Student life is hard, financially speaking, but there are plenty of discounts on streaming services to help you along. Given how much music, TV and movie content they offer, at these reduced fees (sometimes as much as 75 per cent off), they're a bargain.
Amazon, Tidal, Apple, Spotify... everyone's after a slice of the student dollar. Take advantage of these deals, and you can save a packet every month on all your entertainment needs...
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Am I eligible for a student discount?
In general, you're going to need a .edu email address to qualify for a student subscription price, so if your school doesn't offer one of those, you might be out of luck. More and more, though, services offering student discounts are using third-party verification services which, upon you entering your details, 'verifies' that you're a student.
For more information to see if you are eligible for a student discount, just follow the links below and check out support pages as necessary. And even if you end up being one of the unlucky few students that can't apply, many universities have deals with companies to offer products and services to students for cheap or free, so make sure to investigate the resources your university provides.
Not every student discount out there is especially generous, but anything is always better than nothing, so make sure to find out if you can get verified as a student, because more money in your pocket each month adds up fast.
In no particular order, here are the very best student discounts around you can use to save money while you're at university...
How to get a Spotify student discount
Spotify's student bundle packs in Spotify Premium and Hulu (with ads) for $6 a month. With both music and TV content covered, it's a bit of a no-brainer.
Anyone over the age of 18 who is enrolled at a US Title IV accredited college or university is eligible. You can get access up to 12 months from the date you subscribed, and to remain subscribed after that (you can get the student price for a maximum of three years), you'll need to re-verify their eligibility.
To sign up, though, you don't just need an .edu address; you'll need to get verified as a student through a service called SheerID.
How to get an Apple Music (and Apple TV+) student discount
Apple offers up not just Apple Music with a student discount but bundles in Apple TV+ too, for a total of $6 a month for the two services combined, giving you your ultimate fill of Apple music and video content. This is a saving of $14 a month, which quickly adds up.
You can sign up for this student discount from Apple for Apple Music for up to 48 months (four years), while Apple TV+ is included for a limited time. Each year, you'll have to reverify your student status with Apple, and to apply you've got be a student studying for a bachelor's degree, post-graduate degree, or be pursuing an equivalent Higher Education course at a college.
Signing up also requires more than just a .edu email address, with Apple relying on SheerID to verify student status.
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How to get an Amazon Prime student discount
Amazon has a great student package called Prime Student. This is basically Amazon Prime, which includes shipping deals, Prime Video, Prime Music, Amazon Photos, and more. When you sign up, you'll get Prime Student for free for six months, and then you'll get a hefty 50 per cent off discount, with an annual cost of $69 ($5.75 a month).
Amazon has one of the less restrictive student verification programs, simply requiring a .edu email address you'll use to verify your student status. Amazon also doesn't require you to reverify student status on a routine schedule, and you'll easily be able to enjoy Prime Student for the duration of your undergraduate life and maybe beyond.
How to get a Tidal student discount
Tidal's student discount offers students higher-quality music streaming than Spotify for just $5 per month.
The Student tier is currently $4.99 a month, but will go up to $5.49 on 19th August. It's the equivalent of the Tidal HiFi tier, which gives you CD-quality tracks, so long as you're a high school or college student over 16 years of age. Plus, you'll also get a free 30-day trial when you sign up.
You'll need to reverify your student status every year, and Tidal verifies student status through SheerID. Though, of course, depending on whether you're a high school or college student, your verification requirements will vary. Tidal is one of the few major streaming services that extends its student discount to high schoolers, which can then be extended throughout college, which is a fantastic way to experience Tidal for cheap.
How to get a Hulu student discount
The best way to get a Hulu student discount is to sign up for a student discount on Spotify Premium, which will nab you Hulu (with ads) alongside Spotify Premium for $6 a month. Though you can also sign up for a student discount on Hulu (with ads) directly through Hulu for $2 a month. That saves you $6 a month over a normal subscription.
Students enrolled in graduate or advanced degree programs at Title IV accredited colleges in the U.S. are eligible for the Hulu student discount, and you'll have to apply to be verified as a student through the now-familiar SheerID service, much like other student discounts.
Does Netflix have a student discount?
No! It doesn't. Netflix doesn't even offer free trials. Netflix might have the very best original streaming content out there, but the service is going to cost you. Plus thanks to its much-publicised crackdown on account sharing, students can't even watch their parents' account away from home.
Though, this could always change. Free trials, discounts, sales, and the like aren't hard and fast policies that never change, so could be that Netflix does eventually introduce a student discount, but you'll have to keep your eyes peeled. Rest assured, if the service does add a discount, we'll update this page.
As it stands today, you'll have to sign up for a traditional Netflix account at the starting price of $6.99 a month to stream with adverts.
Does Disney+ have a student discount?
Nope! Not at all. However, Disney+ has run student discount promotions in the past through the UNiDAYS site, so it's possible that you'll be able to one day get a student discount there again. Plus, since Hulu fully supports student discounts, and since Hulu is owned by Disney, there's some precedence for Disney streaming services getting student discounts.
Disney+ isn't as expensive or stingy as Netflix can be, so there's probably a decent chance that if you wait long enough you'll be able to grab Disney+ at a student discount.
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