Startup Programs for Pre-seed (2026): 106 Programs, Accelerators & Perks
Idea or prototype stage, little or no outside money. 106 listings on startups.ws state that they accept pre-seed.
🎁 Startup programs for pre-seed
Filter all startup programs →Google for Startups Cloud Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $2,000 in Google Cloud credits pre-funding, or up to $200,000 ($350,000 for AI-first startups) once VC-funded.
🔥 Up to $2,000 (Start) or up to $200,000 / $350,000 for AI-first startups (Scale) in Google Cloud credits
AWS Activate 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $5,000 in AWS credits if you are self-funded, or up to $200,000 with an Activate Provider Org ID.
🔥 Up to $5,000 (Founders) or up to $200,000 (Portfolio, with Activate Provider Org ID) in AWS creditsGoogle for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier) 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years for VC-funded startups building on Gemini.
🔥 Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits over 2 years for AI-first startupsPostHog for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
$50,000 in PostHog credits for 12 months, plus merch and partner perks, for startups under two years old.
🔥 $50,000 in PostHog credits for 12 monthsNSF SBIR/STTR (America's Seed Fund powered by NSF) 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $2 million of zero-equity seed funding from NSF for deep-tech startups, starting with a short Project Pitch.
America's Seed Fund (SBIR/STTR) 🎁 ProgramFree
Equity-free US federal R&D awards from 11 agencies, from proof of concept (Phase I) to prototype (Phase II).
Cloudflare for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
$10,000 in Cloudflare credits if bootstrapped, $100,000 or $350,000 if funded by an affiliated partner.
🔥 $10,000 (bootstrapped), $100,000 or $350,000 (partner-funded) in Cloudflare credits for one yearMicrosoft for Startups (Azure AI and Foundry) 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $150K in Azure credits (up to $200K via investor partners) usable on Microsoft Foundry models.
🔥 Up to $150K in Azure Startup credits (up to $200K for Investor Network-backed startups)Microsoft for Startups (Azure credits) 🎁 ProgramFree
Azure credits from $200 up to $150,000, with higher tiers unlocked by progress or an Investor Network referral code.
🔥 Up to $150,000 in Azure Startup credits (higher tiers via Investor Network referral code)HubSpot for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to 90% off HubSpot Professional or Enterprise in year one for funded or partner-backed startups
🔥 Up to 90% off HubSpot Professional/Enterprise in year one (50% year two, 25% year three)Amplitude for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
First year of Amplitude Growth free (up to 100M events a month, about $60,000 value), then 40% off year two.
🔥 First year of Amplitude Growth free (up to 100M events/month), then 40% off year twoMixpanel for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Your first year of Mixpanel free on the Startup Plan: up to 1B events, Session Replay and all add-ons.
🔥 First year of Mixpanel free on the Startup Plan (Mixpanel values it at $145,000)SR&ED Tax Incentive (Canada) 🎁 ProgramFree
Refundable 35% R&D tax credit for Canadian-controlled private corporations on up to C$6 million of R&D a year.
Notion for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to 6 months free on Notion Business with Notion AI included, for startups under 100 employees
🔥 Up to 6 months free on Notion Business with Notion AI includedIntercom Early Stage 🎁 ProgramFree
93% off Intercom in year one, then 50% and 25%, for startups under $10M raised and 15 staff
🔥 93% off year one, 50% year two, 25% year threeClaude for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Claude API credits, higher rate limits, a partner perk stack and office hours for startups building on Claude.
🔥 Up to $100K extra Claude API credits via partner VCs, plus partner perks worth up to $45,000ElevenLabs Startup Grants 🎁 ProgramFree
12 months of the ElevenLabs platform with 33 million characters for voice AI startups under 25 people.
🔥 12 months free with 33M characters (stated value more than $5,500)R&D Tax Incentive (Australia) 🎁 ProgramFree
Refundable R&D tax offset of your company tax rate plus 18.5% for Australian companies with turnover under A$20 million.
