Students searching for AI discounts in 2026 face a fragmented landscape: some offers are active and generous, some have quietly ended, and some appear active until you try to claim them. This guide lists every AI-related student discount we have reviewed — active, paused, or ended — so you know what is available and what to double-check before relying on it.
⚠️ Important disclaimer
Student offers change frequently and vary by region and institution. Always verify on the provider's official page before relying on a discount. The statuses below reflect what we found at the time of review — they are not guarantees of availability.
Quick answer
Claim or check now: GitHub Student Developer Pack and your institution's education licenses. Verify in your account: GitHub Copilot Student, Google AI Pro, and Perplexity because availability can depend on sign-up status, region, or account. Ended: Cursor's 1-year Pro student program; Cursor Free remains available to everyone and the student page points to future event promotions. ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro have no standing global public student discount.
Every AI student discount: active, paused, or ended
| Tool | Student offer | Status | How to claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Free tier only — past 1-year program ended | ⚠️ Ended — event promos only (fall 2026) | cursor.com/students |
| GitHub Copilot | Copilot Student free | Check account — docs list free plan; new sign-ups may be paused | github.com/features/copilot |
| GitHub Student Pack | Rotating catalog of developer and education offers | Available — individual partner offers can change | education.github.com/pack |
| Google AI Pro | Student-focused AI Pro offer; price varies by account and region | 🟡 Check signed-in offer and renewal price | one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans |
| Notion | Free Education plan (Notion AI add-on separate) | Education Plus verified; AI entitlement not promised | notion.so/product/notion-for-education |
| Canva | Canva for Education free (K-12 only) | ⚠️ K-12 only — college students not eligible | canva.com/education |
| Perplexity | Student/education offer may vary by region | Official page could not be parsed; verify in account | perplexity.ai/students |
| Claude | No public student discount | No public individual student offer found | Check with school IT |
| ChatGPT Plus | No global student discount | No standing global student offer found | chatgpt.com (check regional offers) |
| JetBrains | All IDEs free for students | Check current education eligibility directly | jetbrains.com/student |
1. Cursor: free tier available, paid promotion program ended
What you get: Cursor's free Hobby tier is always available — just download Cursor and sign up, no .edu email required. The Hobby plan includes basic AI features like Tab completions and limited Agent mode usage. The previous 1-year Pro student program (which offered $20/month in AI credits and full Pro access) has ended.
Current status: Cursor's official student page (cursor.com/students) now says: "Anyone can get started with Cursor for free. To upgrade your access, look out for promotions at our on-campus and online events starting this fall." There is no ongoing 1-year free student plan. Paid Pro upgrades ($20/month+) are available to everyone, student or not.
Who should use it: Any student who writes code, even occasionally. Cursor is a full VS Code fork — you can use the free Hobby tier for any programming language, class project, or personal coding work. The free tier is generous enough for most student coding needs. If you need more AI capacity, watch for event promotions in fall 2026.
For the full picture on Cursor's current student offering, read our updated Cursor student discount guide.
2. GitHub Student Developer Pack: live offer catalog
What you get: The GitHub Student Developer Pack is a changing catalog of developer and education offers for verified students. Check the live catalog before relying on any named benefit. Current durable points include:
- GitHub Pro and partner offers — verify the current catalog and eligibility on the Pack page
- Education software — individual partner terms and durations can change
- GitHub Copilot Student — listed in docs, but new sign-ups temporarily paused as of mid-2026
How to claim: Visit education.github.com/pack, sign in with your GitHub account, and upload proof of enrollment (student ID, enrollment letter, or .edu email verification). Approval typically takes a few days. The pack is free and does not auto-renew into paid anything.
Important caveat on Copilot: While GitHub Copilot Student is listed as a free plan in GitHub documentation, the Student Developer Pack page currently states that new Copilot plan sign-ups are temporarily paused. The pack itself remains available. Check your GitHub account directly for Copilot availability.
3. Google AI Pro: check the signed-in student offer
Google publishes current guidance for using AI Pro as a student, but the public plan page does not expose one universal student price, trial, storage amount, or country rule. Those terms can vary by account and region.
How to verify: Sign in to Google One, open the AI plans page, and record the offer, renewal date, renewal price, storage, and country eligibility shown for your account before accepting. Do not assume a price quoted for another country applies to you.
What changed: Google's earlier time-limited free student promotion had a redemption deadline and is no longer a generally claimable new-user offer. Existing redemptions follow the terms shown in the subscriber's Google One account.
4. Notion for Education: free workspace, AI add-on separate
What you get: Notion's official education page offers eligible college students and educators a free Plus Plan for a one-member workspace, with up to 100 guests. The education page does not promise paid Notion AI entitlement, so verify AI access separately in the workspace billing screen.
How to claim: Visit notion.so/product/notion-for-education and sign up using your school email address. Notion verifies eligibility through your email domain. The Education plan is free and does not expire as long as you remain enrolled.
Notion is widely used by students for class notes, project management, and collaborative group work. The free Education plan makes it a strong student productivity tool even without the AI add-on.
