More Than 50 of the Best Student Discounts for 2023

Before you use a student discount to buy a new laptop for college, check to see if your school has posted required or recommended specs online. Many colleges also offer their own discounts on tech gear, as well as free software, through partnerships with manufacturers.

Need Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier Pro, or one of the other creative apps from Adobe? The regular one-year subscription costs a hefty $600, but students and teachers can get it for $239.

Video editors and musicians can save nearly 70 percent on this bundle, which includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage. And it’s available at a onetime cost of $200 rather than a yearly subscription.

This retailer specializes in cameras, audio equipment, and other electronics and offers discounts (which vary by product) through its free Students GearUp program. As with most of the other companies on this list, you need to verify your college student status with SheerID, a free validation service, when signing up.

Apple’s student discount on Macs and iPads is a no-brainer because these products rarely go on sale. The special pricing is available to current and recently accepted college students, their parents, college staff, and home-school teachers. For example, you can get $100 off the latest MacBook Air with M2 chip or 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple’s refurbished program offers great savings, too, for those who don’t need the very latest iPhone or MacBook.

College students and staff can save $10 per month per phone line (up to five lines) on the AT&T Unlimited Premium plan. For one line, this would be $75 a month instead of the regular $85. This cell phone plan includes unlimited talk, text, and data that doesn’t slow down, plus 50 gigabytes of hot spot data per line each month.

Best Buy’s student discounts are open to everyone; you don’t need to verify your student status to take advantage of them. Simply head to the student deals hub to see what’s available.

Dell’s education discounts are available to students with a valid academic email address, such as one ending in .edu. Member savings at Dell University vary depending on the specific device, but currently you can save as much as $470 on a 2-in-1 laptop.

The HP Education Store for university students and teachers offers up to 40 percent off regular prices. Just register with your .edu email address.

Students in grade school, high school, or college; their parents; and school faculty can get up to 10 percent off with Microsoft’s student discount. For example, you could save $600 on a Surface Laptop 4. Office 365 is also free for students at eligible institutions.

College students and staff can grab up to 10 percent off a Samsung phone, laptop, smartwatch, or tablet. The student discount extends even to select home appliances, up to 30 percent off. (But if you’re living on campus, check to see if you’re allowed to have microwaves or toasters in the dorm.)

Verizon offers college student discounts for both wireless and home internet service. For cell phones, the discount is $10 off per month for one line or $25 off for two lines on an Unlimited plan. For Fios Home Internet, the discount is up to $10 per month. You can save more if you use Verizon for both cell phone and home internet service.

From movie theaters to music subscriptions to video streaming services, you don’t need to pay full price for fun.

After a free 30-day trial, college students can listen to Amazon Music for a discounted $5.99 per month. The regular plan is $8.99 per month. Note that this is different from the Amazon Prime Music included with a Prime membership. Unlimited gives you the ability to listen offline and skip unlimited tracks.

Movie ticket prices are discounted if you show your college student ID at participating AMC Theaters, Cinemark Theaters, or Regal Theaters. The discount can vary by time and day, so check with the local box office.

Apple’s Student Music plan is $5.99 per month for up to 48 months; the regular individual pricing is $10.99 per month. And it includes Apple TV+ (usually $6.99) free.

College students can watch shows and movies, with ads, on Hulu for just $1.99 per month, a 75 percent discount. Note that this student discount can’t be combined with the discounted Disney (Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+) bundle. But if you want music streaming, too, see the deal below.

After the free one-month trial, get both Spotify Premium and Hulu (with ads) for $4.99 per month. Spotify Premium is usually $9.99 per month and Hulu (with ads) $7.99 per month, so this is a savings of $12.99 a month for as long as you attend college.

Stream movies, shows, news, and live sports on the Paramount Plus Essential plan for $3.75 per month (25 percent off) after verifying you’re a college student. This plan includes some ads and doesn’t include your local live CBS station.

A YouTube Premium student plan includes ad-free videos and music for $6.99 per month after the first month’s free trial. This discount is available for up to four years max, and at the end of each year you’ll need to verify your eligibility as a college student.

Shopping for yourself can be fun until you tally up your receipts. The discounts below can help you stay within your budget.

Prime Student is the discounted version of Amazon Prime for, you guessed it, college students. After a six-month free trial, the price is $7.49 per month, which is about half off the regular price. In exchange, you get the usual benefits of Amazon Prime membership, including free delivery; Prime Video, Music Prime, and Prime Gaming; and access to the company’s two-day mega-sale. As a student, you also get discounts on flights and hotels, and exclusive offers such as one free month of instruction from the tutoring service Course Hero.

For a limited time (June 18 through Sept. 2, 2023), students enrolled in college and their parents can use Bed Bath & Beyond’s College Savings Pass to take 20 percent off purchases up to four times. This discount is available online and in-store. Note that the company recently declared bankruptcy and it’s unclear how long the stores will remain open.