WBSO (Dutch R&D tax credit) 🎁 ProgramFree
Dutch payroll-tax credit of 36% (50% for starters) on R&D wage costs up to about EUR 391,000, then 16%.
EXIST Business Start-up Grant (exist Gründungsstipendium) 🎁 ProgramFree
12 months of stipends (EUR 1,000-3,000 a month each) plus EUR 30,000 for costs, for German university spin-off teams.
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) 🎁 ProgramFree
UK tax relief for your investors on up to GBP 250,000 of seed shares, which makes early rounds much easier to raise.
NVIDIA Inception 🎁 ProgramFree
Free programme with DLI training, cloud credits from NVIDIA and partners, GPU pricing and VC introductions.
Atlassian for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Jira, Confluence, Loom, Bitbucket and Rovo Premium free for 12 months for up to 50 users.
🔥 Atlassian Premium products free for 12 months for up to 50 usersAuth0 for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
One year of Auth0 B2B Professional free with 100,000 MAUs for young, venture-backed startups.
🔥 One year of Auth0 B2B Professional free with 100,000 MAUsMercury Perks 🎁 ProgramFree
A library of 273 software credits and discounts unlocked with a Mercury business account
🔥 273 software credits and discounts for Mercury customersDeepgram Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $100,000 in Deepgram speech-to-text, text-to-speech and Voice Agent credits over 12 months.
🔥 Up to $100,000 in Deepgram credits over 12 monthsBrex Partner Rewards and Day Zero Stack 🎁 ProgramFree
Over $350,000 in partner discounts for Brex customers, plus a 20-tool Day Zero Stack for new startups
🔥 Over $350,000 in partner discounts; Day Zero Stack of 20 toolsRetool for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
100% off Retool Team or Business for a year (value up to $60,000), then 25% off the following year.
🔥 100% off Retool Team or Business for one year (up to $60,000), then 25% off year twoTogether AI Startup Accelerator 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $50K in Together AI platform credits plus forward-deployed engineering hours, tiered by how much you raised.
🔥 Up to $15K / $30K / $50K in platform credits depending on funding raisedAttio Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
80% off Attio Pro in year one and 30% in year two for venture-backed or partner startups
🔥 80% off the annual Pro plan in year one, 30% off in year twoNeon / Databricks Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $1,000 in Neon credits if self-funded, or up to $200,000 in Neon and Databricks credits if VC-backed.
🔥 Up to $1,000 (self-funded) or up to $200,000 (VC-backed) in Neon and Databricks creditsIdeation (Tnufa) Incentive Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Conditional grant of up to NIS 200,000 (about $60,000) for Israeli entrepreneurs to reach proof of concept.
Start-Up Chile 🎁 ProgramFree
Corfo public accelerator with equity-free funds of CLP 15-75 million (up to about $100,000) for startups from anywhere.
UK R&D Tax Relief (merged scheme and ERIS) 🎁 ProgramFree
A 20% R&D expenditure credit, or a 186% deduction plus payable credit for loss-making R&D-intensive UK SMEs.
Sentry for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $5,000 in Sentry credits and priority support for startups under two years old with under $5M raised.
🔥 Up to $5,000 in Sentry credits (12 months) and priority supportStripe Atlas Partner Perks 🎁 ProgramFree
Over $50,000 in partner discounts plus $2,500 in Stripe credits for companies incorporated with Atlas
🔥 Over $50,000 in partner discounts + $2,500 Stripe credits for Atlas companiesDigitalOcean Startups (Hatch) 🎁 ProgramFree
12 months of DigitalOcean credits, 15 months of free support and partner perks for startups that raised $10M or less.
🔥 12 months of DigitalOcean credits (amount set by your partner) plus 15 months of free Standard supportJetBrains Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
50% off JetBrains IDEs, team tools and JetBrains AI for up to 10 licences each, for five years.
🔥 50% off JetBrains IDEs, team tools and JetBrains AI (up to 10 licences each) for five yearsOVHcloud Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $12,000 (Start) or $120,000 (Scale) in OVHcloud public cloud credits for 12 months, plus free engineer time.
