Not everyone knows this, but heading back to school (well, college or university) does have some pretty good perks – and a 50% discount on Spotify's Premium tier (aka one of the most popular, sociable, malleable, and best music streaming services around) is one of them.
If you live in the US, you can currently get a month of Premium for free as a trial, followed by a Spotify Premium Student plan, which costs $5.99 per month (or 50% off the regular Premium Solo plan) and includes access to Hulu's ad-supported tier.
In the UK, it's a month for free, then £5.99 per month (rather than the full-price Premium Solo tariff of £11.99 per month). Australia? For you, it's (predictably) AU$6.99 per month rather than AU$13.99 per month after that free trial month.
There are a few criteria to meet, hoops to jump through, and boxes to check, but don't worry – we'll talk you through it. The best assignments are those written to music – and we should know…
Spotify student discount: Do you qualify?
- You're 18 years old or older
- A student enrolled at an accredited college or university
- Haven't taken a free trial of Spotify Premium beforehand
OK, so you want Premium for half-price, aka Spotify Premium Student, aka ad-free listening, the ability to listen offline, millions of tracks with unlimited skips, (slightly) better quality music than the free tier, Daylists and Blends, AI DJ and all that jazz, all for 50% off the regular cost of Premium.
How do you qualify? Basically, you have to be aged 18 or over and enrolled as a current student at what Spotify deems "an accredited college or university."
You also have to be free from previous Spotify Premium trials, so you must be either a new subscriber or upgrading from a non-premium account to get Spotify's student discount.
The discount is available for up to four years of study, but you'll have to re-verify your eligibility with Spotify every 12 months. Got it? OK, let's begin.
Steps to get a Spotify Premium Student account
- Go to Spotify.com in a web browser
- If you’re not already signed in to your Spotify account, click Log In at the top-right corner. (Not a member? You can follow instructions to create an account!)
- Go to Profile > Account > Subscription > Go Premium (or 'Try Premium Free') > Change Plan > Get Student
- Fill in the form by entering your name, college, and birthdate as requested
- Click Verify (Spotify uses third-party SheerID to verify your student status)
- Follow on-screen instructions to process your payment (for after the one-month free trial period expires)
Spotify Student discount: FAQs
How does Spotify verify that I'm a student?
Spotify uses a third-party service called SheerID to verify your enrolment and student status.
If your school’s name is not recognized initially, you can click Manually verify and follow the on-screen instructions to verify your status.
If your registration can't be confirmed, a box will read: Unfortunately, we couldn't confirm that you're a student. Please check your details and try again, prompting you to click the back button and try again.
Still can’t verify your student status after another attempt? You may have already claimed this discount using another Spotify account, exceeded Spotify's four-year discount limit, or your college/university is not eligible.
What happens to my Spotify student discount when I graduate or leave my college/university?
You will continue to get access to Premium Student for up to 12 months from the date you subscribed or last re-verified while Spotify is still running the offer (and at the time of writing, we've no reason to believe it'll pull the deal).
If you are no longer a student by the end of that period, you will cease to be eligible for Premium Student. Your subscription will then automatically switch to a Premium Individual plan at $11.99 / £11.99 /AU$13.99 per month.
How much will I be charged – and when?
After your one-month free trial, your rolling monthly payment of $5.99 / £5.99 / AU$6.99 (depending on where you live) will kick in for Spotify's Premium Student plan unless you cancel it. If the price changes, Spotify will notify you first, and you can cancel your membership at any time on your Spotify Account page.
When you cease to be a student (ie. after 12 months from the date you subscribed or last re-verified, or after four years of taking advantage of the discount), you'll no longer qualify for Premium Student and your subscription will automatically switch to a Premium Individual plan at $11.99 / £11.99 / AU$13.99 per month, unless you cancel it.
Spotify Student discount: Should you get it
Look, Spotify won't give you hi-res or lossless music streaming quality (the platforms that can are Qobuz, Apple Music, Tidal, or Amazon Music Unlimited), but it is still incredibly popular.
Want to share your unhinged Daylist titles on Instagram? It's Spotify. Want an AI DJ to tell you precisely which tracks you were listening to during lockdown and package them all up like your own personal radio show? Again, Spotify's the big green streaming machine you need. Want to create a playlist and share it for your new college friends to add to? They'll mostly have Spotify. And who could forget the pride-slash-embarrassment of Spotify Wrapped – which you'll get a mini version of all year round?
Ultimately, the right music can help you focus, relax, switch off, sleep, work out, or get through that big assignment. If you need something to listen to all those playlists on, check out our guide to the best headphones and earbuds for students, but we think any discount on Spotify Premium is worth a trial.
And good luck at college!
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