How to get an Apple student discount at Apple's Education Store

Students, teachers, and those who work for an educational institution can save money on a new Mac, MacBook, or iPad via the Apple Education Store, which offers discounts all year round. Apple throws the education net quite wide, so if you think you may not qualify, there’s a good chance you might.

In this article, we will explain who qualifies and how much the Apple education discount is before explaining how to shop at Apple’s U.S. Education Store, U.K. Education Store, Canada Education Store, or Australia Education Store.

Between June and October each year in the northern hemisphere, and between January and March in the southern hemisphere, Apple runs a promotion for students with qualifying purchases from the Apple Education Store. In 2022, Apple is offering gift cards. Learn more about Apple’s back-to-school promotion.

In January 2022, Apple changed the U.S. Education Discount Store to require validation from UNiDAYS before students can get a discount but then removed the requirement. So it is still possible for non-students in the U.S. to avoid the validation step, as per this Reddit post, but Apple could re-implement this validation step in the future. U.K. students already have to go via UNiDAYS (or Student Beans).

Apple’s back-to-school sale

Apple is having a special promotion for anyone shopping Apple’s Education Store in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada. Buy a Mac or iPad, and you can get a gift card that ranges in value depending on the device you buy. That gift card can be used on a future purchase at Apple. Learn more about Apple’s back-to-school promotion.

How much is the Apple student discount?

Apple doesn’t offer a single, universal discount to students. It sets different prices for each product range. The discounts are only currently available for iPads and Mac computers (iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini).

Education discounts are not available on the iPhone, Apple TV, Apple Watch, HomePods, accessories, or software. AirPods are not available, either, but you can often find deals on Amazon and other retailers.

How much can students save on Macs and MacBooks?

You can save on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro or Mac mini from the U.S. Education Store, the U.K. Apple Education Store, the Canadian Education Store, or the Australian Education Store.

Below are the discounts on the base model Macs, with bigger discounts on the more expensive models.

U.S.:

• M1 MacBook Air: regular price $999, student price $899. $100 off.
• M2 MacBook Air: regular price $1,199, student price $1,099. $100 off.
• 13in MacBook Pro: regular price $1,299; student price $1,199. $100 off.
• 14in MacBook Pro: regular price $1,849; student price $1,849. $150 off.
• 16in MacBook Pro: regular price $2,499; student price $2,299. $200 off.
• iMac: regular price $1,299; student price $1,249. $50 off.
• Mac mini: regular price $699; student price $649. $50 off.

U.K.:

• M1 MacBook Air: Usually £999 for M1 model, students pay: £899. £100 off.
• M2 MacBook Ai: Usually £1,249, students pay £1,149. £100 off.
• 13in M2 MacBook Pro: Prices start at £1,349; student prices from £1,249. £100 off.
• 24in iMac: Prices start at £1,249; student prices from £1,124. £125 off.
• Mac mini: Prices start at £699; student prices from £649. £50 off.

You may be able to get better discounts if you shop elsewhere. We round up the best MacBook Pro deals, the best MacBook Air deals, the best iMac deals, and the best Mac mini deals. The disadvantage of these deals is that they won’t come with the gift cards that Apple offers during its Back to School promotion.

We also have a guide to the best Mac for students that you might find useful.

How much is Apple’s iPad student discount

You can also get a discount on iPads including the iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad, and iPad mini in the Education Store. Below are the discounts on the base model iPad.

U.S.:

• iPad: regular price $329; student price $309
• iPad mini: regular price $499; student price: $449
• iPad Air: regular price $599; student price: $549
• iPad Pro: regular price $799; student price: $749

U.K.:

• iPad: MSRP £329 Student price: £309.60
• iPad mini: MSRP £479 Student price: TBC 
• iPad Air: MSRP £569 Student price: £526.80
• iPad Pro: MSRP £749 Student price: £711.60

Take a closer look at the prices in Apple’s U.S. Education Store, Apple’s U.K. Education Store, the Canadian Education Store, or Apple’s Australian Education Store.

You may find a better deal or discount if you check out our deals round-ups: best iPad Air deals, best iPad mini deals, best iPad 10.2in deals, and the best iPad Pro deals.

If you’re thinking of buying an iPad for college or university you also might like to read our guide to the Best iPad for students.

Who can get an Apple student discount?

There are some limitations to who qualifies for a student discount. If you are a student in high school you will be disappointed to learn that you don’t qualify for this discount, although your school could buy equipment for students at a discount.

There are three types of people who can qualify for a student discount:

• Students in higher education.
• People who are buying for education institutions.
• Parents of higher education students buying on their behalf.

Apple spells this out in more detail in its terms and conditions.

For the U.S. these state that the following groups are “eligible to purchase from the Apple Store for Education:”

• K-12 staff: Any employee of a public or private K-12 institution in the United States is eligible, including homeschool teachers (this doesn’t include people educating their children during lockdowns). In addition, school board members who are currently serving as elected or appointed members are eligible. PTA or PTO executives currently serving as elected or appointed officers are eligible.
• Higher education staff and students: Faculty and staff of higher educational institutions in the U.S.; and students attending, or accepted into a higher educational institution in the U.S. are eligible to purchase. Purchases from the Apple Store for Education Individuals are not for institutional purchase or resale.
• Higher education parents: Parents purchasing on behalf of their child, who is a student currently attending or accepted into a public or private higher educational institution in the U.S. are eligible to purchase.

Apple has a similar set of terms and conditions for eligibility in the U.K.:

• Employees of any education institution: Any employee of a public or private education institution in the U.K.
• Post-secondary education students: Students attending or accepted into a post-secondary education institution in the U.K.
• Parents of post-secondary students: Parents purchasing on behalf of their child, who is a student currently attending or accepted into a public or private post-secondary education institution in the U.K.

