 / $120,000
Lasts 1 year
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
Offer
$1,000 API credit + 1 year Claude Team (5 seats); up to $100K more via partner VCs
Lasts 1 year
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Under 5 years old
Offer
12 months of Statsig Enterprise + 1B events (Statsig values it at $50K+)
Lasts 1 year
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
- Under $50M raised
- Under 5 years old
Offer
$12,000 in credits over 12 months ($1,000/month); $50,000 for the current YC batch
Lasts 1 year
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Under $7M raised
- Under 3 years old
Offer
Up to $15K / $30K / $50K in platform credits by funding stage
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
Offer
$10,000 in Algolia credits, valid 12 months
Lasts 1 year
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Under $15M raised
- Under 7 years old
Offer
$1,000 in credits every month until you raise $5M; 50% off for everyone else
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed
- Under $5M raised
Offer
1 year of Convex Professional free + 30% off usage fees (up to $30k)
Lasts 1 year
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Under $3M raised
- Under 3 years old
Offer
20% off Qdrant Cloud for the first year
Lasts 1 year
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Under $5M raised
- Under 5 years old
Offer
Discount on Clerk Pro (percentage not published)
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed
- Under $5M raised
Offer
Build credits + higher rate limits (amount not published)
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
Offer
Free platform access: 5 users + generous monthly data ingest, with FDE office hours
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
Offer
Free Standard tier + Pro Support, plus usage credits and discounts (amounts not published)
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
Offer
$350K+ in partner perks (e.g. $25K Stripe fee-free processing, $40K Amplitude credits)
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
- Regions: US
Offer
Free usage on first contract (Startup Package); Accelerator credits and GTM support
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
Offer
Waived processing fees or fee credits (amount set per partner); $2,500 Atlas credits
Lasts 1 year
What the rules say
Stages listed: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
Programs that need investors or a partner 43
Not open to bootstrapped startups through a direct application, with the reason from each program's rules.
Show all 43 programs
- Databricks for Startups
The official rules exclude unfunded or bootstrapped companies.
- Aiven for Startups
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- Datadog for Startups
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Render Startup Program
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- fal for Startups
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- Vercel for Startups
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Baseten AI Startup Program
The official rules require outside funding.
- Replit Startup Program
The official rules exclude unfunded or bootstrapped companies.
- Fly.io for Startups
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- ClickHouse Startup Offer
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Deel for Startups
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- GitHub for Startups
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- LangSmith for Startups
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- Sanity Startup Program
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Temporal Cloud for Startups
The official rules require outside funding.
- SurrealDB Startup Programme
The application requires outside funding.
- LlamaParse Startup Program
The application requires outside funding.
- Miro Startup Program
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- Framer Startup Program
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Supabase Startup Credits
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Attio Startup Program
The official rules exclude unfunded or bootstrapped companies.
- Apollo for Startups
Even the direct application requires a partner affiliation.
- Dub Startup Program
The official rules exclude unfunded or bootstrapped companies.
- GitLab for Startups
The official rules exclude unfunded or bootstrapped companies.
- Mintlify Startup Program
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- Airwallex for Startups
The official rules require outside funding.
- Atlassian for Startups
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- Auth0 for Startups
The application requires outside funding.
- Braintrust for Startups
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- Brevo for Startups
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Brex Partner Perks
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- DigitalOcean Hatch
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- GitBook Startups Program
The official rules require outside funding.
- Linear for Startups
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Modal Startup Credits
The official rules require outside funding.
- Netlify for Startups
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Porter Startup Deal
The official rules require outside funding.
- Tavily for Startups
The direct application requires outside funding; unfunded teams need a partner route.
- Turso for Startups
The official rules exclude unfunded or bootstrapped companies.
- Vapi for Startups
The application requires outside funding.
- Weaviate Startup Deal
Only available through partner investors, accelerators or platforms.
- Zendesk for Startups
The official rules exclude unfunded or bootstrapped companies.
- Zoom for Startups
Even the direct application requires a partner affiliation.
Frequently asked questions
How many startup perk programs don't require VC funding?
44 of the 104 active programs on this site let a bootstrapped team apply directly, based on each program's official eligibility rules. Another 17 take direct applications without saying whether unfunded teams qualify, and 43 need outside funding or an investor, accelerator or partner.
Do bootstrapped-friendly programs have a funding cap?
18 of the 44 set a maximum amount raised, from under $100K to under $50M (median: under $5M). The other 26 state no cap. 15 also limit how old the company can be.
Do bootstrapped teams get the headline amount?
Not always. Cloudflare for Startups, AWS Activate Credits and HubSpot for Startups have a separate tier for bootstrapped or self-funded teams that differs from the headline offer. The list shows it under the headline as “Bootstrapped route”, and other rows show the direct-application offer when the official page states one.
How long do these perks last?
31 of the 44 run for 12 months or less, 2 run longer (the longest: 5 years), and 11 don't state a duration on the official page.
How do you decide a program is open to bootstrapped startups?
A program counts only when it takes direct applications and its official rules either accept bootstrapped or self-funded teams or are open to any stage with no funding requirement. Programs that exclude unfunded companies, or whose every direct route needs an investor or partner, are listed as needing funding. When the rules don't settle it, we say so instead of guessing.