Research-based guide. Every offer below was checked on the vendor’s own offer, help or pricing page on October 27, 2026. Student deals change often, so confirm the terms on the linked page before you sign up. No paid placements. How we research
If you are a US college student, the two biggest AI offers right now are four free months of ChatGPT Plus (claim by October 31, 2026) and a free year of Google AI Pro (redeem by December 31, 2026). Students outside the US can get a free year of Google AI Plus instead. Anthropic does not list an individual student discount for Claude Pro, but US K-12 teachers can get a free year of Claude for Teachers, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Teachers is free for verified US K-12 educators through June 2028. All of the paid-plan offers need a payment method and renew at full price unless you cancel.
This page puts every offer side by side, shows what each one costs you in the first 12 months after you claim it, and lists the dates to put in your calendar. Teachers and professors will find a separate section further down.
Every current AI student offer at a glance
The table lists only terms stated on each vendor’s official page. Where a page gives no price or deadline, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Offer | Who qualifies | What you get | Claim deadline | After the free period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus student offer (OpenAI) | Full- or part-time students at eligible US degree-granting colleges, verified by SheerID | 4 free monthly billing periods of ChatGPT Plus | October 31, 2026 | Renews at $20/month unless cancelled |
| Google AI Pro for students (US) | US college students aged 18+ with a personal Google Account | 12 months of Google AI Pro, including 5 TB of storage | December 31, 2026 | Renews at $19.99/month unless cancelled; eligibility re-verified yearly |
| Google AI Plus for students (outside US) | College students in 140+ markets where AI Plus is sold (not the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Albania, Bolivia or Tunisia) | 12 months of Google AI Plus | December 31, 2026 | Renews at $4.99/month or local equivalent |
| Codex student credits (OpenAI) | Students at degree-granting universities living in the US or Canada, verified by SheerID | $100 in Codex credits (2,500 credits) on any ChatGPT plan, including Free | No deadline stated | Credits expire 12 months after they are granted |
| Perplexity Education Pro | Verified students and educators (SheerID) | Everything in Perplexity Pro at a discounted price | No deadline stated | Price and renewal terms not listed on the help page |
| Microsoft 365 Personal student price | Students (criteria not listed on the store page) | 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal, which includes Copilot and 1 TB of storage | No deadline stated | Not stated on the store page |
| Claude Pro (Anthropic) | No individual student offer listed | — | — | Pro is $20/month, or $200 billed yearly ($17/month) |
Two details trip people up. First, OpenAI’s offer cannot be applied to a Plus subscription billed through the Apple App Store or Google Play; it works only for plans billed directly by ChatGPT. Second, Google’s free year is a trial that converts to a paid plan, so the card you add at sign-up will be charged in month 13 if you do nothing.
How many free months each offer gives you
Length matters more than headline value. Four months covers one semester; twelve months covers a full academic year and the summer after it.
What each offer costs in your first 12 months
Here is the simple math if you claim an offer and keep the plan for a full year from the claim date, using the renewal prices on each official page. It assumes US pricing before tax.
| Plan | Free months | Paid months in year one | Cost in year one | Cost if you cancel before the free period ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus (student offer) | 4 | 8 × $20 | $160 | $0 |
| Google AI Pro (student offer) | 12 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| Claude Pro, monthly (no student offer) | 0 | 12 × $20 | $240 | — |
| Claude Pro, yearly billing (no student offer) | 0 | Billed up front | $200 | — |
Cancelling early has a catch on the ChatGPT side: OpenAI says that if you cancel, Plus stays active only until the end of the current monthly billing period, and any promotional months still left are forfeited. If you want all four free months, set a reminder a few days before the fourth billing period ends rather than cancelling on day one.
Which offer fits what you actually study
Free is only a good deal if the tool suits your coursework. A quick way to decide:
| If you mostly… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Write papers and work through readings | ChatGPT Plus or Google AI Pro | Both run for at least a semester free, long enough to judge them on real assignments |
| Live in Google Docs, Drive and Gmail | Google AI Pro | Google lists 5 TB of storage and unlimited uploads of your own class materials |
| Write code for classes or projects | Codex student credits | Credits extend Codex usage beyond plan limits and work even on ChatGPT Free |
| Research with citations | Perplexity Education Pro | Includes Learn Mode and unlimited Pro Searches |
| Use Word, Excel and PowerPoint for assignments | Your school’s Office 365 Education first | Microsoft says students at eligible schools can get Office 365 Education free with a school email |
For deeper comparisons of the assistants themselves, see our Claude vs ChatGPT comparison, the ChatGPT review, the Gemini review, the Claude review and the Perplexity review.
