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Student AI Plans With Hard Deadlines: ChatGPT Plus Ends October 31, Google Ends December 31

Student AI Plans With Hard Deadlines: ChatGPT Plus Ends October 31, Google Ends December 31

One-line summary: The most urgent free AI plan this week is ChatGPT Plus for students — claims close on October 31, 2026, four months worth $80 — while Google's student plan runs a full free year but closes December 31. Both need student verification and a payment method, and their cancellation traps are opposites.

What you need

  • Current college or graduate-student status (ChatGPT's offer is limited to eligible US degree-granting colleges, full- or part-time; Google's is US students for AI Pro and students in 140+ other markets for AI Plus)
  • A personal account (do not make a school-managed Workspace account the subscription owner — you lose it at graduation)
  • A payment method (both offers require one up front; nothing is charged during the free period, but not cancelling means automatic billing when it ends)
  • To be 18 or older (explicit for Google's offer)

Cold water first: a review re-checked on October 20, 2026 found that no major AI paid plan is free for everyone. Free routes exist only for specific groups. Any post promising "free Plus/Pro for all" is an old offer, a referral trap or a phishing link.

Step 1: Claim the urgent one first — ChatGPT Plus for students (deadline October 31, 2026)

Student AI plans compared: deadlines and renewal prices

  1. Open the ChatGPT student offer page (chatgpt.com/students/2026) in a browser and sign in to the ChatGPT account you want upgraded — the offer attaches to the signed-in account and cannot be moved.
  2. Complete SheerID verification. Depending on your school, SheerID may confirm you from trusted records, ask for school single sign-on, or request documents such as a student ID, transcript or tuition receipt (upload only what the official flow asks for).
  3. Return to the offer flow and finish activation. New subscribers add a payment method when prompted; nothing is charged for the four free months.
  4. Before confirming, check three things: the free period is four monthly billing periods, the current charge is $0, and renewal afterwards is $20/month.
  5. Two limits: one redemption per person, and Plus subscriptions billed through the App Store or Google Play cannot take this offer while they stay store-billed (switch to direct ChatGPT billing first, and confirm the consequences before doing so).

Value: 4 months × $20 = $80. On October 26 there are only 5 days left — claim today, because a failed verification needs time for document re-submission.

Step 2: Claim Google's student plan (deadline December 31, 2026, free for 12 months)

Student AI discounts compared: Google, ChatGPT and Copilot

  1. Open the Gemini for Students page (gemini.google/students) or the Google One student page (one.google.com/ai-student) and click Claim Free Student Plan.
  2. Sign in with a personal Google Account (not a school-managed account) and verify enrolment through SheerID.
  3. Add a payment method and read the checkout summary: US version is Google AI Pro, 12 months at $0, then $19.99/month; in 140+ other markets it is AI Plus, 12 months at $0, then $4.99/month or the local equivalent.
  4. Right after activation, open Google One membership settings and record five things: plan name, activation date, renewal date, renewal price, cancellation path — screenshot them. That record beats any guide later.
  5. Do not confuse the two clocks: December 31, 2026 is the deadline to redeem; your 12 free months start on the day you redeem (redeem in October 2026 and you are free until October 2027), not on the August announcement date.

Plan-name check (a lesson from the series' October 9 article): outside the US you receive AI Plus, not Pro. Verify the plan name on your subscription page before telling anyone you got "Pro".

Step 3: Pick up two long-term free routes while you are here

ChatGPT Plus student claim steps and warnings

  1. GitHub Copilot Student: covered in the series' October 23 article for the free tier; the student route is separate — verify through GitHub Education, then activate Copilot Student from the education benefits page (unlimited completions plus a monthly AI-credit allowance). It lasts while you stay verified, and activation can take a few days.
  2. Codex $100 credit: US and Canadian students can claim $100 in Codex credits (2,500 credits) on a Free, Go, Plus or Pro account, for extra Codex usage, expiring 1 year after they land. Note what it is not: not a Plus discount and not API credit.
  3. Already closed — stop trying: Cursor's free student year closed to new sign-ups on June 25, 2026; Perplexity Pro's free student offer has ended and is now Education Pro at $10/month for verified students (the ordinary free tier, about 5 Pro searches a day, remains free). Posts still pushing either "free" route are out of date.

Step 4: The cancellation table — set the calendar reminder before you forget

Offer Free period Renewal If you cancel early
ChatGPT Plus (students) 4 months $20/month Remaining free months are forfeited — access runs only to the end of the current billing month. Do not cancel early; cancel inside month 4
Google AI Pro / Plus (students) 12 months $19.99 / $4.99 per month Early cancellation generally keeps access until the free period ends (confirm on your own account page) — you can switch off auto-renewal right after claiming
Codex $100 credit Credits expire after 1 year No auto-renewal Unused credits simply expire; nothing is charged

Do this today:

  1. Set two calendar reminders now: one inside ChatGPT's 4th month, one inside Google's 11th month.
  2. ChatGPT: do not cancel in month 1 (you lose the other 3 months). Cancel inside month 4: access runs to that month's end, then nothing is charged.
  3. Google: once the subscription page checks out, you can cancel auto-renewal in Google One / Google Play subscription settings and keep using the free year to its end.
  4. If a claim fails, check the three usual causes first — wrong account signed in, school-managed account as the subscription owner, or age / school-country mismatch — rather than retrying verification repeatedly or switching regions.

Costs, limits and warnings

  • Costs: $0 during the free periods; afterwards ChatGPT $20/month, Google Pro $19.99/month, Plus $4.99/month unless cancelled.
  • Never buy "student verification as a service": SheerID verification must be done by the student. Handing your student identity and payment method to a stranger risks account bans and card fraud.
  • Do not hoard offer links: third-party roundup links can point to expired campaigns. Before claiming, confirm the deadline and plan name on the official student page itself.
  • Not verified: the deadlines and renewal prices here combine several third-party reviews from October 20–23, 2026 (each stating it checked the official pages); the author did not complete student verification for each offer. The Jio 18-month Google AI Pro offer (deadline October 29) is India Jio users only and is mentioned here for completeness, not as a main recommendation.

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