Gemini student discount: a free year of Google AI, redeem by 31 December 2026

What is the Gemini student discount in October 2026?

Google announced it on 19 August 2026. A footnote sets the AI Plus side: students in "over 140 markets where Google AI Plus is available" qualify, except in the US and six places it names. We read each term in this table from Google's own pages on 11 October 2026.

The US offer is the one most people mean. You have to be 18 or older, enrolled at a college, and signed in to a personal Google account. SheerID has to confirm the enrollment, and you add a card at sign-up. The 12 months start on the day you redeem, per Google's offer terms. Google's US student page has one line for anyone who claimed last year: "Both new users and students whose 2025 AI Pro trial has expired can qualify." So last year's free year doesn't block this one. The same page says eligibility "must be verified each year".

Outside the US, the free year is a smaller plan. AI Plus comes with 400 GB of storage against 5 TB on AI Pro, and twice the free plan's Gemini limits instead of four times. It gets 200 Google Flow credits for video, not 1,000. Google's 19 August 2026 announcement lists Gemini Spark for AI Pro and doesn't list it for AI Plus. In money, the US year is worth $239.88 at list price (12 months at $19.99). The AI Plus year is worth $59.88 at the US price of $4.99. In India it's Rs 4,788.

Is the Gemini student offer still available, and when does it end?

Yes. You can redeem it until 31 December 2026. That's the last day to sign up, not the last free day: a student who claims on 31 December keeps the plan for 12 months from then. Every free student offer we found from Google since April 2025 had a sign-up deadline. The chart puts each one on the day it closed, and the orange points are the two still open.

The 2026 window is the longest of the five we found. It's open for 134 days, from 19 August to 31 December. The four 2025 windows lasted 57 to 74 days. In April 2025 Google gave US students 15 months of what was then AI Premium if they signed up by 30 June 2025. Its August 2025 offer gave a year of AI Pro in the US, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Brazil until 6 October 2025. India's closed on 15 September 2025. The one for Europe, the Middle East and Africa closed on 9 December 2025. Google hasn't said what follows 31 December 2026. OpenAI's rival deal closes sooner: 4 free months of ChatGPT Plus for US students who claim by 31 October 2026, covered in our ChatGPT Plus student discount page.

Which countries get Google AI Pro free for students?

Only the US, as of October 2026. In 2025 the free AI Pro year also reached students in Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Brazil, India and much of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2026 those students get AI Plus.

Google's offer terms shut out six places by name: Albania, Bolivia, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau and Tunisia. Canada is the one people search for. Its version of Google's student page reads: "Our previous student offer ended on December 9, 2025 and is no longer available in your region." The UK and Australia aren't excluded. Both were on the list of 35 countries where Google launched AI Plus on 27 January 2026, so students there get the free AI Plus year. Indian students get it too. Google's India page says it then charges "$4.99/month or local currency equivalent", which Indian outlets put at Rs 399.

Outside the US, Google's announcement lists one student route to AI Pro: a paid bundle. Google sells AI Pro with YouTube Premium to students in over 80 countries for up to 70% off, for up to 4 years. In the US it costs $8.99 a month, against $35.98 for the two bought separately, per YouTube's 19 August 2026 post. SheerID checks it too. School-issued accounts can't take it, and it may renew at the standard price once you stop being a student.

What does Google AI Pro include for students?

The student plan is the same Google AI Pro anyone buys for $19.99 a month. As of October 2026 that's 4x the free plan's Gemini limits and 5 TB of storage shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos. You also get Gemini inside Gmail and Docs, the Gemini Spark agent, and 1,000 Flow credits for video. Google's plans page lists a Gemini Pro model and a Gemini Flash model on both paid tiers, with a newer Flash on AI Pro. In the US, AI Pro also carries YouTube Premium Lite and Google Home Premium.

NotebookLM is in it under a new name. Google renamed it Gemini Notebook on 16 July 2026, and the plans page gives AI Pro "5x more Audio Overviews, notebooks, and more" than the free plan. AI Plus gets more than free, with no multiple stated.

This year's plan is bigger than last year's. The August 2025 student year came with 2 TB of storage, NotebookLM and Veo 3 video. The 2026 year has 5 TB and adds Spark. On the same day, Google opened a student hub in the Gemini app with study notebooks, flashcards and practice quizzes.

How do you claim the Gemini student discount?

You claim it at one.google.com/ai-student, never with a code. Four steps:

1. Open one.google.com/ai-student in a web browser, signed in to a personal Google account, not one your college issued.
2. Verify with SheerID. Have your school email address ready, since you may be asked to confirm with it.
3. Add a card or other payment method. Google requires one at sign-up, and the 12 free months start that day.
4. Put a reminder in your calendar a few days before the year ends. AI Pro then charges $19.99 a month unless you cancel.

Google's terms turn some people away. Members of a Google One family group can't claim it. Nor can anyone whose Google One comes through Google Fi or another third party, or a discounted Pixel bundle. Supervised accounts are out, and so are Workspace for Education accounts. The offer generally can't be stacked with other Google One offers. If you cancel during the year, the plan may stay active until the year ends.

What happens when the Gemini student year ends?

Google charges your card. Its US page puts it plainly: "Unless cancelled earlier, Google AI Pro will automatically charge $19.99/month after the trial ends." AI Plus renews at $4.99 a month or the local price. If you don't want to pay, cancel before the year runs out; our cancel guide has the click path. Storage is the trap. Files over the free 15 GB stay put, but the terms say you must delete files or buy a plan before you can store anything new.

Still a student? Then verify again. Google's US page says eligibility is checked each year, and the $8.99 bundle runs for up to four years. Google hasn't said whether a student can move from the free year straight into the bundle. If you're weighing $19.99 without the discount, our Google AI Pro verdict does the math.

Whizi, which publishes this page, has no student price, and for a student who only wants Gemini it's the dearer choice. Its Gemini models start on the Pro plan at $29.99 a month, $10 more than Google AI Pro, with no 5 TB of storage and no Spark. It earns a look only after the free year ends, and only if you want Claude, GPT and Gemini answers side by side on one bill. Whizi Pro's first week is $1.99, per the pricing page.