free api on azure?

Question

Hi,
sorry if the answer is obvious, I just want to extra certain about this.

Short version:
Can I use azure freely for basic web API with minimal bandwidth usage after the free trial?

Long version:
My front end sends text to the API on azure, which looks to be 2-4kb, and the API sends me an email.
I had some trouble getting the API to self run on free hosting platforms like netlify.

So I tried it on an azure and there's a dropdown to select the platform to run it on and that works. Great, problem solved.
Fast forward 2 weeks, I hop on to azure to look at what else I can do and there's a popup saying my free trial is ending in x days.
I'm just using it to learn api stuff but does that mean after the free trial ends my api will just stop working?
I played around in the cost calculator and...I can't afford any of this stuff lol. Sure if someone buys something I make I'll have to get them to get an account and pay the bill or something...
If it is 50$+ per month, would anyone have a suggestion as to where I'm supposed to test this stuff freely if that's even an option?

This feels like a dumb question and I appreciate anyone taking the time to answer.
Thank you,
Jean