What each plan gives, and what happens after the year
Google AI Pro comes with 5 TB of storage, against 400 GB on Plus. Pro adds higher Gemini usage limits and Gemini Spark, which Google doesn't list for Plus.
Both plans take your class materials without an upload cap. Put a term's lecture notes into Gemini's student hub and start a study notebook from them, and the same files work in visuals and Gemini Live.
Your usage limits during the year may differ from a paying member's. Google can change them without notice, even just because it is short of capacity. Cancel while over your storage limit and nothing new saves until you delete files or buy a plan.
Google's announcement also mentions Google AI Pro bundled with YouTube Premium for up to 70% off. That is a discount you pay for, not part of the free year.
| Plan | Who gets it | What it includes | After the free year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google AI Pro, free for 1 year | Eligible college students in the US, aged 18 and over | 4x Gemini usage limits, 5 TB of storage, Gemini Spark, Gemini Omni, 1,000 Flow credits a month for paying AI Pro members, which the free year may not match | $19.99/month, by the US student page |
| Google AI Plus, free for 1 year | Eligible college students outside the US, aged 18 and over | 2x Gemini usage limits, 400 GB of storage, Gemini Omni video generation, 200 Flow credits a month for paying AI Plus members, which the free year may not match | The plan's standard monthly price for your country, shown on Google's plan page |
Who qualifies, and who does not
SheerID, a third-party verification service, checks that you are enrolled at a higher education institution in a country where the plan is supported. Hong Kong, Macau and Tunisia are left out. You also need a personal Google Account and a Google Payments account with a qualifying form of payment.
The account itself must not sit in a family group or be supervised, and it cannot belong to an enterprise buyer. A plan you already hold can rule you out too: a discounted Pixel bundle, or Google One bought through a third party or a Google affiliate such as Google Fi.
Google may request certain information for verification purposes. Google reserves the right to determine eligibility in its sole discretion.
The offer is not transferable, cannot be resold and cannot be combined with other Google One offers. The terms page was last updated on 19 August 2026.
How to claim your free year
- Read the offer terms first.
- Open Google's US student page if you study in the US, or its page for other countries if you do not.
- Press the claim button, called Claim Free Student Plan on the US page and Claim Student Plan at No Cost on the other. It opens Google One's student plan page.
- Sign in with your personal Google Account. The plan page shows the offer for your country, so check that it names the plan you expect and says free for 12 months. If it does not, stop there.
- Verify your student status through SheerID and add a form of payment when Google's prompts ask. Google may ask for more information to verify you.
- Set a reminder a few weeks before your offer period ends. From that date you pay the standard monthly price unless you have cancelled.
Google announces the offer
Source: Google's announcement (read November 4, 2026)
Last day to redeem
Source: Google's student offer terms (read November 4, 2026)
We checked these steps against Google's pages on 4 November 2026 but did not sign up, so the verification and payment screens are untested.
If you are not a student: Flow's free credits
Google Flow, Google's AI studio for video and images, has a free tier of 50 credits a day, listed on the Flow page. You don't need student verification, only a Google Account and to be 18 or over. Flow's help page says the credits come with or without a subscription, and Flow says its features vary by plan, platform and region.
The model sets what each generation costs, and a single request that makes 2 videos counts as 2 generations. At the help page's prices, a day of free credits buys five Veo 3.1 Lite clips or eight Omni Flash clips at 360p. It doesn't stretch to one Quality clip.
- Credits do not roll over. What you do not use today is gone tomorrow, and the daily refresh starts with your first generation of the day.
- 1080p upscaling is not available without a subscription.
| Model | Credits for one clip | Clips from 50 credits |
|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite, 4 to 8 seconds | 10 | 5 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast, 4 to 8 seconds | 20 | 2 |
| Gemini Omni Flash 720p, 8 seconds | 12 | 4 |
| Gemini Omni Flash 360p, 8 seconds | 6 | 8 |
| Veo 3.1 Quality, 8 seconds | 100 | None in one day |
Frequently asked questions
When does the free year start?
The day you redeem it (offer terms). Claim in late December and you still get twelve full months.
If I cancel during the year, do I lose the rest of it?
The terms only say your membership "may" stay active until the offer period ends. After you cancel, check the date on your subscription page, and get under your storage limit first.
Do I have to verify my student status again?
Yes, every year, or access stops. The US student page says so in its FAQ.
Can I claim it if my 2025 AI Pro trial ran out?
Yes. Both the US student page and the page for other countries let an expired 2025 AI Pro trial qualify again, through the same student check.
Does my school email account work?
Not if it is a school-issued Workspace for Education account, which the terms rule out. Sign up with a personal Google Account instead.
Can I make videos on Flow's free credits at any hour?
Not always. During peak hours, roughly 2 PM to 5 PM UTC, you may not be able to make videos without a subscription. Images and the Flow Agent still work.
Sources
- Google Gemini: free student plan for 1 year, US page https://gemini.google/us/students/?hl=en
- Google Gemini: student plan for 1 year at no cost, other countries https://gemini.google/students/
- Google One: student plan page (claim page) https://one.google.com/ai-student?plans=1%2C2
- Google One: student offer terms https://one.google.com/offer/studentoffer8?hl=en
- Google blog: Start the semester with one year of Gemini, on us (19 August 2026) https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/student-offer-google-ai/
- Google Flow: AI creative studio, pricing https://flow.google.com/about
- Google Flow help: Manage your Google Flow credits https://support.google.com/flow/answer/16526234?hl=en