Save on eyeglasses and sunglasses at this online eyewear store, which offers a generous student discount of up to 30 percent off. Sign up and verify your student status with Student Beans at the link above, and then use the student discount code to take 20 percent off a $30 order, 25 percent off $45, and 30 percent off $60.

Update your wardrobe and save 15 percent when you show your college ID in stores or verify your student or teacher status at jcrew.com. This discount can only be used up to four times per month, so don’t go crazy.

“Consider this your early graduation present,” says the company’s website: 15 percent off all Levi’s apparel. Levi’s has deals for teachers, too.

Clothing retailer Madewell offers college students and teachers 15 percent off online and in-store purchases. The discount can’t be stacked on top of other promotions, but if there’s a bigger discount available, that’s the one that gets applied.

High school and college students can nab a 10 percent promo code valid at nike.com or through the store’s mobile app after verifying their student status with SheerID. That discount code can only be used once, but you can get a new code every 30 days by simply verifying your status again.

Overstock offers college students and teachers free membership in the company’s Club O rewards program to earn points with purchases and get free returns and price matching. The annual membership is usually $19.95.

Target offers college students 15 percent off an online or in-store purchase, but the discount can be used only once per year. So it’s best to wait until you have lots of items on your back-to-school list.

Stay informed and feed your brain with these exclusive student deals.

If you’re a Prime member—see the clothing and dorm room section for the details on Amazon Prime Student—you have free access to over a thousand ebooks, magazines, and audiobooks.

This online bookstore sells new books at up to 90 percent off the retail price. If you’re a full-time student 17 years or older, join the free StudentBeans program to save an additional 5 percent at Book Outlet.

College students and faculty get access to NYTimes.com for $1 per week when they sign up with a valid school email address. Check with your college first to see if it provides free subscriptions to students.

A one-year subscription (11 print issues plus digital access) for students or educators is $17.50, 50 percent off.

Enter your .edu email address, major, and expected graduation date for 50 percent off digital or print and digital access. Digital-only access is $49.99 for one year; print and digital access is $6 for 12 weeks.

Check to see if your university offers WSJ subscriptions. If not, you can get access to WSJ.com for $24 for the first year and then $4 per month as long as you’re a college student.

Getting around is more fun when you get a good deal.

Some of the AAA’s regional clubs offer discounted membership for student drivers. Head to the membership web page to see if that deal is available near you. In addition to roadside assistance, AAA membership includes discounts at hotels, attractions, and retailers.

Here’s an incentive to do well in school: Most car insurance companies offer a “smart student” discount if you maintain good grades (often a “B” average or better) in college or high school. Ask your agent about other options, such as the “away at school” discount for students staying 100 miles or more from home.

Students between the ages of 17 and 24 can take a train ride for 15 percent off when booking at least one day in advance. The discount is automatically applied on qualifying travel (seating is limited and may not be available on all trains on all days), or enter code V814 in the Amtrak app.

Walmart+ members receive 20 cents off per gallon at any of the 14,000-plus Exxon and Mobil stations nationwide from Aug. 15 through Sept. 15. To take advantage of the offer, you simply pull up to the pump and open the Walmart+ app.

CoachUSA offers discounted bus service to and from select colleges in New York state if you show a valid ID. Trailways offers up to 15 percent off the regular adult fare, also on select routes (inquire with the company).

Here are some final tips to help you find discounts, deals, and freebies that are yours for the taking. 

Flash your ID. You might be surprised by how many places are willing to cut students a break. (It doesn’t hurt to ask.) Companies like FedEx offer discounts, for example. Local attractions such as Lincoln Center in New York City, the New England Aquarium, and the Art Institute of Chicago will sometimes let you in free when you present your college ID. And regardless of what the Buffalo Wild Wings and Taco Bell websites say, an individually owned franchise may comp your drink or cut 10 percent from your bill.

Enroll in a student discount program (or two). Student Advantage, Student Beans, and UniDays gather coupons and affiliate deals across just about every product category, including fashion, food, technology, and travel. To get the offers, you just need to register for a free account. (Many of the deals are duplicated across the sites, but some are exclusive.) For apps and software needs, check out Student App Centre, which lists discounts like 50 percent off 1Password, the best password manager, according to CR’s tests. 

Get a digital wallet or ID card. Most of the discounts cited in this article require you to verify your student status through a third party. Services like that are a good place to find savings, too. International Student Identity Card (ISIC) costs $20 and gives you access to deals across the globe; ID.me is a free digital wallet that offers cash back; and SheerID, which verifies status for companies like Amazon, The New York Times, and YouTube, has exclusive student discounts. 

Use your alumni benefits. The savings don’t necessarily stop once you graduate. Many universities offer graduates discounts on professional development courses, travel, and shopping. In some cases, you can even get a permanent .edu email address, prolonging access to these student discounts.