If you’re attending higher education, or have been accepted into a higher education/post-secondary institution, you qualify for an Apple discount. (In the U.K. post-secondary means university, or any other formal education that takes place after secondary education is complete. Therefore, this excludes sixth-form colleges, although it may be worth inquiring at an Apple Store to see if the company is prepared to relax the rules.)

Parents of post-secondary/higher education students do not qualify when buying for themselves, but they can pick up a discounted Mac for their child from the education store.

Anybody who works in an education environment qualifies for a discount on certain Apple products. It’s not just limited to teachers and lecturers, but also covers administrative workers and other staff members. Essentially, it’s anybody who works at or for a school, college, or university. (This is not limited to post-secondary institutions. Apple refers to “any education institution.”)

This does mean that you can’t get a discount for a Mac or iPad for your child who is currently at school, although the school could make the purchase and provide the equipment for students.

If you don’t qualify for an Apple Education Store discount, we’d recommend instead checking out the Apple Refurbished Store, which offers discounts for everyone, but you can’t apply a student discount in Apple’s Refurbished Store. You could also check our round-ups of the latest and best Apple deals we find at various Apple resellers.

How many products can I buy?

According to this Sales Policy document on the Australian Apple site and the same on the U.K. Apple Education site, students can purchase the following with education pricing:

• Desktop Mac: One may be purchased per year
• Laptop Mac: One may be purchased per year
• iPad: Two may be purchased per year
• Accessories: Two accessories with Education Pricing may be purchased per year

How to get an Apple student discount

Having established that you qualify for an education discount, how can you get money off at Apple?

You may think that all you need to do is visit the Apple Store for Education and you will find the products you want at a lower price. However, before you can access Apple’s Education Store you will need to verify that you are a student or that you qualify in another way (e.g. you work in a school or college). Different countries will have a different sequence of steps to go through, which we will run through below. 

You’ll find the Apple Education Store by following the links to the Apple Education Store U.S., Apple Education Store U.K., the Canadian Education Store or Apple Education Store Australia.

How to get an Apple student discount: U.S.

If you are a student in the U.S. it is quite easy to get an Education discount at the U.S. Apple Store–in fact, a loophole may mean it is possible to get one without any proof that you are a student, although we expect that Apple will rectify that. If you are a student you should follow these steps:

1. Visit Apple’s U.S. Education Store.
2. Choose the Mac of iPad you want and click on your selection.
3. Once you have customized your Apple product, click Continue.
4. Enter your delivery details and check out.
5. Beware that Apple can request to see evidence that you are a student at any point during or after the purchase and will charge an additional fee if you fail to provide it.

If you have any problems, we recommend you get your student status verified with UNiDAYS or log on from your university network. Make sure you have quick access to some form of official identification that proves you qualify for the education discount. Your student ID is a good choice.

How to get an Apple student discount: U.K.

1. Click this link to Apple’s U.K. Education Store to access the Apple Education site.
2. Once there you’ll be encouraged to sign up on the student discount website UNiDAYS to access Apple’s educational discounts. Alternatively, U.K. customers can also use the rival verification service Student Beans, which works in the same way as UNiDAYS.
3. On whichever site you use, you’ll need to provide your email address and a password, your name, institution, subject of study, years of study, and course length.
4. Once you have completed the registration process and signed in you will be able to access Apple’s student discounts.

If you don’t want to register via a verification site, you can also call Apple, use Apple’s Chat online feature, or visit an Apple Store. The staff there will guide you through the process.

How to get an Apple student discount: Australia

1. Visit Apple’s Australian Education Store.
2. It’s usually best to log on from your university network if you can.
3. You will also want to make sure you have quick access to some form of official identification that proves you qualify for the education discount. Your student ID is a good choice.
4. However, you may find you don’t actually require any sort of login or ID to order from the Apple Education Store–but beware that Apple can request to see evidence that you are a student at any point during or after the purchase and will charge an additional fee if you fail to provide it.

How to buy Apple products for an education institution

If you have been tasked with buying new Macs or iPads for a school, college or university then Apple has a different store for you. This store is designed for those who are buying a Mac for an educational institution (for students to work on rather than for individual students to own).

1. You should visit the U.S. Apple Store for Education Institutions, the U.K. Apple Store for Education Institutions, or the Australian equivalent.
2. You’ll need to search for your Educational Institution: enter your institution’s details and click on search. 
3. If your institution is found you will be able to sign in to access your institution’s store.
4. You may still need to register before you can use the store.
5. If your school, college, or other institution isn’t found then you may need to call Apple to discuss registering your school.

How to get a student discount for Apple Music and Apple TV+

Apple’s student membership scheme for Apple Music offers those in full-time education a 50 percent subscription discount and this deal is better than ever right now because the Student Apple Music deal also includes Apple TV+ for a limited time (normally $4.99/£4.99 per month). If you are a student, here’s how to get Apple Music for half price.

Apple currently offers three months free for new subscribers to Apple Music, so you might want to take that up first. Get three months free here.

The student discount brings the monthly cost of Apple Music membership down from $9.99/£9.99 to $4.99/£4.99, with identical schemes in Ireland, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Denmark, each offering half off the usual price. And with Apple TV+ bundled in for free, it’s a great deal!

To qualify for the student discount, you’ll need to prove that you’re enrolled at an eligible university or college.

The Student Membership tier is the third membership tier Apple has offered to consumers, alongside Individual Membership ($9.99/£9.99 per month) and Family Membership ($14.99/£14.99). Visit Apple’s site for more details and to sign up.

If you’re a student and signing up for Apple Music on your iPhone or iPad, tap where it says “Are you a University Student?” and you’ll be directed to a verification system. If your college or university is eligible you’ll get a reduced subscription rate. Read our guide to Apple Music.