CloudBolt launches free cloud platform for 100 resources

CloudBolt has launched a no-cost edition of its Cloud Management Platform, giving teams free use of the full platform for their first 100 resources.

The release also brings a redesigned user experience, including a natural-language interface intended to simplify onboarding and day-to-day use. Teams can run the software in their own environments and manage cloud objects such as virtual machines, storage, clusters, databases, and networks within the 100-resource limit.

The launch addresses a familiar problem in enterprise infrastructure management. Organisations running public, private, and hybrid cloud estates often want to test management software against live systems before seeking budget approval, but many products are difficult to learn and deploy.

CloudBolt presents its platform as a single control layer across different cloud environments, covering governance, visibility, and cost management. The free edition is not feature-limited; the main restriction is the number of resources under management rather than access to functions available to paying customers.

That means users on the no-cost tier can still access self-service provisioning, governance and role-based access, resource lifecycle orchestration, and the natural-language interface. The aim is to lower the barrier for engineers and platform teams that want to trial cloud management tools on real workloads rather than through a sales-led process.

Research cited by CloudBolt suggests buyer behaviour is shifting in that direction. The company pointed to a 2026 Gartner survey that found 67% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free buying experience, reflecting demand for software evaluation before commercial engagement.

"Engineers don't evaluate software by talking to a sales rep; they evaluate it by trying it on real infrastructure in an environment that reflects their reality. The difficulty of securing budget before you even know what a product can do is what limits most users from trying new tools," said Yasmin Rajabi, Chief Operating Officer, CloudBolt.

"We'd rather earn the right to a conversation and let the product set the first impression," Rajabi said.

Interface overhaul

Alongside the pricing change, CloudBolt has rebuilt the CMP interface to make the product easier for less specialised users to navigate. The update includes a natural-language layer based on the Model Context Protocol, allowing users to describe tasks in plain language instead of working through menus and workflows manually.

The interface still operates within existing permissions and controls, an important point for larger organisations that want tighter governance over infrastructure changes. In practice, teams can use conversational prompts while remaining subject to the same access rules and guardrails already configured in the platform.

CloudBolt is positioning that balance between ease of use and control as central to the redesign. The company has long focused on customers with large hybrid cloud estates, where depth of functionality can come at the expense of simplicity for new users.

"I've spent a decade building CMP for the people who run large hybrid cloud estates. It's a deep platform, and that depth came with a learning curve; you had to understand a lot of it before you could do much," said Alexandre "Auggy" da Rocha, Co-Founder, CloudBolt.

"The redesign and the natural-language interface take that requirement away. The permissions, guardrails, and workflows underneath are exactly the same. You just don't have to know where everything lives to use them," da Rocha said.

Migration angle

The launch also comes as many enterprises reassess long-standing infrastructure choices in increasingly complex hybrid environments. According to CloudBolt, the no-cost edition can be used by teams considering a move away from VMware or assessing platforms such as OpenShift, giving them a way to test management workflows against their own infrastructure before making broader migration decisions.

That positions the offer as both a product trial and a practical evaluation tool for infrastructure planning. Rather than relying on demonstrations or limited-feature versions, teams can use the same platform functions on a smaller estate and decide whether the software fits their operational requirements.

Cloud management has become a more crowded and demanding segment as enterprises seek stronger oversight of costs, compliance, and sprawl across different environments. Vendors have had to address not only technical breadth but also the usability challenges of managing estates that span multiple clouds, on-premise systems, and container platforms.

For CloudBolt, the combination of a free entry point and a simplified interface suggests an effort to widen adoption beyond users already familiar with complex automation tools. The underlying permissions, workflows, and governance rules remain unchanged even as the front end becomes easier to navigate and use through natural-language prompts.

Teams using the no-cost edition can manage up to 100 resources in their own environment for free.