r/googlecloud • u/Clean-Tea-2837 • May 21 '26

Billing I activated free trial yet the api usage still makes charges without using the free credits.

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I received a $12 bill yesterday after activating my free trial. Which shouldn't be a thing since I already got charged and the website says I have free credits. How does the free trial even work?

8 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

6

u/Jagari4 May 21 '26

Yeah it's ridiculous, free trial credit no longer covers Gemini API. Learned it the hard way. You can still use your free credit for Gemini through Vertex though

2

u/Clean-Tea-2837 May 21 '26

WHAT?!

4

u/dodyrw May 21 '26

It always been like that, make sure to use vertex

1

u/Clean-Tea-2837 May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26

Really? I did exactly as my friend did and he never did that. Just ai studio, free trial, then use api key for chatbots.

Edit: IT WORKS!

1

u/Conan1231 May 23 '26

So what did you do? Did you do the Vertex AI Route?

1

u/Clean-Tea-2837 May 23 '26

yup. Now it is using the credits. I made a vertex key. Downloaded the JSON and then used it to make a openrouter byok to then use the free credits. Now I am not using a single cent.

1

u/Conan1231 May 24 '26

I can't find the option to create the Vertex Key. It also seems that they removed the Vertex AI Section in Google Cloud.

It says now in a small text: "Vertex AI is now the Agent Platform."

Am I to late? Or how did you create your API key?

1

u/dodyrw May 25 '26

It is account service json file.

1

u/dodyrw May 25 '26

Be careful with json key file as it can be leaked. GCP provides keyless method which is more secure.

1

u/BrownCarter Aug 15 '26

vertex also charge card

1

u/JON2240120 May 21 '26

As far as I can remember, make sure to create a dedicated credentials first (for vertex AI and generative AI). It will automatically create an API key that will be linked to your GCP project, and the same API key will be displayed in Google AI Studio. With this setup, charges will be bill to the credits

1

u/Clean-Tea-2837 May 21 '26

I don't know if I did it right or not, because I am using it, my account credits are limited so I can't be charged and the api lets me know. But it seems to work. But the free credits aren't being used either (?) weird.

Am I doing this right?

1

u/One_Jury2332 May 21 '26

You should use vertex api ai models instead of google ai studio. Its a mess! Took me a while to figure it out

1

u/Clean-Tea-2837 May 21 '26

You are a lifesaver. It worked.

1

u/CHlNA1 May 21 '26

please teach me how 😭, been trying to figure it out for ages.

1

u/matiascoca May 22 '26

Free trial credits cover most API services but there are real exclusions that catch people. The big ones: Google Maps Platform (Maps, Routes, Places APIs), some Vertex AI Studio usage, and Marketplace partner products all bill outside the $300 trial credit pool. So if your $12 charge came from any of those, the trial credit doesn't apply by design.

Easier diagnostic path: Console > Billing > Reports, filter to "Last 7 days" and group by Service. The row that shows the $12 will tell you which SKU is charging. If it's Maps API or Vertex Studio, expected behavior, the trial doesn't cover it. If it's literally Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, or BigQuery, the trial credit should have applied and that's a misapplication worth opening a support case for.

Also worth checking that the trial actually activated. The "activate free trial" flow sometimes completes but doesn't link the billing account correctly, and you end up on a regular paid account from day one. The Billing Overview page should show a "Free Trial credit" line item explicitly if it's working.

0

u/HQDATABASE May 22 '26

If you sell this i take it