🔥 Up to $12,000 (Start) or $120,000 (Scale) in OVHcloud US public cloud credits for 12 monthsMongoDB for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
MongoDB Atlas credits and Voyage AI tokens in four tiers, from bootstrapped to rapidly scaling startups.
🔥 MongoDB Atlas credits and Voyage AI tokens (amount depends on tier)Algolia for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
$10,000 in Algolia search credits, valid for 12 months, for new customers.
🔥 $10,000 in Algolia credits, valid for 12 monthsHelp Scout for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Six months of Help Scout Plus free, with AI Answers, for incorporated tech startups under two years old
🔥 6 months free on Help Scout PlusBourse French Tech 🎁 ProgramFree
Bpifrance subsidy of up to EUR 30,000 (about $34,500) for early feasibility work on a French tech innovation project.
AssemblyAI Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
12 months of recurring free speech-to-text credits and startup pricing for voice and audio products.
🔥 12 months of recurring free credits plus startup pricingPinecone for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Free Pinecone Standard tier with Pro Support plus usage credits and discounts for early-stage startups.
🔥 Free Standard tier with Pro Support plus usage creditsNew Frontiers 🎁 ProgramFree
Ireland's national startup programme: a EUR 15,000 tax-free stipend for six full-time months, mentoring and no equity.
Startup SG Founder 🎁 ProgramFree
S$20,000-S$50,000 (up to about $38,500) grant, matched 1:1 by your capital, plus mentoring for first-time founders.
Datadog for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
A year of Datadog Pro with up to $100,000 in credits for Series A or earlier startups, via a referral partner.
🔥 One year of Datadog Pro, up to $100,000 in credits (via a referral partner)Typeform for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
75% off Typeform Business for a year on annual billing, for small early-stage startups
🔥 75% off the Typeform Business plan for one year (annual billing)Miro for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $1,000 in Miro credit for early startups, $500 without a partner, plus a scale-up discount
🔥 Up to $1,000 Miro credit ($500 without a partner)Linear Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Free access to Linear Business for partner-affiliated startups under 50 employees
🔥 Free access to Linear Business plan via an official partnerLangSmith for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Discounted LangSmith seats for early VC-backed startups, or $10K in credits via LangChain partner VCs.
🔥 $10K in LangSmith credits for 1 year (Scale tier, premier VC partners)Scaleway Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
European cloud credits from a €1,000 Founders voucher up to about €36,000 for growth-stage startups.
🔥 From a €1,000 Founders voucher up to €36,000 (Growth Stage) in Scaleway creditsRunpod Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
$1,000 in GPU credits for pre-Series A teams, or a $25,000 bonus on a $50K commitment for scaling startups.
🔥 $1,000 Starter credits, or $75K credits for a $50K commitment (Growth tier)GitHub for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
$10,000 in GitHub credits for Enterprise, Copilot, Actions and Advanced Security, through a partner investor.
🔥 $10,000 in GitHub credits for 12 months (via a GitHub for Startups partner)Zoho for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Zoho Wallet credits for 55+ Zoho apps, valid 360 days, for startups via Zoho collaborators
🔥 Zoho Wallet credits for 55+ Zoho apps, valid 360 daysAsana for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Discounted first year of Asana Starter or Advanced for Series A-or-earlier startups with a partner code
🔥 Discounted first 12 months of Asana Starter or Advanced with a partner codeAlibaba Cloud AI Catalyst Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $120,000 in Alibaba Cloud credits and up to 2B free Model Studio tokens for AI-first startups.
🔥 Up to $120,000 in Alibaba Cloud credits and up to 2B Model Studio tokensQdrant for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
20% off Qdrant Cloud for the first year, plus technical advice, co-marketing and partner perks.
🔥 20% off Qdrant Cloud for the first yearAirtable for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
$500 in free Airtable credit plus startup educational content for new workspaces.
