The Best Free AI Tools for Student Founders
Unlock free plans for Cursor, Figma, Google and more. Here's a curated list of pro-level AI resources to help you build faster, smarter, and at zero cost.
With the explosion of new AI tools recently and their widespread adoption among founders, many of them them are quickly becoming must-haves for student founders building products fast. These tools enable student builders to have an extra edge: helping you ship faster, design better, and handle parts of the build you might not have the expertise or time for.
The best part? Many of them have generous free plans for students and early-stage startups. That means you can try, test, and launch without worrying about costs. Whether you’re deep into a startup, hacking at a weekend competition, or just experimenting with an idea, these offers can help you go from concept to prototype with minimal friction. Below is a list of valuable AI-related tools and resources that I came across with that have awesome free plans and offerings for students and early stage builders, along with how to claim them.
1. Cursor Pro - 1 Year Free Access
If you read my previous article on vibe coding and want to speed up your build timeline - Cursor’s 1 year free student promo is a great place to start.
Cursor is an AI-powered code editor designed to integrate AI assistance directly into the programming workflow. It provides intelligent code completion, context-aware chat that can answer questions about your codebase, and automated refactoring tools that can improve or restructure your code with minimal manual intervention. This makes it useful for building applications more efficiently, learning new languages or frameworks, and quickly iterating on prototypes. Cursor supports multiple programming languages and is built to work seamlessly with existing development practices, so it’s great for both new and experienced developers.
How to get it free: Cursor offers a one-year free subscription to Cursor Pro for verified students. Sign up using your academic email and complete their student verification process to unlock the full set of Pro features.
2. Google AI Pro - Student Plan
Google AI Pro is Google’s collection of advanced AI tools — all in one place. You get access to things like Notebook LM for structured research, Flow for filmmaking, Whisk and Veo for image and video generation, Jules for coding help, and more. It’s not just for one-off tasks; you can use it to brainstorm, create, code, and even turn rough ideas into polished projects. For student builders, it’s basically a creative and technical ecosystem of tools that works across different formats and mediums.
How to get it free: Google offers Google AI Pro to students for a limited time. Just sign in with your student email to unlock the Pro features.
3. Figma for Education
Figma is a collaborative design platform widely used for interface design, wireframing, and prototyping. It allows multiple users to work on the same design file in real time, making it a strong choice for student teams building projects together. With Figma, you can create detailed interface mockups, interactive prototypes for your startup. The Education Plan unlocks advanced features such as unlimited version history, private projects, and access to professional collaboration tools, enabling students to work with the same capabilities as professional design teams.
How to get it free: Apply for Figma’s Education Plan by verifying your student status through your academic email address or official enrollment documentation. Once approved, you’ll gain free access to Figma Pro features.
4. Microsoft for Startups — $5,000 Azure Credits
If your project is at the stage where you need serious infrastructure ( hosting, AI model deployment, large-scale data storage), Microsoft for Startups is worth looking at. The program gives eligible founders $5,000 in Azure credits, which is more than adequate to run a production-ready prototype or test multiple ideas without worrying about cloud bills. Azure works well with most popular AI frameworks, so whether you’re training a model or building an AI-powered app, you’ll have the resources to scale beyond a demo.
How to get it free: Apply to the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub. Once you’re in, you’ll get the $5,000 in credits plus other founder perks.
BONUS: GitHub Student Developer Pack
The GitHub Student Developer Pack brings together free offers from dozens of tools you’ll actually use: premium GitHub features, cloud hosting credits, API access, design software, even free domains. Think of this as an all-in-one toolkit for student developers. A lot of these tools now have AI capabilities built in, so you can go from code to deployment faster. It also includes lots of popular startup must-haves (like Notion!) that can help in the overall development of your venture. It’s the easiest way to get set up with the essentials for building and shipping a project without paying for subscriptions.
How to get it free: Apply using your school-issued email address or by submitting proof of enrollment. Once verified, you’ll gain access to all the included tools and offers for free.
Individually, each of these tools can save you time, money, or both. Together, they give you almost everything you need to go from an idea to launch. Whether that’s a working prototype, a polished product, or just a project you’re proud to share, they mark a great start to get you off the ground.
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A Personal Update…
If you’re a high schooler who wants to go from 0 to 100 in your startup journey. This is for you!
As many of you know, I started my entrepreneurial journey at 13, launching Ascendance to help Gen Z turn their passions into real-world careers and solve problems in their communities.
Today, we’re working on our next big leap: expop — a 6-month challenge designed to help high schoolers learn about start-ups and launch their own ventures with expert guidance from industry leaders at Google, LinkedIn, HP, Slack, and more.
Over 6 months, we’re helping ambitious teens:
✅ Find a million-dollar idea worth building
✅ Build their prototype
✅ Learn directly from founders, investors & experts from Google, LinkedIn, and more
✅ Win awards, prizes, and launch real ventures
We invite any students, parents, educators, or those interested in joining our journey to sign up for our startup challenge at expop.io (Spots are limited)!