Tailor your cloud success with AWS Support Plans and Activate Credits

Building a successful startup often means moving fast while controlling costs. As such, AWS Support Plans and AWS Activate Credits can be a powerful combo.

Applying your AWS Activate Credits to certain AWS Support tiers allows you to get expert help to resolve issues, optimize costs, and keep your cloud environment running smoothly. 

Maximize your credits and optimize spending with guidance accessed through Support plans, including architecture reviews, cost optimization recommendations, and best practices that help you build lean and scale quickly.

Connect with a group of engineers who understand your challenges and provide personalized guidance on everything from AI implementation to infrastructure optimization, helping you make informed technical decisions at every stage.

Here, we walk through AWS Support Plans, how they fit in with Activate Credits, and how your startup can benefit from both.

What are AWS Support Plans?

AWS Support is designed to give you the right mix of tools and access to AWS expertise. Whether you're troubleshooting a bug or optimizing a significant production workload, these support options exist to help you minimize risk, improve performance, and manage costs. Every premium plan offers:

• Enhanced technical support with unlimited cases and contacts.
• A library of AWS documentation, technical papers, and support forums.

But each tier goes further depending on your startup's needs—like advanced guidance, proactive monitoring, or deeply technical "white-glove" support for complex architectures.

AWS Activate Credits

Startups can apply for AWS Activate credits to offset costs on more than 200 eligible AWS services. These credits can be used to experiment rapidly, build your MVP, reduce cash burn, and extend the runway as your startup grows. Whether building a prototype or scaling a production environment, credits help you reduce monthly spending to allocate more budget to innovation, hiring, or marketing.

What do credits have to do with Support?

AWS Activate Credits can be applied to cover AWS Developer and AWS Business Support Plans. This is particularly valuable for startups balancing product development demands with infrastructure management. Our support team can provide invaluable assistance, ensuring your architecture is well-designed and cost-efficient from the outset.

Here is an overview of guaranteed response times for each tier:

What AWS support plans are available for me if I have been approved for AWS Activate Credits?

AWS Activate Credits are eligible to cover two main support tiers: AWS Developer Support and AWS Business Support. They each cater to different startup phases and needs:

AWS Developer Support:

Recommended for early-stage startups that are still validating their product or running non-mission-critical workloads, AWS Developer Support offers the ability to get technical support during business hours. This plan also provides general architectural guidance as you build and test.

For reference, business hours are generally defined as 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM based on the customer's timezone in Management Console, excluding holidays and weekends. These times may vary in countries with multiple time zones.

• Access to Support Automation Workflows with the prefix AWS Support. Plus, Service Quota and basic Security checks.
• Cost is lower, making it a good fit if your environment isn't supporting large numbers of paying customers around the clock.
• Business hours email access to Cloud Support engineers. You can have one primary contact who can open unlimited cases. 
• Unlimited cases, unlimited contacts (IAM supported), and prioritized responses on AWS re:Post.

Pricing for AWS Developer Support:

The price will be at least a minimum charge of $29 or 3% of monthly AWS charges, whichever is higher. Costs listed here are accurate as of May 2025. For the most recent costs, visit the AWS Support Plan Pricing page.

Learn more about AWS Developer Support.

AWS Business Support

Designed for startups managing business-critical workloads or experiencing rapid scale, AWS Business Support offers less than one hour response times and 24/7 support with an unlimited number of cases. It also includes proactive cost optimization reviews, security checks, and specialized help in areas like compliance or advanced architecture. 

• Complete set of AWS Trusted Advisor best practice checks and 11 premium AWS Support Automation Workflows.
• AWS Countdown Premium is available for Business Support customers as a monthly subscription for an additional fee.
• 24/7 phone, web, and chat access to Cloud Support Engineers. Unlimited cases and unlimited contacts (IAM supported). 
• Prioritized responses on AWS re:Post and access to AWS Support App in Slack. 

Pricing for AWS Business Support:

The price will be at least a minimum charge of $100 per month or the result of the calculation above, whichever is higher. Costs listed here are accurate as of May 2025. For the most recent costs, visit the AWS Support Plan Pricing page.

