Deal guide
Free AI for students in 2026: every ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot offer, by country
Every big AI company now courts students, but the offers differ a lot by country, and two have deadlines this fall. Here is what each one gives, who qualifies, and whether it works where you live, checked against each company’s own terms.
The best deal is Google’s: college students get a free year of Gemini’s paid plan (AI Pro in the US, AI Plus in 140+ other countries). Redeem by Dec 31, 2026. ChatGPT gives 4 free months of Plus, but only to US college students who claim by Oct 31, 2026. Claude has no student discount; Microsoft 365 with Copilot is half price for students.
Every student AI offer at a glance
| Offer | What you get | Price after | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini (students 18+) | 12 months free: AI Pro (US) or AI Plus (other countries) | US $19.99/mo · AI Plus about $5/mo | Redeem by Dec 31, 2026 |
| ChatGPT Plus (US college students) | 4 months free | $20/mo | Claim by Oct 31, 2026 |
| Codex credits (US and Canada university students) | $100 of credits for OpenAI’s coding agent | Expire after 12 months | None stated |
| Microsoft 365 Personal with Copilot (college students) | 50% off while you’re a student | US $4.99/mo instead of $9.99 | None stated |
| Perplexity Education Pro (students and educators) | Pro for half price | $10/mo instead of $20 | None stated |
| GitHub Copilot (verified students) | Copilot Student, free | Free while verified | None stated |
| Claude | No student discount; free only through your university | Pro $20/mo | — |
From each company’s offer terms and pricing pages, checked Oct 11, 2026. US prices; local prices for Gemini below.
Which offers work in your country?
| Gemini free year | ChatGPT 4 months | Microsoft 50% off | Perplexity $10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Yes (AI Pro) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mexico | Yes (AI Plus, then MXN 99/mo) | No | Yes | Likely unconfirmed |
| Spain | Yes (AI Plus, then €4.99/mo) | No | Yes | Likely unconfirmed |
| Colombia | Yes (AI Plus, then COP 19,900/mo) | No | Yes | Likely unconfirmed |
| Argentina | Yes (AI Plus, then US$4.99/mo) | No | Yes | Likely unconfirmed |
| Chile | Yes (AI Plus, then CLP 4,690/mo) | No | Yes | Likely unconfirmed |
| Taiwan | Yes (AI Plus, then NT$165/mo) | No | Yes | Likely unconfirmed |
| Canada, Hong Kong, Bolivia | No (excluded) | No | Canada: yes | Likely unconfirmed |
Microsoft: localized student pages exist for each country listed; we couldn’t check local prices. Perplexity doesn’t publish a country list; it depends on whether SheerID recognizes your school.
Google Gemini: a free year for college students
- What you get: in the US, Google AI Pro for 12 months (higher Gemini limits, 5 TB storage, video generation). Everywhere else it covers, Google AI Plus for 12 months (2× limits, 400 GB storage, video generation).
- Who qualifies: 18 or older, enrolled at a college or university, using a personal Google account (not your school account), with a payment method on file. The plan depends on the country of your school.
- How: go to one.google.com/ai-student and verify with SheerID, usually with your school email.
- Deadline: redeem by December 31, 2026. The 12 months start the day you redeem.
- Already used last year’s offer? Students whose 2025 free year of AI Pro has ended can claim the 2026 offer. If yours is still running, wait until it ends, but still redeem before the deadline.
Heads-up for Taiwan: the FAQ on Google’s Taiwan student page says the offer is for “US college students”. Google’s own Taiwan blog post (Aug 20, 2026) confirms it is for Taiwan college students, with a price of NT$165 a month after the free year.
ChatGPT: 4 free months of Plus, US only
- What you get: four free months of ChatGPT Plus, which OpenAI values at $80.
- Who qualifies: full- or part-time college and graduate students at US schools. High school students don’t. You verify with SheerID; your ChatGPT account doesn’t have to use your school email.
- Catches: you need a payment method, it renews at $20 a month, and it can’t be claimed through the App Store or Google Play. If you cancel early, you lose the remaining free months.
- How: chatgpt.com/students/2026, by October 31, 2026.
- Outside the US: there is no ChatGPT student plan or student price, in Taiwan, Mexico, Spain or anywhere else. The cheapest paid option is ChatGPT Go; see Free vs Go vs Plus.
Coding students in the US or Canada can also claim $100 of Codex credits (OpenAI’s coding agent) at chatgpt.com/codex/students. It works with a free ChatGPT account.
