Free Google Apps could not be found

Question

I used Google Apps for free, but now when I setup Google Apps for a new website, it says I need to pay $5 per month. What happened to the free Google Apps with 10 user accounts option?

Answer 1

UPDATE december 2012: Google Apps for Businesses is no longer free for new clients. You can only get a 30-days free trial at the moment. Source.

TechCrunch reports that “You can still get a free Google Apps account. But the only way to do that is by signing up for a 30-day free trial to its premium Goole Apps for Business service.” And then downgrade after the trial period.

A Google spokesperson said the change is part of a small trial to help the company better understand customers. It is not visible to all users who are signing up for the Google Apps trial. Customers can downgrade after the trial. Google will continue to experiment with different options in the trial flow.

However, here is the link to the sign up page.