As a student, I’ve pulled my fair share of all-nighters cramming for midterms and finals, always fueled by unhealthy amounts of coffee. Would I consider that a perk of student life? Not exactly. But there is one real benefit you should be milking for all its worth — student discounts.

From music streaming to creative software, major brands seem to understand that students worldwide are on a tight budget, and they’re surprisingly generous about it. I’m currently in college, and I’ve been taking advantage of numerous deals since my high school years (and I’ll continue to do so until my student email finally expires). Here are the subscriptions I keep renewing without a second thought, and that you’ll probably want to subscribe to as well.

Spotify Premium Student

And it comes with the ad-supported Hulu plan

If there were only one subscription I could keep as a student, it would likely be Spotify Premium Student (or a music streaming alternative with a similar discount). I can’t begin to imagine surviving college without music. Whether I’m on my two-hour commute, working through a calculus assignment, or just trying to grab lunch while drowning out campus noise, Spotify is always running in the background.

At the same time, the free tier simply doesn’t cut it for me. Ads interrupting while I’m deep in a math assignment and not being able to download playlists for offline listening during my commute are deal-breakers. Spotify’s Premium Individual plan costs $11.99/month, and students can get it for 50% off, making it just $5.99/month. That’s not all. You also get the ad-supported Hulu plan for free with the subscription.

So, for $5.99/month, you get access to your favorite TV shows and movies, plus ad-free listening, on-demand playback, offline downloads, and higher-quality playback. To be eligible for this deal, you need to be currently enrolled in a US Title IV-accredited college or university. You’ll then need to verify your student status through SheerID.

Since the ad-supported Hulu tier costs $9.99/month (less for students), you’re essentially saving around $17 every month! If you haven't subscribed to Spotify Premium before, you also get the first six months free.

Amazon Prime for Young Adults

Perfect for the post-class binge-watch (and shopping spree)

I shop online a lot, and I love watching my favorite shows and movies when I'm back home from an exhausting day of classes. So, Amazon’s Prime for Young Adults is hands-down one of my favorite subscription discounts I get, and it’s because of just how many perks are packed into it.

Like Spotify, students get 50% off the regular price, which comes down to $7.49/month or $69/year. For that price, you can get access to Prime Video (which has all my favorite comfort shows and movies), ad-free access to Prime Music, Prime Reading, access to free games on Prime Gaming, free two-day shipping on eligible purchases, unlimited photo storage through Prime Photos, and student-exclusive offers.

If you’re a new member and haven’t tried Prime before, you can also get a six-month free trial before your paid subscription starts. A free subscription for half a year is honestly reason enough to sign up. But once you start using all the perks, you’ll probably end up keeping it long after the trial ends. Once your trial ends, you can subscribe at the discounted price for four more years or until you graduate.

Google AI Pro

Free for a year, just for students

This one isn’t a subscription I’m technically paying for, but it’s an offer only students can get, and it’s too good not to mention in this article. Just a couple of days ago, Google announced that it’s giving away the Google AI Pro plan for free to students for an entire year.

The plan includes numerous perks, such as the Pro version of NotebookLM, expanded access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, higher access to Deep Research, higher limits with Google’s agentic coding agent, Jules, and 2 TB of storage.

Personally, my favorite perk is getting access to NotebookLM’s premium tier completely free. While I think the free tier is already powerful, the Pro version gives you much higher usage limits across all its features. Google AI Pro typically costs $19.99/month, so you’re essentially getting about $240 worth of tools for free. This offer expires on October 6, 2025, so make sure you sign up before the cutoff date.

Notion Education Plus

Organize your life for free

I organize my entire academic life on Notion — course schedule, assignment tracker, budget tracker, revision plans. You name it, it’s probably in my workspace. Another subscription I’m not technically paying for is Notion Plus. Notion gives students completely free access to Notion Plus, which includes unlimited uploads and collaborative blocks, the option to collaborate with up to 100 guests, and a 30-day version history.

If AI is a big part of your student workflow, you might also qualify for a 50% discount on Notion AI for up to 12 months. Notion AI includes features like chatting with Notion AI, translation, Autofill in databases, AI-powered blocks, and more. Typically, Notion’s Plus plan costs $12/month or $120/year, which means you’re saving quite a bit.

All you need is a valid .edu email to subscribe to this plan. If you’re like me and already using Notion with your personal email, you can still switch your account to your student email in the settings to unlock the free plan.

YouTube Premium Student

Enjoy YouTube without ads

The days of YouTube videos not starting with two unskippable ads and multiple in the middle are long, long gone. As a student, YouTube is a service I simply can’t survive without. I rely on it for a lot of self-studying, and when I’m cramming for an exam late at night and ads keep popping up one after another, it’s beyond frustrating.

YouTube Premium Student solves that problem by giving you completely ad-free videos, background play so you can keep listening even with your phone locked, and offline downloads for when you don’t have Wi-Fi. On top of that, you also get YouTube Music Premium, so you can stream and download music without interruptions. The regular YouTube Premium plan costs $13.99/month, but students get it for almost half the price at $7.99/month after verifying their enrollment through SheerID.

Don't miss out on these student perks

Being a college student is expensive as-is, and every little saving can make a massive difference. Though there are a bunch of other discounts and offers out there, these are the ones I’ve personally found to be the most useful.