Learn more about AWS Business Support.

Which plan is best for me: AWS Business Support or AWS Developer Support?

AWS Business Support and Developer Support both help you accelerate deployments, reduce downtime, and optimize performance to maximize AWS's value. If you run into complex questions—like how to architect a microservices platform or scale for an upcoming product launch—you can ask an AWS engineer for best practices and cost-optimization tips.

That said, most startup customers find Business Support to be the most suitable plan because of its expanded response times options, proactive cost management, architecture review, and more. Business Support provides automated workflows, personalized optimizations, and access to third-party software support—which is not available through the Developer Support plan. These features are helpful for startups who are trying to move quickly with little downtime.

Getting started on AWS Support Plan with Activate Credits

How do you redeem and use Activate Credits for AWS Support?

If you'd like to use your AWS Activate Credits to cover your support plan costs, follow these steps:

1. Add a valid payment method: Be sure you have a credit card (or another valid payment option) linked to your AWS account. Although credits can offset costs, a valid card is still required.
2. Review available support plans: Decide whether AWS Developer Support or AWS Business Support best fits your startup's workload.
3. Enroll in the right plan: You should speak with your AWS Account team, but we typically recommend that startups have Business Support at minimum to ensure the response time startups are used to.
4. Open a support case: Once enrolled, go to your AWS Console and open a case whenever you need technical help or guidance. This is where you can engage directly with AWS experts on everything from architecture reviews to operational best practices.

How do I open a support case using AWS Support?

1. Visit the AWS Support Center and click Create Case.
2. Choose your case type (e.g., technical or billing).
3. Provide relevant details, such as the nature of your question or the AWS service in question.
4. Monitor status in the Support Center or Slack (if connected).

Once set up with AWS Business or Developer Support, your monthly bill for that plan is offset by any available Activate Credits. That means you can confidently open unlimited cases and get in touch with AWS experts as often as you need.

Common AWS Support Scenarios

• Wondering when you might use AWS Support? Here are a few scenarios:
• Scaling for rapid growth: Startups experiencing rapid user acquisition or preparing for a significant product launch often need expert guidance to scale their infrastructure efficiently.

You can submit support cases 24/7 to engage with AWS engineers for guidance on architecture, performance optimization, or load handling. Although you can open tickets anytime, response times vary based on the severity of the issue, as we explained above.

• Cost optimization: Managing costs is essential as startups grow and their AWS usage increases.

AWS Business Support offers personalized guidance on cost optimization strategies, including recommendations on right-sizing instances, utilizing reserved instances, and identifying underutilized resources. This can be especially valuable for startups looking to maximize their runway and improve operational efficiency.

• Enhanced security and compliance: When startups begin handling sensitive customer data or prepare to enter regulated industries, they often need expert assistance to ensure their AWS environment meets security and compliance requirements.

AWS Business Support provides access to security and compliance specialists who can guide startups through best practices, help with security audits, and assist in implementing necessary controls to meet various regulatory standards.

• For Critical Issues: When running production workloads, startups can't afford extended downtime or unresolved technical issues that could impact their customers and revenue. That's why it's essential to understand the response-time guarantees across AWS Support tiers.

Additionally, direct phone access to support engineers means complex technical challenges can be discussed and resolved through real-time conversations. This leads to faster and more effective solutions than email-only communications.

AWS Support Plans and Activate Credits—your key to tailored cloud success

Startup founders often juggle fast growth, limited resources, and complex technical decisions. AWS Support Plans offer the expertise and guidance to help you succeed, while AWS Activate Credits can offset your support costs, and AWS helps your startup build, grow, and scale.

If you're ready to simplify cloud operations, optimize performance, and keep monthly bills in check, it's worth exploring how an AWS Support Plan—paid for by your AWS Activate Credits—can help. For more details, compare AWS Support Plans.

With a robust support plan, your startup can confidently tackle challenges—from scaling infrastructure to mastering cost optimization—knowing you have expert help right when you need it.