Student offers for AI tools change fast, and many of the ones you read about in September have already closed. This guide lists the student programs that are open or recently closed as of November 13, 2026, each checked against its official page, with the eligibility rules and deadlines that decide whether you can actually claim it. It also tells you which popular offers have expired, so you do not waste an evening on a verification flow that ends in an error. The full filterable list is on our AI credits and perks page.
The short version
| Program | What you get | Who qualifies | Deadline or term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google AI Pro for students | 1 year of Google AI Pro free: 4x Gemini usage limits, 5 TB storage | Eligible U.S. college students 18+, verified yearly through SheerID | Redeem until December 31, 2026; then $19.99 per month |
| Codex for university students | $100 in Codex credits (2,500 credits) | Students at degree-granting universities in the U.S. or Canada, living there when claiming | Credits expire 12 months after the grant; one offer per student |
| GitHub Copilot Student | Free access to Copilot features | Verified students on GitHub Education | Ongoing while verified |
| Zed Pro for students | Zed Pro free for 1 year, $10 per month in AI token credits, unlimited edit predictions | Enrolled at an accredited university, 18+, students worldwide | 12 months from application |
| Kiro for students | 1,000 credits per month free | Eligible university students at listed schools | One year |
| v0 for Students | 1 year of complimentary v0 access | Verified student at an active school | 12 months |
| JetBrains Student Pack | Free licenses for JetBrains IDEs and .NET tools | Students | While you are a student |
| Azure for Students | $100 credit and free monthly amounts of 20+ services; no credit card | Students with a school email | Renew yearly while you are a student |
The offer that just ended: ChatGPT Plus Back to School
OpenAI's 2026 Back to School offer gave eligible U.S. students four free monthly billing periods of ChatGPT Plus. OpenAI's help page lists the claim deadline as October 31, 2026, which has passed, so we removed it from our perks list. If you claimed it before the deadline, the terms say the subscription renews at $20 per month after the promotional period unless you cancel, that cancelling early forfeits the remaining free months, and that store-billed subscriptions (Apple App Store or Google Play) were not supported. Watch OpenAI's help center for a successor offer; student programs tend to return around the start of a term.
Program by program
Google AI Pro (free for a year)
Google's student page advertises a free one-year student plan for Google AI Pro, with 4x higher usage limits in Gemini, 5 TB of storage, and access to Gemini Spark and Gemini Omni for the year. The fine print matters: the offer is for eligible U.S. college students aged 18 and over, you must verify eligibility each year, you must provide a valid payment method at sign-up, and unless you cancel the plan charges $19.99 per month after the trial. The offer terms say you can redeem until December 31, 2026. Students whose 2025 AI Pro trial has expired can qualify again. Other countries have regional pages with their own terms, so check the one for your country. See also our Gemini free tier guide for the developer API, which is separate.
Codex credits for students
OpenAI offers verified university students in the United States and Canada $100 in Codex credits. You need a ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, or Pro account, and you verify enrollment through SheerID. Once verified, credits are applied to your personal workspace, the balance shows as 2,500 credits (equal to $100), and they expire 12 months after the grant. The credits extend Codex usage beyond the limits that come with your plan. They are not API credits for general use.
GitHub Copilot Student and the Student Developer Pack
Verified students on GitHub Education get free access to Copilot's features. GitHub's documentation says approval and Copilot activation are separate steps and that the benefit can take several days to finish applying after verification. If your account still shows Copilot Free or a paid checkout page after approval, wait a few days, then follow the troubleshooting steps in the docs. The wider GitHub Student Developer Pack bundles partner offers, such as Codespaces. For the regular free plan, GitHub's pricing page lists 2,000 completions per month and access to smaller models, which is why verified students should always apply for the Student plan instead.
Zed Pro
Zed's student plan is unusually clear. It includes all Zed Pro features for 12 months, $10 per month in token credits for AI assistance, unlimited edit predictions, and real-time collaboration. You must be currently enrolled at an accredited university, at least 18, and verify enrollment. Zed says the plan does not include Claude Fable, Claude Opus, or GPT Pro models, and that if you graduate within the year the plan stays active as long as you were a student on the application date.
Kiro
Kiro, AWS's agentic IDE, gives eligible university students 1,000 credits per month free for one year, which is the same number of credits as its $20 Pro plan. Kiro publishes a list of eligible schools on the students page, so check yours first. Its free plan, for comparison, includes 50 credits per month with open-weight models and Claude Sonnet 4.5.
v0
Vercel's v0 gives one year of complimentary access after you verify student status at an active school. The page lists active schools and a short FAQ on what qualifies.
JetBrains and Azure
JetBrains offers free licenses for students through its Student Pack, covering its IDEs and .NET tools. Microsoft's Azure for Students gives a $100 credit and free monthly amounts of more than 20 popular services for 12 months without a credit card, renewable each year while you remain a student, with a school email required.
Programs we could not confirm today
Some popular student offers sit behind bot protection or login walls and could not be re-read on the day we wrote this. Our credits page shows each program's last verification date, so you can see how old the information is before relying on it. That includes the Perplexity Education Pro discount, Lovable's student discount, and Mistral's student pricing. For those, open the provider's page and read the terms before you pay for anything.
How to avoid verification problems
- Use the same account you will use. OpenAI's flow applies the offer to the ChatGPT account that is signed in during claim. Google and others tie the offer to the account you verify with.
- Prepare documents. SheerID can verify through trusted records or school single sign-on, but may ask for a student ID, a class schedule, or enrollment letter.
- Read the renewal terms. Several offers require a payment method and renew at the full price. Set a calendar reminder a week before the free period ends.
- Check the country. Many offers are limited to U.S. students, or to the U.S. and Canada. A few, like Zed and Azure, are open to students worldwide.
- Do not stack workarounds. Providers may revoke offers claimed with false information. Use real enrollment evidence.
If you are not a student
You still have options. The free tiers on Gemini, OpenRouter, and NVIDIA Build need no student status, and startups can apply to cloud credit programs worth up to six figures. See our guide to free AI credits and the free LLM API guide. If you want a paid plan, compare prices in our subscriptions roundup.
FAQ
Is the ChatGPT Plus student offer still available?
No. OpenAI's 2026 Back to School offer had a claim deadline of October 31, 2026.
Can international students claim Google AI Pro for free?
Google's U.S. page is limited to eligible U.S. college students aged 18 and over. Other regions have their own pages and terms, so check the page for your country.
Do I need a credit card for Azure for Students?
No. Microsoft's page states no credit card is required.
How long does Copilot Student take to activate?
GitHub says activation is separate from approval and can take several days after verification.
Do the Codex credits expire?
Yes, 12 months after the grant date, according to OpenAI's offer page.
Which offer is best for coding?
For agent-style coding, the Codex credits and Zed Pro cover AI usage directly, Kiro's 1,000 monthly credits suit spec-driven work, and Copilot Student covers completions in popular editors. Pick based on the editor you already use.
