🚀 SHELF 02 / 09
Building Apps & Websites student deals
Student deals on AI app builders, cloud hosting credits, managed backends, and API credits — everything between an idea and a deployed product. Most of it is free or credit-funded while you study.
20
checked deals
11
completely free
$25,500+
biggest value
5
ways to claim
01
The shelf
Every deal, best claims first
FEATURED $20/mo FREE for 12 mo from $25,500 FREE from $3,000 FREE Invitation Code Required + $0-$199/month FREE $1,000+/yr FREE $25/mo $12.50/mo $20/mo FREE $200 FREE $20/mo $10/mo $120/yr FREE $100 FREE $200 credits for 30 days (standard free trial) FREE
KS
Kiro Students - Free Pro Plan for One Year
Verified students at 11 partner universities in the US and Canada get one year of free access to Kiro — equivalent to the Kiro Pro plan ($20/month) —…
SheerID
Get deal → 02 YA
YC AI Student Starter Pack
Massive student bundle: $10K AWS credits, $10K Azure credits, $2.5K OpenAI credits, $2.5K Grok/xAI credits, $500 Anthropic credits, plus 14 YC-backed…
event
Get deal → 03 YD
YC Deals for Student Founders - $3,000+ in Startup Credits
Exclusive for YC event attendees: Get $500 in Anthropic API credits, $2,500 in OpenAI API credits, $250 in Exa credits, plus 20+ more startup tools.
event
Get deal → 04 MC
Manus - Campus Program with Free Credits & Early Access
Students, alumni, and staff from participating academic institutions get exclusive early access to Manus AI capabilities without an invitation code…
.edu email
Get deal → 05 GS
GitHub Student Developer Pack - FREE Pro + Tools
Get free access to 100+ premium developer tools, cloud credits, and learning resources worth thousands of dollars.
GitHub Edu
Get deal → 06 LS
Lovable Student Discount - 50% Off Pro
Verified students get one year of Lovable Pro for $12.50/month — half off the AI app builder's standard $25/month Pro plan. Verify with a school…
.edu email
Get deal → 07 VB
v0 by Vercel - 1 Year Free Premium for Students
Students at select universities get 1 year of free v0 Premium ($240 value) - the AI-powered development platform that turns natural language into…
.edu email
Get deal → 08 D2
DigitalOcean - $200 Free Cloud Credits via GitHub Student Pack
Students get $200 in free cloud platform credits valid for 1 year through the GitHub Student Developer Pack, perfect for hosting projects, deploying…
GitHub Edu
Get deal → 09 GC
Google Cloud for Students - Free Learning Credits & Cloud Resources
Students get 200 free Google Skills credits for hands-on cloud labs, plus access to GCP credits through faculty-led programs for coursework and…
FREE
.edu email
Get deal → 10 RS
Replit Student Discount - 50% Off Core Plan
Students get 50% off the Replit Core plan, auto-applied at checkout with a valid .edu email. Build, deploy, and ship AI-powered projects from any…
.edu email
Get deal → 11 FF
Framer for Education - FREE Student Plan (100% Off)
A powerful no-code website builder that allows students to design and publish responsive websites using a canvas interface similar to Figma.
