I’m considering using a virtual card for signing up for trials, but I’m not sure about the consequences after the trial period ends. My plan is to use the virtual card to sign up, and then regenerate a new card number before the trial period expires.
I’ve heard that even if the merchant successfully charges me once, they won’t be able to bill me again because of the new card number. Is that true, and if so, is it a safe way to avoid charges if I forget to cancel the trial?
If you’re looking for a truly free cloud-based virtual machine, I recommend Oracle Cloud’s Free Tier. It offers two AMD-based virtual machines with 1GB of memory each, along with block storage and outbound bandwidth, all for free.
This is a fantastic option for testing small apps or running scripts without worrying about charges. I’ve used it for months without encountering any unexpected costs, and the key here is that it’s ‘always free.’ Just keep an eye on your usage to ensure you don’t go beyond the free limits, but I’ve found it really reliable compared to other cloud providers like AWS or Azure.
Building on @emma-crepeau point, if you’re open to alternatives to traditional cloud-based virtual machines, I’d suggest checking out cloud IDEs like Replit and Gitpod. While they don’t provide the full virtual machine experience, these platforms offer cloud-based environments with VM-like functionality that might meet your needs for development or testing.
Replit’s free plan supports many programming languages and can even host live apps, which makes it a great option for quick coding tasks or smaller-scale projects. Gitpod, on the other hand, is fantastic if you’re already using GitHub, as it can instantly spin up containerized environments directly from your repos, ideal for dev and testing workflows.
So while these are not exactly traditional cloud-based virtual machines, they can be a solid fit for many dev scenarios.
To add to what @tim-khorev said, if your goal is primarily testing across different browsers or devices, you might want to explore LambdaTest’s cloud-based virtual machines for cross-browser testing.
While not a traditional VM in the strictest sense, LambdaTest offers cloud-based virtual environments where you can run your site or app on different browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari across various operating systems and mobile devices.
The best part is that LambdaTest’s free plan gives you enough minutes to conduct basic daily tests, and it’s incredibly quick to boot up, which is perfect if you’re looking to do cross-browser testing without the hassle of managing VMs yourself. This can save you a lot of setup time and help you get immediate feedback for your tests.