🔥 $500 in free Airtable credit applied to one workspace, plus startup educational contentmonday dev for Startups 🎁 ProgramFreemium
Ten monday dev seats with full features for $2 per seat per month in year one, for venture-backed startups under 50 people.
🔥 10 monday dev seats with full features at $2/seat/month for year one, for VC-backed startups under 2 years old and 50 peopleClerk for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
A discount on Clerk Pro authentication features for early-stage startups within a year of launch.
Weaviate Startup Deal 🎁 ProgramFree
Discounted access to Weaviate's managed vector database, redeemed through the Weaviate Console for startups and partner-backed teams.
🚀 Accelerators & incubators for pre-seed
Filter all accelerators & incubators →Y Combinator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$500K for 7% plus an MFN SAFE, a three-month batch in San Francisco and the best-known demo day.
a16z speedrun 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$500K for 10% on a SAFE, $500K more in your next round, plus over $10M in partner credits.
Techstars Accelerator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$220K (5% plus an uncapped MFN SAFE) for a three-month, mentor-driven programme in cities worldwide.
YC Startup School 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Y Combinator's free, self-paced online course with weekly progress updates and co-founder matching.
Entrepreneur First 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Co-founder matching for individuals, an equity-free living grant, then up to $250K (8% SAFE + MFN SAFE).
PearX 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Pear VC's 12-week Bay Area programme: $500K to $2M, targeting 7% ownership, applications year-round.
South Park Commons Founder Fellowship 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$400K for 7% on a SAFE plus $600K guaranteed in your next round, for founders still finding their idea.
Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Six-month UC Berkeley accelerator: about 20 startups a batch each get $210K from the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund.
Accel Atoms 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Accel's pre-seed programme for Indian and Indian-origin founders: up to $1M (Atoms X) or $2M (Atoms AI).
Antler 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Inception-stage investor in about 26 locations; in Europe EUR 100K for 8.5% plus EUR 100K on an MFN convertible.
Seedcamp 🚀 AcceleratorFree
European pre-seed and seed fund with a first cheque of $350K to $1.25M and a two-week decision process.
SOSV (HAX, SOSV NY, SOSV SF) 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Deep tech pre-seed investor: up to $550K per company through HAX (hard tech) and its NY and SF programmes.
Thiel Fellowship 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$250,000 grant over two years, no equity, for builders aged 22 or under who skip or leave college.
AI Grant 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$250K uncapped MFN SAFE for AI-native pre-seed and seed startups, plus a large credits bundle and SF demo day.
Sequoia Arc 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Sequoia's twice-yearly open call for pre-seed and seed founders, with a four-day Arc Intensive.
Emergent Ventures 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Fast grants and fellowships from the Mercatus Center for people with scalable "zero to one" ideas.
Z Fellows 🚀 AcceleratorFree
One-week fellowship with an optional $10,000 investment at a $1B cap; rolling applications.
Berkeley SkyDeck Pad-13 🚀 AcceleratorFree
SkyDeck's incubator track for idea-stage teams with a University of California-affiliated founder.
500 Global Flagship (500 Fellowship) 🚀 AcceleratorPaid
Four-month San Francisco programme: up to $50K right away and up to $1M more as you progress; note the $35K Phase 1 fee.
STATION F Fighters Program 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Free STATION F programme in Paris for founders from atypical or underprivileged backgrounds.
STATION F Founders Program 🚀 AcceleratorPaid
STATION F's own early-stage programme in Paris: desks from EUR 259 a month for 3 to 18 months, rolling applications.
Alchemist Accelerator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Six-month accelerator for enterprise AI-SaaS and deeptech; most companies grant about 5% equity.
ODF Founder Fellowship (formerly On Deck) 🚀 AcceleratorPaid
One-week, in-person founder sprint in San Francisco; non-dilutive, pay-what-you-can (suggested $1,000).
Founder Institute 🚀 AcceleratorPaid
Part-time pre-accelerator in 200+ cities: paid entrance fee plus a 2.5% equity warrant, no investment.