application
Get deal → 12 CC
ChatGPT Codex for Students
Verified university students in the US and Canada get $100 in free ChatGPT credits to use in Codex — OpenAI's coding assistant. Works on any plan…
SheerID
Get deal → 13 MA
Microsoft Azure for Students - $100 Free Cloud Credits
Full-time students at accredited institutions get $100 in Azure cloud credits for 12 months plus access to 25+ free services, with no credit card…
.edu email
Get deal → 14 $5/mo FREE Usage-based pricing $50 free credits $15/mo FREE $20/mo FREE
CS
Cloudflare Student Discount - FREE for 12 Months
Cloudflare Workers Paid plan FREE for 12 months (Reg: $5/month) for US students 18+ with verified .edu email. Includes developer features like…
.edu email
Get deal → 15 MA
MongoDB Atlas - $50 Free Credits for Students
Students get $50 in free Atlas credits plus free MongoDB certification through the GitHub Student Developer Pack, perfect for learning cloud database…
GitHub Edu
Get deal → 16 GC
Google Cloud Vertex AI - Education Credits Program
Students can access Vertex AI for free through Google Cloud education credits provided via faculty-sponsored programs, with credits ranging from…
FREE
.edu email
Get deal → 17 AE
AWS Educate - Free Cloud Computing Training & Credits for Students
AWS Educate provides students with free cloud computing training, hands-on labs, and AWS credits ($35-$100) to learn and practice cloud skills on…
FREE
.edu email
Get deal → 18 AF
Appwrite - Free Education Plan (Pro-Level Resources)
Verified GitHub Student Developer Pack members get free access to Appwrite's Education plan with Pro-level resource limits worth $15/month, including…
GitHub Edu
Get deal → 19 RF
Replit for Educators - Free for Verified Teachers
Replit's educator program: free Replit for verified teachers, credits for their students, 1:1 onboarding with the Replit Education team, and…
application
Get deal → 20 CC
Claude Campus Program - Free API Credits for Student Builders
Anthropic folded its $50 Student Builder API credits into the Claude Campus program: Builder Clubs on campus share perks like API credits with…
FREE
application
Get deal → 02
The guide
Picking your app stack
- Prototype with an AI app builder. Prompt-to-app tools get you a working front end in an afternoon — free student plans make them the cheapest way to test an idea.
- One backend, not three. A managed backend covers auth, database, storage and functions in one free education plan — pick one and build everything on it.
- Claim cloud credits when you need them. Hosting credits usually run on a 12-month clock from the day you claim — start the timer when you have a project to deploy, not before.
- Building a startup? Look for the founder-oriented credit packs near the top of the list — they bundle serious credit across many tools, usually gated behind an application or an event.
03
Before you claim
How eligibility is checked here
.edu / student email ×7application form ×5GitHub Education ×4SheerID ×2event-gated ×2
Each row shows which check applies — most deals here run through SheerID, GitHub Education or a plain school email. Confirm eligibility on the official page before you sign up.
04
About this shelf
Building Apps & Websites deals, explained
This shelf is for students who ship: AI app builders that go from prompt to working product, browser IDEs, managed backends with auth and databases included, cloud hosting credits, and API credits for adding AI features to whatever you're building. Portfolio site, class project, or an actual startup — the tools are the same.
The pricing pattern here is free plans and credit grants rather than discounts. Cloud providers hand students real money to deploy with — typically on a 12-month expiry — and backend platforms unlock their pro tiers for education accounts. The catch to watch is the clock: credits you claim today and don't use are credits wasted, so claim them when a project is ready to go live.
Every deal is checked by hand before it's listed, and each deal page shows the last-check date, the claim steps, and the fine print — commercial use, team size and renewal rules differ between education plans. The official page linked from each deal is the final word when terms change.
05
Common questions
Before you sign up
Are the cloud credits actually free, or do they charge me later?
The credits themselves are free for students. Some platforms still ask for a payment method at signup and start billing once credits run out or expire — the fine-print panel on the deal page flags it where that's the case.
Do the credits expire?
Usually yes — most run out 12 months after you claim them, used or not. Claim credits when you have something to deploy, and check the deal page for the exact window.
Can I host a commercial project on a student plan?
It varies. Some education plans are coursework-only, others don't restrict what you build. Check the fine print on the deal page before you launch anything that earns money.
What happens to my app when the free year ends?
Plans usually downgrade to a free tier rather than delete anything, but limits change — fewer resources, slower builds. Re-confirming your student status usually restores the education plan if you're still enrolled.
I'm building a startup, not a class project. Is this shelf still for me?
Yes — founder-focused packs with larger credit bundles are listed here too. They're usually gated behind an application or a student-founder event, which the deal page spells out.
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