Like it or not, back-to-school season is looming on the horizon. While you may be focusing on investing in new supplies and tech to get you through those tough classes and long lectures, there’s another key area that you should be aware of – streaming.
Students have access to many discounted plans for music, film and TV platforms, so you can get all your entertainment for less and put that spare money into grocery shops and/or nights at the pub.
With that in mind, here are the best deals and discounts you can get on streaming services if you’re a student.
- Original price: £8.99/$14.99 per month
- Discounted price: Six months free, then £4.49/$7.49 per month
You’ll need to be between 18-22 years old, and proof of student membership via platforms such as NUS, UNiDAYS and more.
Spotify Premium
- Original price: £11.99/$11.99 per month
- Discounted price: £5.99/$5.99 per month
If ad-free music and downloads are important to you, then Spotify offers a generous saving on its Premium membership.
You’ll need to be studying at an accredited university-level educational institution and submit proof via SheerID using verified documents to prove your status.
While Spotify Premium Student includes music and podcasts, audiobooks aren’t included. All your benefits will last for four years in total.
Martyn Casserly
YouTube Premium
- Original price: £12.99/$13.99 per month
- Discounted price : £7.99/$7.99 per month
One other service that you can get ad-free and offline is YouTube. A Premium membership also allows you to listen to videos with your phone locked – great if you’re using the platform for music or video essays.
This student discount is nearly 50% off a full membership and lasts for four years in total, so you can get the most out of vlogs, videogame playthroughs and all sorts of other videos. If you’re not sure whether this subscription is worth the price, then no worries – you still get a one-month free trial before you pay anything at all.
Note that this is a different subscription to YouTube Music Premium.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Apple Music and TV+
- Original price: £10.99/$10.99 per month for Apple Music and £8.99/$8.99 for Apple TV+
- Discounted price : £5.99/$5.99 per month for Apple Music, and free Apple TV+
If you prefer Apple Music over Spotify (perhaps if you’re an iPhone user), then you can get half off a subscription for up to four years. But wait – that’s not all.
This deal also throws in a subscription to Apple TV+, which is worth £8.99/$8.99 per month. With this, you can watch the likes of Severance , Ted Lasso and The Morning Show.
Apple TV+ may not have a huge streaming library like Prime Video, but it’s also ad-free without additional cost… for now .
Apple TV
Max
- Original price: $9.99 per month
- Discounted price : $4.99 per month
For back-to-school season, HBO streaming service Max has introduced a brand-new student tier, slashing its ad-supported tier in half, from $9.99 per month to $4.99 per month for one year when you verify with UNiDAYS.
Max features the best that HBO has to offer, including House of the Dragon , Succession and The White Lotus . It also has streaming rights for the newest and best Warner Bros. films – including last year’s biggest two movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer.
This offer is exclusive to college students in the US.
Theo Whiteman/HBO
Peacock
- Original price: $7.99 per month
- Discounted price : $1.99 per month
By using SheerID, college students can get Peacock for the bargain price of $1.99 per month for 12 months.
Peacock is the streaming home for the Paris 2024 Paralympics, as well as NBC favourites such as The Office, Parks and Recreation and Poker Face. It’s also got a great film selection, including Mean Girls, Monkey Man and The Bikeriders.
From September, it’ll also host Sunday Night Football for the NFL – the perfect thing to get you through those first few lectures if you’re a sports fan. Peacock is exclusive to America, so UK readers aren’t eligible.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Hulu
- Original price: $7.99 per month
- Discounted price: $1.99 per month
American streaming service Hulu includes originals such as Only Murders in the Building and Shōgun , and students can get a whopping 75% off an ad-free subscription.
Disney+
Paramount+
- Original price: $5.99 per month
- Discounted price : $4.50 per month
While this deal isn’t as generous as some on this list, 25% off Paramount+ is still a decent saving.
This streaming platform is home to series in the Star Trek universe, the Knuckles TV series , Fire Country and Ghosts US. It’s also great for sports fans, as a subscription includes UEFA Champions League, NFL on CBS, CBS Sports Golazo Network and more.
No UK student Paramount+ plan is offered at the time of writing.
Paramount
NFL Sunday Ticket
- Original price: Up to $449 per season
- Discounted price : $199 per season
While Peacock and Paramount+ include access to some NFL games, not every single one is on these platforms. If you want unfiltered access to more local teams, then you’ll need an NFL Sunday Ticket.
For the season, this costs $199. That may sound steep, but keep in mind that the standard price is $349 with YouTube TV, or $449 if you use the standalone service. This also includes multiview, so you can watch several games at once – should that be up your street.
Only US readers can take advantage of the NFL Sunday Ticket.
YouTube
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Author: Hannah Cowton-Barnes, Entertainment Editor, Tech Advisor
As Tech Advisor’s Entertainment Editor, Hannah is the resident expert in all things streaming, film and TV. Before joining Tech Advisor in 2019, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds and created a website dedicated to geek culture and lifestyle. She’s also reviewed a whole range of gadgets including flagship smartphones, wearables and styling tools. Outside of Foundry, she’s written freelance pieces for Polygon, Metro and Den of Geek, and is proud to be a Women Techmakers Ambassador for Google.
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