diff --git a/etc/tempest.conf.sample b/etc/tempest.conf.sample
index 3147859..0f60016 100644
--- a/etc/tempest.conf.sample
+++ b/etc/tempest.conf.sample
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@
 
 # Instance type for tests. Needs to be big enough for a
 # full OS plus the test workload
-instance_type = m1.tiny
+instance_type = m1.micro
 
 # Name of heat-cfntools enabled image to use when launching test instances
 # If not specified, tests that spawn instances will not run
diff --git a/tempest/config.py b/tempest/config.py
index 8f3e574..f3638a3 100644
--- a/tempest/config.py
+++ b/tempest/config.py
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@
                 default=False,
                 help="Whether or not Heat is expected to be available"),
     cfg.StrOpt('instance_type',
-               default='m1.tiny',
+               default='m1.micro',
                help="Instance type for tests. Needs to be big enough for a "
                     "full OS plus the test workload"),
     cfg.StrOpt('image_ref',