5. Canva for Education: design tools, free (K-12 only)
What you get: Canva for Education provides eligible K-12 institutions with education-focused design and AI features for class materials and student projects.
⚠️ K-12 institutions only. Not available to college/university students directly. Canva's eligibility guidelines explicitly limit Canva for Education to K-12 institutions. Higher education students should check whether their institution provides Canva for Campus. The current GitHub Student Pack page does not list a universal Canva Pro benefit, so this guide no longer claims one.
Canva's AI features — Magic Write for text generation, Magic Design for layout, and AI image generation — are built into the platform and available to Education plan users. This makes Canva a practical free AI design tool for K-12 student presentations and projects.
6. Perplexity: student offer varies by region
Perplexity maintains a student URL, but its offer details did not parse during this review. We could not confirm a universal public price, duration, or eligibility rule from the official page.
How to check: Visit perplexity.ai/students and inspect the offer shown for your account. Do not assume a discount will be applied later — verify the final price and renewal terms before paying.
If no discount is shown: Use the public free plan first and review the current limits shown in your account before paying for Pro.
Tools without student discounts — and why the free tier still works
Several major AI tools have no student-specific discount in 2026. Here is what each one offers through its free tier instead:
| Tool | Student discount? | What free tier covers |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | No (2025 pilot ended) | Free plan with changing model, tool, and usage limits |
| Claude | No (university partnerships only) | Free plan with changing model, feature, and usage limits |
| Perplexity | Varies by region | Free search plan; verify current account limits |
| Gemini | Check signed-in regional offer | Free access with changing model and feature limits |
Claim priority: what to do in the next 30 minutes
If you are a currently enrolled student, here is the priority order for claiming AI-related student benefits. Each of these is free and can be completed in a single sitting:
- GitHub Student Developer Pack (education.github.com/pack) — review the current catalog and claim the offers relevant to you. Copilot sign-ups may still be paused.
- Cursor Hobby (free) (cursor.com) — always available, no .edu required. Full VS Code fork with basic AI features. Watch for event promotions (fall 2026) for paid upgrades.
- Notion for Education (notion.so/product/notion-for-education) — free unlimited workspace with your school email. Takes 30 seconds to sign up.
- Canva for Education — eligible K-12 institutions only. College students should check whether their school provides Canva for Campus.
- Google AI Pro (one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans) — sign in and verify the exact student offer, renewal price, and region eligibility shown for your account.
How to choose
Start with the GitHub Student Developer Pack, any institution-provided licenses, and Cursor Free. Then test free tiers from ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini before paying. Treat every regional or account-specific promotion as unconfirmed until the provider shows the final price and renewal terms in your own checkout.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI tools have the best student discounts in 2026?
Cursor Free is available to everyone, while the past 1-year Pro student program has ended. Cursor now points students to event promotions. GitHub docs list Copilot Student as free, but the Student Developer Pack says new Copilot sign-ups are temporarily paused. Google AI Pro and Perplexity offers must be checked in the student account and region because their public pages do not show one universal price.
How do I get Cursor Pro for free as a student?
The Cursor 1-year Pro student program has ended as of 2026. The free Hobby tier is always available — just download Cursor and sign up, no .edu required. Cursor says to watch for promotions at on-campus and online events starting fall 2026 for paid upgrade opportunities. Check cursor.com/students for current information.
Is GitHub Copilot still free for students in 2026?
GitHub documentation lists Copilot Student as a free plan for verified students. However, the GitHub Student Developer Pack currently states that new Copilot plan sign-ups are temporarily paused. Check GitHub directly from your account. The broader Student Developer Pack remains available even if Copilot activation is paused.
Does Google AI Pro have a student discount?
Google previously offered a time-limited free AI Pro student promotion. Google now publishes student-focused AI Pro guidance, but its public plan page does not show one universal student price or eligibility rule. Sign in to Google One and verify the offer, renewal price, storage, and country eligibility shown for your account before subscribing.
Can students get ChatGPT Plus for free or discounted?
OpenAI ran a limited US/Canada student pilot offering two free months of ChatGPT Plus, which ended May 31, 2025. As of this review, there is no standing global student discount for ChatGPT Plus. ChatGPT Free remains available, with models and limits that can change over time.
Does Claude offer a student discount?
No public individual student discount is listed. Anthropic offers Claude for Education through participating institutions, so students should check access with their school IT department. Claude Free remains the public no-cost option.
Are there student discounts for Notion AI, Canva, or other productivity tools?
Notion offers a free one-member Plus workspace to eligible college students and educators, but its education page does not promise paid Notion AI access. Canva for Education is limited to eligible K-12 institutions; college and university students must check whether their institution provides Canva for Campus.
What is the GitHub Student Developer Pack and is it still available?
Yes. The GitHub Student Developer Pack remains available at education.github.com. Its offer catalog changes, so review the live Pack page instead of relying on a fixed list. It is worth checking even while new Copilot plan sign-ups are temporarily paused.
Want a no-cost setup first? Build a free student AI stack or use the WhichAI optimizer to get a personalized recommendation based on your budget and workflow.