Last year, Google offered a student-exclusive deal, and quite a few people were able to get a full year of Google AI Pro for free at the time, but many students still missed that opportunity. The good news is that after waiting more than half a year, Google finally announced a new round of student offers earlier, and it’s again a free year, with a slightly longer application period than last time, lasting until the end of this year. However, this time the offer is a bit reduced for university students in Taiwan, as they can only get Google AI Plus free for one year, but if you study in the US, you still get the benefit of Google AI Pro free for a year.
Google gives students another year of AI subscription! Taiwan gets Google AI Plus, while US college students get Google AI Pro.
Earlier, Google announced a new round of exclusive promotions for college students. According to the announcement, eligible college students in the U.S. can get one year of Google AI Pro for free, while students outside the U.S. can get one year of Google AI Plus for free. The offer covers more than 140 regions, and I checked that Taiwan is included. The application deadline is December 31, 2026.
Google AI Exclusive Event Page for College Students
When users in Taiwan click the link to the college student exclusive offer, they’ll see the Google AI Plus promotion offering 12 months of free usage. After the promotional period ends, the price will adjust to NT$165 per month, so a credit card is required at sign-up. Additionally, if you find that Google AI Plus doesn’t fully meet your needs, Google also offers huge discounts on “Google AI Pro” and “Google AI Pro with YouTube Premium.” The former comes with a 75% discount at just NT$160 per month, while the latter also has a 70% discount at only NT$250 per month. Both plans can be used for up to 4 years, and I personally think they’re quite a good deal as well.
Of course, this offer will require student identity verification, and the system will redirect to SheerID:
Next, fill in your student identity information. Once verification succeeds, you’ll be taken to the final subscription page. Remember to have your credit card ready—it’s only for binding purposes and no fees will be charged. Before submitting the order, double-check that the amount is 0 yuan.
While one year of free Google AI Plus is also pretty good, saving NT$1,980 a year, American college students can directly get Google AI Pro, which is a huge deal. AI Pro includes 4x more Gemini usage, access to Gemini Spark, Gemini features in Gmail and Google Docs, plus 5TB of cloud storage and Google Health Premium. Here are the differences:
| Plan | Taiwan monthly fee | Storage space | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free version | NT$0 | 15GB | Gemini 3.6 Flash, Basic Image Generation, and Deep Research |
| AI Plus (free for one year for Taiwanese students this time) | NT$165 | 400GB | Gemini Omni, 2x usage, Gemini built into Gmail/Docs |
| AI Pro (free for one year for US students this time) | NT$650 | 5TB | Gemini 3.1 Pro, 4x usage, Gemini Spark, YouTube Premium Lite (no free year) |
| AI Ultra | From NT$3,300 | 20TB or more | Deep Think、Project Genie、完整版 YouTube Premium |
Applicants should note that once the free period ends, it automatically reverts to the original price, meaning Google AI Plus will be charged NT$165 per month. (Near expiration, Google may also offer discounts.) If you don’t want to renew, remember to cancel your subscription. You can set a reminder on your calendar for when the year is almost up.
As for people who already claimed it last year, can they apply again this year? Google didn’t specifically say, but when I tested with the same Google account, it didn’t work—I could only get the discount. As for different Google accounts, that’s unclear.
Source: KOCPC Chinese