🧾 Founder services for pre-seed
Filter all founder services →Stripe Atlas 🧾 ServicePaid
Form a Delaware C-corp or LLC from anywhere for a one-time $500, with EIN, equity and 83(b) filing.
🔥 $500 fee refunded if you fund Stripe Treasury with $5,000 within 90 daysVercel 🧾 ServiceFreemium
Frontend and full-stack hosting with Git deploys; free Hobby tier, Pro at $20 per developer seat a month.
🔥 Vercel for Startups: up to $30,000 in Flexible Commitment Amount for eligible teams.Framer 🧾 ServiceFreemium
Design-first website builder with CMS and AI; paid plans from $10 a month and a free Pro year for startups.
🔥 Framer for Startups: a free year of Framer Pro (worth $360) for pre-seed or seed startups backed by a Framer-approved partner.Gusto 🧾 ServicePaid
US payroll, benefits and HR in one place, with unlimited payroll runs and automatic tax filing.
Mercury 🧾 ServiceFreemium
Online business banking for US companies, with a $0 base plan and founders accepted from most countries.
🔥 Mercury Books ($35/mo) fee waived until 31 December 2026Carrd 🧾 ServiceFreemium
Simple one-page sites for landing pages and waitlists; Pro with custom domains from $19 a year.
Render 🧾 ServiceFreemium
Cloud platform for web services, workers, Postgres and cron jobs; free tier and startup credits up to $100K.
🔥 Render for Startups: $500 to $100K in credits valid for one year, depending on funding stage and partner investors.Clerky 🧾 ServicePaid
Delaware incorporation plus the legal paperwork startups need for fundraising and hiring.
Cooley GO 🧾 ServiceFree
Free startup document generators and templates from law firm Cooley: SAFEs, NDAs, offer letters, incorporation.
Oyster 🧾 ServicePaid
Global EOR and contractor payments with a startup discount of up to $1,200 per team member.
🔥 Oyster for Startups: up to $1,200 off EOR subscription fees per team member for the first 12 months (pre-seed to Series A, or bootstrapped under 50 staff).Pilot 🧾 ServicePaid
Bookkeeping, startup tax filing and fractional CFO services for US startups, from $99 a month.
🔥 Newly formed single-member LLCs and newly incorporated partnerships/S corps: tax from $750 a year (limited availability); pre-revenue companies can ask for a Core plan discount.Rho 🧾 ServiceFree
Business banking, cards, treasury and AP for US startups with $0 subscription and no account minimums.
🔥 $100 when you open an account and deposit (terms apply)Puzzle 🧾 ServicePaid
AI accounting software for startups, from $30 a month, with optional expert-reviewed bookkeeping and tax.
🔥 Starter plan free for two months.Firstbase 🧾 ServicePaid
Form a Delaware or Wyoming company from anywhere, then add registered agent, mailroom, accounting and tax.
🔥 Formation $99 one-time instead of $399, plus state feePolar 🧾 ServiceFreemium
Merchant of record and usage billing for AI and software companies, free plan at 5% + 50c.
🔥 Startup Program: Scale plan free for 12 months for early-stage AI startups (application)Every 🧾 ServiceFreemium
Free Delaware C-corp incorporation plus banking, payroll, bookkeeping and tax for startups.
Fondo 🧾 ServicePaid
Bookkeeping, corporate tax filing and R&D credits built for Delaware C corp startups.
🔥 Limited-time pricing: monthly bookkeeping from $399 (listed $499) and TaxPass from $1,450 a year (listed $1,950).SeedLegals 🧾 ServicePaid
UK equity management, SEIS/EIS and fundraising paperwork, with about £45k in partner perks on the Access plan.
Carta 🧾 ServiceFreemium
Cap table and equity management platform used by 50,000+ companies, with a free Launch plan for early-stage founders.
Before you apply
- Read the eligibility line on each page: funding stage, company age and region rule out more applications than anything else.
- Apply with a company domain email and a live website; many programs reject personal addresses.
- Keep a list of what you claimed and when it expires.