Is GitHub Free for Students?

Yes, and students get more than the free account. GitHub is free for everyone, but verified students also get the Student Developer Pack and free GitHub Copilot Pro, the AI coding assistant that costs everyone else $10 a month. You verify once through GitHub Education with proof of enrollment, and the perks stay active while you are a student.

What "Free" Means: Two Different Things

Two things get bundled under "free GitHub for students," and it helps to keep them apart.

The first is the regular GitHub account. That is free for anyone, student or not. You get unlimited public and private repositories, GitHub Actions minutes, and the core platform at no cost. You do not need to be a student for any of that.

The second is GitHub Education, the student program. This is where the real value sits. Verify that you are enrolled and you unlock the Student Developer Pack plus free GitHub Copilot Pro. That second bucket is what most people are asking about when they search whether GitHub is free for students.

Is GitHub Copilot Free for Students?

Yes. Verified students get GitHub Copilot Pro at no cost, the same plan that runs $10 a month for everyone else. That includes unlimited code completions and 300 premium requests per month for Chat and Agent mode. For a student learning to code, this is the single most useful perk in the program.

Here is how the student plan compares to what non-students pay.

Plan	Normal Price	Student Price	Premium Requests
Copilot Pro (verified student)	$10/mo	$0	300/mo
Copilot Free (no verification)	$0	$0	50/mo
Copilot Pro (after graduation)	$10/mo	$10/mo	300/mo

The gap between the free tier and the student Pro plan is the 300 premium requests versus 50. That is the difference between using Chat and Agent mode a few times a day and using them constantly. For the full breakdown of what premium requests buy, see our GitHub Copilot pricing guide.

How to Verify Your Student Status

Verification runs through GitHub Education at education.github.com. The process is short.

Sign in to your GitHub account. If you do not have one yet, create it first. It is free.
Go to the GitHub Education page and apply. Choose the student option.
Prove enrollment. The fastest path is a school-issued email address ending in .edu or your institution's domain. If you do not have one, upload a dated document like a student ID or a transcript that shows you are currently enrolled.
Wait for approval. A verified school email often approves instantly. A document review can take a few days.

You need to be at least 13 and enrolled at a school that grants degrees or diplomas. Once approved, Copilot Pro and the Student Developer Pack turn on for your account.

What Else Is in the Student Developer Pack

Copilot is the headline, but the pack bundles a long list of paid tools for free while you are verified. The lineup shifts as partners come and go, but the high-value items tend to stay.

Cloud credits. DigitalOcean and Microsoft Azure credits to host projects without paying for a server.
A free domain. A year of a custom domain name from partners like Namecheap, useful for a portfolio site.
JetBrains IDEs. Free access to the full JetBrains suite (IntelliJ, PyCharm, and the rest) while you study.
Learning platforms. Free months on services that teach coding, design, and data skills.

None of this requires a credit card up front. The pack is meant to remove cost as a barrier to building real projects, which is also the fastest way to learn. If you are weighing which AI coding tool to lean on, our best AI coding assistants roundup covers the field.

What Happens When You Graduate

Free Copilot Pro and the pack are tied to your verification, and GitHub re-checks roughly once a year. When you graduate or the re-check fails, the free perks stop. Your account, your repositories, and the base free tier all stay. You then choose: keep Copilot Pro at $10/month, drop to the free Copilot tier at 50 premium requests, or cancel. Nothing you built disappears.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Is GitHub free for students?

Yes. GitHub is free for everyone, including unlimited private repositories. Verified students also get the Student Developer Pack, which bundles dozens of paid developer tools at no cost, and free GitHub Copilot Pro, the $10/month AI coding assistant. You verify once through GitHub Education using proof of enrollment.

Is GitHub Copilot free for students in 2026?

Yes. Verified students get GitHub Copilot Pro free, normally $10/month. That includes unlimited code completions and 300 premium requests per month for Chat and Agent mode. The free access lasts as long as your student status stays verified, and GitHub re-checks roughly once a year.

How do I verify my student status for GitHub?

Apply through education.github.com with a school-issued email address or a document proving enrollment, such as a dated student ID or transcript. Approval is often instant with a verified school email and can take a few days for a document. You need to be enrolled at a degree- or diploma-granting school and at least 13.

What is included in the GitHub Student Developer Pack?

Free credits and subscriptions to dozens of developer tools, including Copilot Pro, a free domain, cloud hosting credits from DigitalOcean and Azure, JetBrains IDEs, and learning platforms. The partner lineup changes over time, but Copilot Pro and cloud credits are the highest-value items for most students.

What happens to my free GitHub Copilot when I graduate?

Free Copilot Pro ends when your student verification expires after graduation or a failed annual re-check. You can then keep Copilot Pro at $10/month, drop to the free Copilot tier (2,000 completions and 50 premium requests), or cancel. Your repositories and account stay free regardless.

Do teachers get GitHub Copilot free too?

Yes. Verified teachers and faculty at accredited schools get the same free Copilot Pro and a teacher toolkit through GitHub Education. The verification path is similar to the student one but asks for proof of your teaching role rather than enrollment.