Moving to AWS from Heroku, GCP, Azure or DigitalOcean: fund the migration
Teams already in production on another platform, spending $2,000 or more a month, who want the move to AWS paid for. Works at any stage, with or without a VC: what counts is the workload you are moving.
A migration is the one case where the biggest funding does not come from a public form. MAP, the Migration Acceleration Program, is AWS funding for moving workloads onto AWS, and an AWS partner files it, not you. That is the step CloudRoute exists for: we match you, for free, with a vetted partner who scopes the move, files MAP funding when the migration qualifies, and does the work. For startups it is $50K to $150K; it depends on the workload, and AWS approves. If you are also pre-Series B, you can apply for Activate Portfolio yourself for the bill after cutover.
Everything else in this playbook is the data layer. Managed databases that run inside AWS regions (MongoDB Atlas, Neon, Redis Cloud, Neo4j Aura, Pinecone, ClickHouse, Snowflake) each have their own credit program, and most of them cover a line item that AWS credits will not touch: Marketplace and third-party bills are excluded from Activate.
Every amount below is the program's own published figure as of 2026-10-09, linked to the official page. "Expected value" is what lands if the step works, not the marketing ceiling. 5 of the 10 steps only reach the top tier with a VC, accelerator or partner referral; the gate line on each step says which. In the AWS step you apply for Activate yourself; a matched AWS partner can file MAP, POC or IW funding on top when the workload qualifies and AWS approves it.
10 programs, in filing order
| # | Program | Max value | Expected here | Gate | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Amazon Web ServicesAWS Activate (Founders, Portfolio, AI credits) | $200K | $50K to $150K in MAP funding for startups (AWS approves); Activate on top if pre-Series B | An AWS partner files MAP funding. You apply for Activate yourself. | moderate |
| 02 | MongoDBMongoDB for Startups | $5K | Atlas credits plus a $5,000 AWS Activate referral | No referral. Under 7 years old. | easy |
| 03 | Neon (a Databricks company)Neon Startup Program | $200K | $1,000 self-funded; up to $200,000 venture-backed | No referral. $200,000 tier needs $1M raised or an accelerator. | moderate |
| 04 | RedisRedis for Startups | $25K | $25,000 funded; $3,000 bootstrapped | No referral. Seed or earlier, never a paying customer. | moderate |
| 05 | Neo4jNeo4j Startup Program | $16K | Up to $16,000 | No referral. Series B or earlier. | easy |
| 06 | PineconePinecone for Startups | Varies | About $3,600 plus credits | No referral. Under 100 employees, Series A or earlier. | easy |
| 07 | ClickHouseClickHouse Startup Offer (ClickHouse Cloud Startup Program) | $5K | $5,000 | Partner verification code required. | moderate |
| 08 | SnowflakeSnowflake for Startups | Varies | About $20,000 on your first contract | Sales-led. Partner-VC portals carry the published terms. | moderate |
| 09 | CloudflareCloudflare for Startups | $350K | $10,000 for 12 months | No referral for $10,000. | easy |
| 10 | VercelVercel for Startups | $30K | Up to $30,000 | Partner referral required. | moderate |
Why this order, what to have ready, what lands
- 01Amazon Web Services · Cloud
AWS Activate (Founders, Portfolio, AI credits)
$200KmoderateAn AWS partner files MAP funding. You apply for Activate yourself.Start here because it sets the plan for everything else. A matched AWS partner assesses the move and files MAP funding when the migration qualifies; AWS approves it. For startups it is $50K to $150K, depending on the workload. If you are pre-Series B, you also apply for Activate Portfolio yourself with your investor's Org ID for the bill after the move. MAP has no self-serve form; only a partner can file it.
have ready- Current monthly spend on the old platform and a rough service inventory
- Your target timeline (migration phases are scoped in weeks, not days)
- An AWS account on the Paid Tier plan, or let the partner set one up
expected value$50K to $150K in MAP funding for startups (AWS approves); Activate on top if pre-Series Ban AWS partner can file part of this stepActivate you apply for yourself (Portfolio needs an Org ID from your investor or accelerator). MAP, POC and IW funding can only be requested by an AWS partner, not by you. $50K to $150K for startups. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. We match you with a vetted partner who can file it, for free.
Get matched free → - 02MongoDB · Data
MongoDB for Startups
$5KeasyNo referral. Under 7 years old.Atlas runs in 20 or more AWS regions, and MongoDB for Startups adds Atlas credits plus a referral code for up to $5,000 in AWS Activate credits. One trap: promo credits only apply in the Atlas UI, so do not bill Atlas through AWS Marketplace if you want to use them.
have ready- Under seven years old, Series A or earlier for the base tiers
- A live website and company LinkedIn
- A decision on direct Atlas billing before redeeming
- 03Neon (a Databricks company) · Data
Neon Startup Program
$200KmoderateNo referral. $200,000 tier needs $1M raised or an accelerator.Serverless Postgres that runs only on AWS infrastructure, so your database lands next to your compute. Self-funded teams get $1,000; $1M or more raised, or a recognized accelerator, unlocks up to $200,000 shared with Databricks. Neon no longer bills through Marketplace, so it stacks cleanly with Activate.
have ready- Funding details or accelerator name
- A Neon account; existing users can apply
- A migration plan from RDS, Heroku Postgres or Supabase
- 04Redis · Data
Redis for Startups
$25KmoderateNo referral. Seed or earlier, never a paying customer.Redis Cloud runs in 25 or more AWS regions but bills through Marketplace, which Activate credits exclude. The $25,000 funded tier (seed or earlier) or $3,000 bootstrapped tier covers that gap for 12 months. If you would rather spend AWS credits, ElastiCache is the Activate-covered alternative.
