AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
What is Azure for Students?
Azure for Students is free with no credit card and includes a $100 Azure credit usable within 12 months on most Azure products. The perk card shows who qualifies and how to claim.
The credit is meant for learning and building, not for production workloads. Charges you run up during the 12 months are deducted from it. Past the credit, the offer is built around free monthly amounts of selected services.
The Azure student perk card in the AI Perks catalogue is where you check eligibility and start your claim. AI Perks tracks more student offers than this one, and the later sections show how to pair them.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Microsoft Azure $100
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
What does an Azure student account include?
An Azure student account is more than the credit. The subscription includes free access to select versions of services such as Virtual Machines, SQL Database and Blob Storage. It also gives access to Azure OpenAI and resources curated for student developers.
Here is what the public pages list:
| Item | What it gives |
|---|---|
| Credit | $100, usable within 12 months |
| Credit card | Not required |
| Popular services | Free monthly amounts of 20+ services for 12 months (new Azure customers only) |
| Always-free services | Free monthly amounts of 65+ services |
| Renewal | Additional $100 each year you are an active student |
One detail to know: the offer page says 20+ popular services, while Microsoft Learn documentation says the offer includes more than 25 free services. Both counts are public, so treat them as "roughly 20 to 25 and growing" rather than a fixed number.
Active subscribers can also download certain developer tools for free. Student Windows 10 and 11 virtual machines are allowed without a Windows 11 Enterprise license, which helps if your coursework needs a Windows environment.
What can you not spend the credit on?
The $100 credit cannot be used for Azure Marketplace offers. That matters if a tutorial or course tells you to deploy a third-party image from the Marketplace.
Only one Azure for Students subscription is allowed per eligible customer. It is nontransferable and cannot be combined with other offers unless Microsoft permits it. Plan your one subscription around the projects you actually want to build.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Microsoft Azure $100
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 does it compare with the standard free account?
Both accounts give free monthly amounts of services, but the rules differ. The student account needs no credit card and comes with a credit that can renew. The standard free account has a tighter clock on its free services.
| Feature | Azure for Students | Standard free account |
|---|---|---|
| Credit card | Not required | Not covered here |
| Credit | $100 within 12 months | Not covered here |
| Renewal | Additional $100 per year for active students | Not covered here |
| Free 12-month services | New Azure customers only | New customers only |
| Condition to keep them | Upgrade within 90 days after the free subscription ends | Move to pay as you go within 30 days of trying Azure free |
Microsoft's free services page describes the student route in one line: free developer tools and $100 credit, with an academic email address and no credit card. The perk card spells out the details of who qualifies, so you do not have to piece it together from several Microsoft pages.
What happens when the credit ends?
The credit expires at the end of 12 months, and Azure then disables the subscription. The same happens if you use the credit up first. Microsoft emails you so you can decide whether to move to pay as you go.
If you move, you keep getting free monthly amounts of popular services. If you do not, the subscription and products are disabled, and anything you deployed is decommissioned and cannot be accessed. You have 90 days from the end of your free subscription to upgrade.
After an upgrade from a disabled student subscription, free services stay available for 12 months from your sign-up date. You are only charged for usage beyond the free services and quantities.
Renewing is not automatic
Active students can renew each year for an additional $100, but renewal does not happen on its own. You must renew when the subscription expires. If your student status is no longer valid by then, you cannot renew, but you can still upgrade to pay as you go.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Microsoft Azure $100
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
Which free credits pair well with Azure for Students?
The student credit is small next to what cloud vendors offer elsewhere. The catalogue shows larger amounts for other perks, and each card lists its own conditions. Open the card to see who qualifies.
| Company | Free credits | How to get |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure (students) | $100 | Get this perk |
| Azure OpenAI | $150,000 | Get this perk |
| Google Cloud | $350,000 | Get this perk |
| AWS | $300,000 | Get this perk |
Total across these four perks: $100 + $150,000 + $350,000 + $300,000 = $800,100 in free credits.
Those larger perks are not student offers by default, so check each card before you plan around one. For student-specific options, read Free AI Credits for Students 2026: Every Program Compared and GitHub Student Developer Pack 2026: What Is Inside.
How do you get started? Step by step
Step 1: Get your credits via AI Perks. Open the Azure student card in the catalogue at getaiperks.com. It shows who qualifies and how to claim. Browse the other student and education cards while you are there.
Step 2: List what you want to build. Pick services from the free monthly amounts first, such as a small virtual machine, a SQL database or Blob Storage. Save the $100 for what the free amounts do not cover.
Step 3: Avoid Marketplace deployments. The credit does not cover them, so choose native Azure services.
Step 4: Set a reminder before month 12. The subscription is disabled when the credit expires, and deployed products become inaccessible. Back up anything you want to keep.
Step 5: Decide on renewal or pay as you go. Renew for another $100 if you are still an active student, or upgrade within the 90-day window to keep your free monthly amounts.
Free API keys can fill gaps the Azure credit leaves. See Free AI API Keys for Students: Every Free Tier in 2026.
Top AI Credits for Startups
Apply directly through these verified programs.
Microsoft Azure $100
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
FAQ
Is Azure for Students really free?
Yes. It is free with no credit card required, and it comes with a $100 credit usable within 12 months on most Azure products. Charges during that period are deducted from the credit. The perk card shows who qualifies and how to claim it.
Can I renew the $100 credit every year?
Active students who renew each year get an additional $100. Renewal is not automatic, so you must renew when the subscription expires. If your student status is no longer valid at that point, you cannot renew, but you can upgrade to pay as you go instead.
Does the credit work for Azure Marketplace?
No. The $100 credit cannot be used for Azure Marketplace offers. Use native Azure services instead, such as Virtual Machines, SQL Database or Blob Storage, which the subscription includes select free versions of. For other student credits to try alongside it, browse getaiperks.com.
What happens to my projects if I do nothing after 12 months?
The credit expires, Azure disables the subscription, and deployed products are decommissioned and become inaccessible. You have 90 days from the end of the free subscription to upgrade to pay as you go. Back up your work before the date arrives.
Can I get Azure OpenAI as a student?
The student account includes access to Azure OpenAI, along with resources curated for student developers. The catalogue also lists a separate Azure OpenAI perk worth $150,000. Open its card to see who qualifies and how to claim it.
Where can I find more student perks?
Browse the student and education cards at getaiperks.com. Every perk has its own card with the amount and the details. For a task-based view, try Free AI for Students 2026: Best Tools by Study Task.
Claim your student credits
Start with the $100 Azure credit, then see what else your student status unlocks across the catalogue.
Get free AI credits at getaiperks.com →
Every student perk, with who qualifies and how to claim, is on getaiperks.com.