How the sign-up and verification steps differ
ChatGPT Plus
- Start from OpenAI’s student page and verify with SheerID. Depending on your school, SheerID checks enrollment records, asks you to sign in through your school’s single sign-on, or asks for documents.
- Your school email is used for verification, but your ChatGPT account can use a different email. The offer applies to whichever ChatGPT account is signed in when you claim it, and that cannot be changed later.
- You can redeem it once. Using an earlier student promotion does not by itself disqualify you.
Google AI Pro and AI Plus
- Claim at Google’s student page with a personal Google Account. School-issued Google accounts are not eligible for the YouTube Premium bundle, so use a personal account.
- You must be 18 or older, and Google says eligibility must be verified each year to keep access.
- A separate bundle pairs AI Pro with YouTube Premium for up to 70% off in select markets for up to four years; it uses SheerID verification.
Codex credits and Perplexity
- Both use SheerID with your university email, and both let you keep a personal account with a different email.
- Codex credits land in your personal ChatGPT workspace automatically after verification and show on the usage page.
Offers for teachers and professors
Educators have their own programs, and several are free for longer than the student deals. Note that the K-12 programs are for school staff, not students.
| Program | Who qualifies | What it costs | Key dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT for Teachers (OpenAI) | Verified US K-12 teachers, staff, school leaders and district administrators at accredited schools | Free | Free through June 2028; OpenAI says it may change pricing after that with advance notice |
| Claude for Teachers (Anthropic) | Verified US K-12 teachers; districts can enroll every educator on their domain | Free for a full year, with premium features | Sign up by June 30, 2027 |
| Perplexity Education Pro | Students and faculty, verified through SheerID | Discounted Pro (price not listed on help page) | No deadline stated |
| Claude for Education / ChatGPT Edu | Whole colleges and universities, bought by the institution | Institutional pricing through sales | Ask your campus IT office |
Both K-12 programs keep conversations out of model training by default: OpenAI says it does not use content shared in ChatGPT for Teachers to train models by default, and Anthropic says training is off by default for verified educator accounts. Both describe FERPA-aligned terms. If your district already has a data privacy agreement with one vendor, start there.
Professors at colleges can check whether their institution already licenses ChatGPT Edu or Claude for Education before paying personally. If you are new to the agent features in these tools, our guide to AI agents explains the basics.
Before you claim: a short checklist
- Put the renewal date in your calendar the day you sign up: month 5 for ChatGPT Plus, month 13 for Google.
- Use a card you watch closely, since every paid-plan offer needs a payment method to activate.
- Subscribe on the web, not through the iPhone or Android app, if you want the ChatGPT offer to apply.
- Read your course syllabus. Instructors set their own AI-use rules, and a free subscription does not change them.
- Keep your work in files you control so you can move if you cancel.
FAQ
Is ChatGPT Plus free for students?
For eligible US college students, yes, for four billing periods, if you claim it by October 31, 2026. After that it renews at $20 a month unless you cancel.
Is Gemini free for students?
US college students aged 18+ can get Google AI Pro free for 12 months if they redeem by December 31, 2026; students in most other countries get Google AI Plus free for a year.
Does Claude have a student discount?
Anthropic’s pricing page lists no individual student price for Claude Pro. Universities can buy Claude for Education for students and staff, and verified US K-12 teachers can get Claude for Teachers free for a year.
Can students outside the US get any of these?
Google AI Plus is the broadest: over 140 markets, excluding the US and a few others. Codex credits cover the US and Canada. The ChatGPT Plus and Google AI Pro offers are US-only.
Will I be charged automatically?
Yes, for the ChatGPT Plus and Google offers, unless you cancel before the free period ends. Google says you can cancel at any time; OpenAI says Plus renews unless you cancel.
Sources
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT Back to School offer for students (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- OpenAI: ChatGPT for students (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- OpenAI: Codex for university students (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT for Teachers (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- Google: College students get 12 months of Google AI free (Aug 19, 2026) (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- Google: Gemini for Students (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- Anthropic: Claude plans and pricing (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- Anthropic: Claude for K-12 Teachers (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- Perplexity Help Center: What is Education Pro? (checked Oct 27, 2026)
- Microsoft Store: Education and student offers (checked Oct 27, 2026)