How to Get Free AI as a Student

In short: Students can get paid AI plans for free. Google gives 1 year of Google AI Plus to university students in 161 countries, including Pakistan and India, and 1 year of Google AI Pro to students in the US. ChatGPT Plus is free for 4 months for US college students until 31 October 2026. GitHub, Microsoft Azure and JetBrains have free student packs too. Most offers verify you with your school email, and some need a payment method even though the first year is free.

Free AI plans for students

How to get Google AI Plus free as a student (Pakistan, India and 159 more countries)

1. Open Google's student page, gemini.google/students, and click the button to claim the student plan.
2. Sign in with your personal Google account (not a school-managed one).
3. Verify that you are a student through SheerID, using your school email address.
4. Add a payment method. Nothing is charged for the first 12 months.
5. To avoid a charge after the year, cancel before it ends. In Pakistan, AI Plus costs Rs 1,400 a month after the free year.

Who qualifies: students at a higher-education institution (university or college) in a country where Google AI Plus is sold, except Albania, Bolivia, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Tunisia and the US. If you upgrade to a paid plan during the trial, you cannot get the trial again.

Students outside the US can also get Google AI Pro at a discount (not free) for up to 4 years, and an AI Pro plus YouTube Premium student bundle in 86 countries. Google's student offer help page lists both.

How to get Google AI Pro free as a student (US)

US university students get Google AI Pro free for 1 year instead of AI Plus. Open gemini.google/us/students, verify with your school email and add a payment method. After the year, AI Pro costs $19.99 a month unless you cancel.

How to get ChatGPT Plus free as a student

OpenAI's 2026 Back to School offer gives four free monthly billing periods of ChatGPT Plus to full-time and part-time college and graduate students at US degree-granting schools.

1. Open ChatGPT's student offer page while signed in to the ChatGPT account you want it on.
2. Verify your enrollment through SheerID (records, your school's sign-in, or documents).
3. Add a payment method. The four months are free; after that Plus renews at $20 a month unless you cancel.

The offer has to be claimed by 31 October 2026, and it can be used once. Details: OpenAI's help article.

How to get GitHub Copilot free as a student

1. Go to GitHub Education and apply as a student.
2. Use your school email, or upload proof of enrollment if your school does not give emails.
3. Once approved, Copilot with premium features and GitHub Codespaces (180 core hours a month) are free while you are a student. Verified teachers get Copilot Pro free.

You need to be at least 13 years old. GitHub's student guide lists the full pack.

Other student offers that are discounts, not free

No free individual student plan: Claude is available to students only through universities that buy Claude for Education; Cursor has ended its student discount; xAI Grok has no student plan.

No student email? Free AI APIs work for everyone

If your school is not eligible, or you have no payment method, free AI API keys need neither. See how to get AI API keys for free: Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, Cloudflare and Cohere all have free tiers with daily limits.

Countries where students get Google AI Plus free

Google AI Plus is sold in 168 countries and regions. The free student trial covers all of them except Albania, Bolivia, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Tunisia and the United States - 161 in total:

Åland Islands, Algeria, American Samoa, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Palau, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Sources: Google One's AI Plus availability list and student offer rules.