have ready- Never a paying Redis customer
- Work email and company name; it is a three-field form
- A Redis Cloud account on the same email
- 05Neo4j · Data
Neo4j Startup Program
$16KeasyNo referral. Series B or earlier.Up to $16,000 in Aura credits, decision in five business days, no referral, Series B or earlier. Aura is sold on AWS Marketplace, and Neo4j says AWS credits can pay for AuraDB there after the $16,000 runs out, which makes it one of the few data programs with a clean hand-off to AWS credits.
have ready- One product for many customers, not custom builds
- A live website and a LinkedIn company page listing the applicant
- Redeem the code when ready; the 12-month clock starts on the email
- 06Pinecone · Data
Pinecone for Startups
VarieseasyNo referral. Under 100 employees, Series A or earlier.A free Standard tier plus Pro Support for a year (about $3,600 at list) and unpublished usage credits. Pinecone deploys in any AWS region and is a supported vector store for Bedrock Knowledge Bases, so it fits a migration that adds AI features.
have ready- Under 100 employees, Series A or earlier
- Your RAG or search use case in a paragraph
- 07ClickHouse · Data
ClickHouse Startup Offer (ClickHouse Cloud Startup Program)
$5KmoderatePartner verification code required.$5,000 in ClickHouse Cloud credits for 12 months, only with a verification code from a partner accelerator or VC (Antler, Techstars, Station F, Lightspeed and others). Runs on AWS; Activate will not cover it, so the credits are additive.
have ready- A partner verification code
- A ClickHouse Cloud trial organization and its ID
- Under three years old, never a paid customer
- 08Snowflake · Data
Snowflake for Startups
VariesmoderateSales-led. Partner-VC portals carry the published terms.If your warehouse is moving too: about $20,000 of free usage on a first contract through partner-VC portals. Sales-led, so get the credit amount and duration in writing before you sign a capacity contract. Snowflake also runs a selective startup program whose credits are funded by AWS; it is a separate application.
have ready- Expected Snowflake workload for the first year
- Your VC's perks portal if they are a Snowflake partner
- Patience: no published review time
- 09Cloudflare · Cloud
Cloudflare for Startups
$350KeasyNo referral for $10,000.Put Cloudflare in front of your AWS origins during the cutover: DNS, CDN, WAF and DDoS are free at every tier, and R2 has zero egress fees if you want to cut S3 transfer costs. $10,000 with no referral, decision in 48 hours.
have ready- A business-domain email and live website
- A payment method on the Cloudflare account
- A plan for which three domains get Enterprise
- 10Vercel · Cloud
Vercel for Startups
$30KmoderatePartner referral required.If the frontend is Next.js and you are leaving Heroku: Vercel compute runs in AWS regions (iad1 is us-east-1), credits pay the Vercel bill, and AWS credits pay the backend. Up to $30,000 through an approved VC or accelerator partner, within 12 months of your last round.
have ready- A screenshot of the Vercel offer in your partner portal
- A Vercel team with a payment method
- Series A or earlier
Questions founders ask about this stack
What is migration funding and why can't I apply for it myself?
MAP, the Migration Acceleration Program, is AWS funding that only an AWS partner can request. The partner scopes the migration and files MAP funding when it qualifies; AWS approves it, and the funding offsets the cost of the move. There is no self-serve form. CloudRoute matches you with a vetted partner for free. We reply within 24 hours; your matched partner reaches out within 5 business days.
Can AWS credits pay for MongoDB, Redis or ClickHouse through AWS Marketplace?
No. AWS Promotional Credit terms exclude Marketplace purchases, with one exception: third-party foundation models on Bedrock. That is why each data-layer program here is worth filing separately: it covers a bill that Activate will not.
We are past Series B. Does any of this still work?
MAP funding does not depend on your funding stage. Activate Portfolio ends at Series B. Neo4j and Snowflake accept Series B companies; MongoDB has a Scale tier for Series B and up; Neon, Redis, Pinecone and Vercel are Series A or earlier.
DigitalOcean and Render offer migration credits too. Is that the same thing?
Opposite direction. DigitalOcean and Render pay you to move off AWS onto their platforms. This playbook is about moving onto AWS, where the funding comes through an AWS partner.
How long until the migration funding is approved?
We reply within 24 hours; your matched partner reaches out within 5 business days. The partner scopes the move, writes an assessment and files MAP funding if the migration qualifies. AWS makes the decision, and we do not quote a review time for it. Start the data-layer applications in parallel; most of them decide in days.
Get matched with an AWS partner who can file it.
A vetted AWS partner scopes your workload and files the funding only partners can request: MAP for a migration, POC to test something, IW for new work on AWS. $50K to $150K for startups. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. You still apply for Activate yourself.
Different situation, different order
- Bootstrapped AI product: the no-investor credit stack$25K to $60K, no investor required
- Seed-stage B2B SaaS: stack the investor-gated tiers$100K to $250K you can actually spend in year one
- AI-first startup with a seed round: compute and model credits$250K to $500K+ in compute and model credits, most of it gated on your VC
- Non-US founder: credits that work from the EU, UK, MENA, India, LATAM and APAC$20K to $60K without a US investor; the same $200K AWS ceiling applies worldwide
- Browse the full directoryevery program, one table →