ChatGPT Plus is the subscription plan from OpenAI that unlocks faster responses, priority access, and the GPT-5 model. Many students ask if there is a way to get this plan at a lower cost or for free.The answer depends on what OpenAI is offering at the time. In some periods, they have run official promotions for students. At other times, no discount is available. Understanding the current status and how past offers worked helps students know what to expect.
Does ChatGPT Provide a Student Discount?
Right now, there is no active or ongoing student discount for ChatGPT Plus. OpenAI has not announced a permanent reduced-price plan for students.
The last time such an offer was available was in spring 2025. From March 31 to May 31 of that year, eligible students in the United States and Canada could claim two months of ChatGPT Plus for free. That program has ended, and there is no replacement running at the moment.
OpenAI has said these offers are experimental, meaning they test them for a limited period and decide later whether to expand or repeat them. Because of this, interested students should follow official announcements closely.
The 2025 US and Canada Student Offer
The 2025 program was available to both full-time and part-time students at degree-granting institutions. It also included U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
To apply, students had to use SheerID for verification. SheerID is a third-party service that checks student status through multiple methods:
- Automatic match with official school enrollment records.
- Secure login through the school’s own Single Sign-On system.
- Manual review of documents, such as a student ID card or enrollment confirmation.
Once verified, students received a link to activate their free two-month subscription. The plan included the same features that paying customers get — access to GPT-5, faster replies, and priority service during busy hours.
How Student Verification Works
Whenever OpenAI offers a student discount, the process is strict to prevent misuse. SheerID handles the verification, not OpenAI staff.
The system first tries to confirm your enrollment automatically. If it can’t, it will ask for a login through your school’s system or request proof. Only students who pass this step can redeem the discount.
The verification process is designed to protect the program from being used by people who aren’t currently enrolled.
Alternatives for Students
Although there’s no student discount available right now, students can still access AI tools without paying for ChatGPT Plus. These services can be helpful in research, study help, and creative projects:
- Bing Chat – Uses GPT-4 Turbo and is free with a Microsoft account.
- Google Gemini – Offers free AI assistance with various features for learning and writing.
- Claude AI – From Anthropic, handles long text inputs and large context sizes.
These options do not fully replace ChatGPT Plus with GPT-5, but they can be helpful for many academic and personal uses.
Benefits of Plus for Students
Having ChatGPT Plus gives students more than just faster speed. The current GPT-5 model can process more complex requests, understand context better, and provide richer, more accurate answers.
For students, this can mean generating well-organised essays, summarising long academic texts, assisting with coding assignments, practising languages, or structuring research projects. Priority access also means the service remains available during peak hours, which is valuable during deadlines or exam season.
Future Possibilities
OpenAI has described past student discounts as test programs. This means they could rerun similar promotions, possibly in more countries or with different terms. The company has not given a schedule or guarantee, so there is no confirmed date for a new offer. Students who want a discount should monitor OpenAI’s Help Centre and official announcements, since these programs can appear with little warning.
Conclusion
At present, ChatGPT Plus does not have an active student discount. The last offer ended on May 31, 2025, and was available only to students in the US and Canada.
If you are a student looking for advanced AI tools without paying, you can still try free services like Bing Chat, Google Gemini, or Claude AI. If OpenAI launches another student offer, apply as soon as possible, as these promotions are usually short-lived.
