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What is Ansys for students, and what does it cost?
Ansys Student gives verified students and educators free access to the Workbench-based bundle. The $15,000 in Ansys credits card shows who qualifies and how to claim.
Ansys Student is the product behind most searches for "ansys free" and "ansys education". Ansys says hundreds of thousands of students download it every year, and it includes some of the products Ansys sells commercially. The company pitches it for homework, capstone projects and student competitions.
The software is free of charge and renewable. Eligibility and claim details are on the Ansys perk card, and AI Perks tracks more student offers across the catalogue.
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Ansys $15,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
ChatGPT $80
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Google Gemini $240
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GitHub Up to $120
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Notion $120
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Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
What does the Ansys Student download include?
The core download is the Ansys Workbench-based bundle. The 2026 R1 release also adds Ansys Motion, which is not in earlier releases. It installs on any supported 64-bit Windows machine.
Ansys also lists related free student downloads:
- Ansys LS-DYNA Student: an explicit solver for short periods of severe loading and extreme deformation.
- Ansys Electronics Desktop Student: access to HFSS, Maxwell, Q3D and Icepak for electrical and electro-mechanical design.
- Ansys Rocky Student Add-Ins: extra modules and scripts that extend Rocky.
- Ansys Embedded Software Student: a free version of the Scade One model-based tool for safe embedded software.
Ansys adds free courses, a support community and student-focused tutorials. For the free Cornell University online simulation course, Ansys recommends the 2026 R1 release. The Ansys perk card is where you check your own route in.
What are the Ansys Student version limits?
The free version is capped. Ansys publishes the limits on its Ansys Student page, and they are worth checking before you build a large model.
| Product | Published limit |
|---|---|
| Structural (Student and Discovery Refine Mode) | 128K nodes/elements |
| Fluid (Student and Discovery Refine Mode) | 1 million cells/nodes |
| Ansys SPEOS | 50 bodies and 300 faces, no live preview, no GPU compute |
| Ansys Motion | 50 rigid/flex bodies |
| Ansys Rocky DEM | 32K particles regardless of shape, no GPU |
| Ansys HPC | 4 CPU cores and 40 SMs of GPU computing on Fluent |
| Zemax OpticStudio Hammer Optimization | 1 minute of runtime |
These caps matter most for meshing. A fine fluid mesh can pass 1 million cells quickly, so plan your mesh size first.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Ansys $15,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
How long does the license last, and what happens when it ends?
The license is a renewable twelve-month lease from the release date. Each release carries its own built-in license end date.
| Release | Built-in license valid until | Status on 2 November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 R1 | 31 March 2027 | Active, under five months left |
| 2025 R1 and 2025 R2 | 31 July 2026 | Expired |
If you installed a 2025 release, its built-in license ran out on 31 July 2026. Move to 2026 R1 and note 31 March 2027 as your next renewal point.
Availability is less clear. One Ansys page says free student downloads are no longer openly available. Another says they are now only available to employed educators at educational institutions, which conflicts with other pages. Ansys also says downloads are not available in China, with an update promised in 2027. Because the pages disagree, read the Ansys perk card for who qualifies and how to claim.
Which student perks sit next to Ansys in the catalogue?
Simulation is one part of an engineering workflow, and the catalogue lists CAD perks beside it. The card for $10,000 in Autodesk Fusion credits covers design work. The card for 5 free Onshape Professional seats covers cloud CAD.
| Company | Free credits | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| Ansys | $15,000 | Get this perk |
| Autodesk Fusion | $10,000 | Get this perk |
| Onshape (PTC) | 5 free Professional seats | Get this perk |
Total: $15,000 in Ansys credits plus $10,000 in Autodesk Fusion credits, plus 5 free Onshape Professional seats.
Each card opens in place and shows who qualifies and how to claim. For AI tools alongside CAD and simulation, see Free AI Credits for Students 2026: Every Program Compared and AI Student Discount 2026: Every Verified Offer Listed. For study-task picks, try Free AI for Students 2026: Best Tools by Study Task.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Ansys $15,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
How do you get Ansys Student, step by step?
Step 1: Start from AI Perks. Open getaiperks.com and find the Ansys card, or go straight to the $15,000 Ansys perk. The card opens in place, so you can sign up from there.
Step 2: Read the card. It shows who qualifies and how to claim, so you do not have to piece it together from conflicting vendor pages.
Step 3: Clear your machine. Installing Ansys Student overwrites any existing Ansys installation, so uninstall existing Ansys products first. You also need administrator privileges on the computer.
Step 4: Pick the release. Use 2026 R1 for the current license window. It is also the release Ansys recommends for the Cornell University course, and the only one with Ansys Motion.
Step 5: Check the limits. Compare your model against the table above. Keep structural models under 128K nodes/elements and fluid models under 1 million cells/nodes.
Step 6: Add CAD if you need it. The Autodesk Fusion and Onshape cards cover the design side.
FAQ
Is Ansys Student really free?
Yes. Ansys says Ansys Student offers free access to its Workbench-based bundle for verified students and educators, with renewable products at no cost. Who qualifies and how to claim is on the Ansys perk card, which lists $15,000 in credits.
Which computers does Ansys Student run on?
Ansys says the renewable products install on any supported Microsoft Windows 64-bit machine. Installing needs administrator privileges on that computer. The installation also overwrites any existing Ansys installation, so uninstall existing Ansys products first. Ansys does not state support for other operating systems on the pages reviewed.
What are the Ansys Student version limits?
Structural models are capped at 128K nodes/elements and fluid models at 1 million cells/nodes. Ansys Motion allows 50 rigid/flex bodies, Rocky DEM allows 32K particles, and HPC is limited to four CPU cores. SPEOS allows 50 bodies and 300 faces. The table above lists every cap.
What happens when the Ansys Student license ends?
The license is a renewable twelve-month lease from the release date. The 2026 R1 built-in license is valid until 31 March 2027, while 2025 R1 and R2 expired on 31 July 2026. To check current claim details, open getaiperks.com and read the Ansys card.
Is Ansys Student available in China?
Not currently. Ansys says free student product downloads are not available in China, with an update promised in 2027. Availability elsewhere also appears inconsistent across Ansys pages, so check the Ansys perk card for who qualifies before you plan a course project around it.
Where can I find more free student software and credits?
AI Perks lists student and education cards from many companies. Besides Ansys, you can open the Autodesk Fusion card for $10,000 in credits. Browse the full catalogue at getaiperks.com.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Ansys $15,000
Eligible for early-stage startups
ChatGPT $80
Eligible for early-stage startups
Google Gemini $240
Eligible for early-stage startups
GitHub Up to $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Notion $120
Eligible for early-stage startups
Figma $1,080
Eligible for early-stage startups
Get your Ansys credits
The Ansys card shows who qualifies and how to claim, and the rest of the student catalogue sits one click away.
Get free AI credits at getaiperks.com →
Browse every student and education perk, with amounts and claim details, at getaiperks.com.