Claude: no student discount, but a generous free plan
Anthropic doesn’t sell Claude Pro at a student price. Your options:
- Claude Free, free for everyone. See what the free plan includes.
- Claude for Education, if your university has bought it. Ask your IT department; there’s no individual sign-up.
- Pro at $20 a month, or $17 a month if you pay for a year.
Anthropic’s Campus program pays selected student club leaders a $3,600 stipend, but it isn’t a free plan, and fall 2026 applications have closed. Ignore “free Claude Pro promo code” offers on social media: we found none that are real.
Copilot, Perplexity and GitHub
- Microsoft 365 Personal with Copilot: college students pay 50% less (US $4.99 a month instead of $9.99), re-verifying every year. You get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, 1 TB of storage and Copilot inside the apps. If your school gives you a Microsoft account, Copilot Chat is already free with it.
- Perplexity Education Pro: $10 a month instead of $20 for verified students and educators, at perplexity.ai/students.
- GitHub Copilot: free Copilot Student for verified students through GitHub Education, and free Copilot Pro for verified teachers. Some users report that new student sign-ups were paused in April 2026 unconfirmed.
Offers for teachers
- ChatGPT for Teachers: free for verified US K-12 teachers and staff until at least June 2027 (OpenAI’s pricing page says June 2027, its help article June 2028), at chatgpt.com/k12-verification.
- Claude for Teachers: a free year for US K-12 educators who sign up by June 30, 2027 (claude.ai/teachers).
- Gemini: no individual teacher offer, but Gemini for Education is included free in Google Workspace for Education, so your school can switch it on.
- Outside the US: teachers in Teach For All programs, such as Enseña por México, Empieza por Educar in Spain or Enseña Chile, can get Claude access through Anthropic’s partnership.
Before you sign up
- Put the end date in your calendar. ChatGPT and Gemini renew at full price automatically. Here’s how to keep your chats out of AI training while you’re at it.
- Use your personal account for Gemini and Microsoft; school accounts are excluded.
- Only use official links (one.google.com, chatgpt.com, microsoft.com). Fake “student offer” pages that ask for your login are a common scam.
Sources: Google AI student offer terms (Aug 19, 2026) · Google: student offer announcement · Google Taiwan blog (Aug 20, 2026) · OpenAI: back-to-school offer · OpenAI: Codex credits for students · OpenAI: ChatGPT for Teachers · Claude pricing · Claude for Teachers · Anthropic and Teach For All · Microsoft 365 student pricing · Perplexity Education Pro · GitHub Copilot for students
Quick answers
Is there a ChatGPT student discount?
Only in the US: college and graduate students at US schools get 4 free months of ChatGPT Plus if they claim by October 31, 2026, verified through SheerID. It then renews at $20 a month. There is no student price for ChatGPT anywhere else.
Is Gemini free for students for a year?
Yes, if you are 18 or older and enrolled at a college or university. US students get Google AI Pro free for 12 months; students in more than 140 other countries, including Taiwan, Mexico and Spain, get Google AI Plus. Redeem by December 31, 2026 at one.google.com/ai-student.
Is Claude free for students?
Claude’s Free plan is free for everyone, but there is no student discount on Pro. Students get Claude Pro-level access only if their university buys Claude for Education.
Is Claude free for teachers?
US K-12 teachers can get a free year of Claude for Teachers if they sign up by June 30, 2027. Outside the US there is no individual teacher offer, except for teachers in Teach For All programs who are selected for Anthropic’s Claude Lab.
Do I need a credit card for the student offers?
Yes for ChatGPT and Gemini: both require a payment method and renew at full price when the free period ends unless you cancel. Set a reminder a week before it ends.
Can high school students get these offers?
No. ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft and Perplexity offers are for college and university students. Gemini’s also requires you to be 18 or older.
Keep learning
Is Claude free? What you get without paying, and what you don’t
Yes, Claude has a free plan. What it includes (Sonnet, web search, files, voice), what needs Pro at $20 (Claude Code, Opus, Research) and how limits work.
ChatGPT Free vs Go vs Plus: which plan is worth paying for?
ChatGPT Free, Go ($8) and Plus ($20) compared from OpenAI’s own pricing page: models, limits, ads, deep research and Codex, and who should pick which.
How much does Claude Code cost? Pro, Max and pay-as-you-go explained
Claude Code isn’t free: it comes with Claude Pro ($20, or $17 yearly), Max (from $100) or pay-as-you-go API credits. What each gets you and which to choose.