The whole point of the free tier, on ANY platform, is to show the user that the product is worth them paying for it. That’s not entitlement, that is just basic business sense. Oracle’s enrollment site is just flawed. The website often does not acknowledge registration for 3-5 days after submitting necessary information. You then have a limited time to respond, or your submission is denied. Yes, the ultimate hope is that you will give up on the free tier and just apply for a paid tier, but the paid tier support is not any better. It is just stupid to turn away people who WANT to give you money. However, this is the Oracle’s way. Both free and paid tiers are trash.

Oracle free tier is just trash. Accounts banned/closed for no reason at all. Support non-existent. Yes, they are pricey, but Linode offers the best performance IMHO. They have a $5/month tier if money is a factor in your choice, but I think that limits the RAM.