How Students Can Get ChatGPT Plus Free

OpenAI's 2026 Back to School offer gives eligible U.S. college and graduate students four free monthly billing periods of ChatGPT Plus. You verify enrollment through SheerID and must claim it by October 31, 2026. A payment method is required, and Plus renews at the regular price afterwards unless you cancel.

What you get

• Four free months of ChatGPT Plus (normally $20 per month, about $80 in total).
• Plus features, including ChatGPT Work and the other tools that come with the Plus plan.
• The offer can be redeemed once, and it applies to whichever ChatGPT account is signed in when you claim it.

See the ChatGPT for Students offer for the full listing.

Steps

1. Check eligibility: you must be a current full-time or part-time college or graduate student at an eligible U.S. degree-granting institution. SheerID makes the final eligibility decision.
2. Open the offer page at chatgpt.com/students/2026 in a web or mobile browser.
3. Sign in to the ChatGPT account you want the offer applied to. Your account email does not need to be your school email.
4. Follow the SheerID prompts. Depending on your school, SheerID may confirm you through trusted records, ask you to sign in through your school's single sign-on, or request documents such as a student ID, transcript or tuition receipt.
5. Return to the offer flow and complete activation. If you are starting a new Plus subscription, add a payment method when prompted.
6. Set a reminder about a week before the fourth billing period ends so you can decide whether to keep Plus.

Limits and the catch

• Deadline: the offer must be claimed by October 31, 2026.
• U.S. only: it is limited to students at eligible U.S. degree-granting institutions.
• Card required, auto-renewal: you are not charged during the four free months, but the subscription then renews at $20 per month unless you cancel.
• Cancelling early ends the free months. If you cancel, Plus stays active until the end of the current monthly billing period, and any remaining promotional months are forfeited.
• App Store and Google Play subscriptions aren't supported. The offer can't be applied to a Plus subscription billed through either store. Existing monthly Plus subscribers billed directly by ChatGPT can claim it if they are eligible.
• No account transfers. Once applied, the promo can't be moved to a different ChatGPT account.

If it doesn't work

• SheerID can't verify you: use SheerID's support form for help with verification, a missing school listing or document review.
• Verified, but the offer isn't applied: confirm you are signed in to the same ChatGPT account that started the flow, then open the offer link again and click Claim free offer. It either opens checkout or shows which account the promo is already on.
• You used an earlier student promotion: that alone does not stop you from claiming this one.
• You pay through Apple or Google: the offer can't be applied to a store-billed subscription. Check your options in OpenAI's help article before claiming.

After October 31

OpenAI has not announced an extension or a replacement offer (checked October 13, 2026). If you miss the deadline:

• The ChatGPT Free plan keeps unlimited everyday chats, with separate limits on uploads, image generation, voice and deep research.
• Verified university students in the U.S. and Canada can claim a separate $100 Codex credit (2,500 credits, valid 12 months) through SheerID in their ChatGPT account. It is a coding-agent credit, not ChatGPT Plus, and it is not an API credit.
• Google AI Pro is free for students for a year until December 31, 2026, and is the closest like-for-like alternative.
• The student AI deals hub lists every current student offer we have verified.