Unexpected Charges on Free Tier EC2 – How to Understand Free Tier Eligibility?

Tbh, the screen shot that you shared could easily confuse users. It means that type of EC2 is free-tier eligible but information is your account or customer specific. That is a general message.

I suspect that your account is more than 1 year old or you have multiple t3.micro instances and hence incurring the bill.

While AWS offers a Free Tier for many services including EC2, there are several reasons why you might be seeing unexpected charges even when you believe your usage should be covered:

1. Instance Type Eligibility: While t2.micro instances are definitely covered under the Free Tier, t3.micro instances may not be covered in all regions. The Free Tier typically covers t2.micro or t3.micro (depending on availability in your region), but not both simultaneously.

2. Regional Considerations: Free Tier limits apply across all regions combined. If you have instances running in multiple regions, they all count toward your 750-hour monthly limit.

3. Account Age: The Free Tier for EC2 instances typically lasts for 12 months from account creation. If your account is older than 12 months, you'll be charged for all EC2 usage.

4. Associated Resources: Even if your EC2 instance is Free Tier eligible, associated resources like certain types of EBS volumes, Elastic IP addresses (when not attached to running instances), or data transfer beyond Free Tier limits can incur charges.

To verify your Free Tier eligibility and avoid unexpected charges:

1. Check your AWS Billing Dashboard for a detailed breakdown of charges.

2. Confirm that your account is still within the 12-month Free Tier period.

3. Ensure you're using the correct instance type for Free Tier in your region.

4. Set up AWS Budgets and Free Tier usage alerts to be notified before exceeding limits.

5. Review any additional resources attached to your instance that might not be covered.

If you believe the charges are incorrect, you can contact AWS Support through the Support Center by creating a billing support case. While AWS typically doesn't offer refunds for used services, they may provide guidance or sometimes offer a one-time courtesy credit, especially for new users learning the platform.
Sources
Unexpected AWS Charges on My Free Tier Account | AWS re:Post
unexpected charges | AWS re:Post
Getting billed for free tier ? | AWS re:Post
I am using free tier but I have been charged | AWS re:Post

the image shows the instance and instance type come under free tier eligible, but under instance type is the cost per hour (i am assuming that cost might be for non free tier users? am i right in my assumption? or any user will still have to incur the cost despite being free tier eligible? i am only asking charges specific to ec2 , and not associated resources which are documented very in the bill i am only asking for guidance and clarity regarding free tier eligible ec2 instance for future decision on ec2 usage

no my aws account is just 10 days old, i had thought free tier eligible means i won't incur cost for using the instance, but now i have realized that free tier eligible means that aws won't charge me for the instance but instead would consume my free tier credits instead, that's the real meaning of free tier eligible. that's what matches the cost mentioned under instance type and what is charged under bill as credits consumed