Free Software for Engineering and Computer Science Students
Professional engineering and developer tools cost hundreds or thousands a year. As a student, most of them are free if you know where to apply.
| Tool | What you get | Who | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autodesk (AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion) | Free 1-year education access | Students and staff at accredited schools, incl. high schools | Yearly while eligible |
| SOLIDWORKS | Design Standard free; Premium or xDesign $60/yr | Students anywhere | Paid plans yearly |
| Unity Student | Free Unity Pro Editor, Unity Cloud, assets | Students 16+ at accredited schools | Yearly while enrolled |
| Azure for Students | $100 credit for 12 months, no card | Full-time university students | Yearly while a student |
| GitHub Student Developer Pack | GitHub Pro, Copilot Student, partner offers | Students 13+ in a degree or diploma program | Re-verify when asked |
| Tableau | Desktop Public Edition and Prep, free | Students and learners | No renewal needed |
| Figma | Figma and FigJam free in an education team | Students and teachers | Re-verify when asked |
From each company’s own education page, checked 9 October 2026.
Where to start
- Apply for the GitHub Student Developer Pack first: it bundles many partner offers in one verification.
- Mechanical, civil or architecture? Get Autodesk education access (AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion) and SOLIDWORKS Design Standard; check whether your school has a SOLIDWORKS institution license for the full version.
- Computer science or game design? Add Unity Student and Azure for Students for hosting class projects.
- Data courses? Tableau Desktop Public Edition is free, but everything you publish is public.
Rules that apply to almost all of them
- Educational use only. Paid client work needs a commercial license.
- Renew on time. Most licenses last a year; put the date in your calendar.
- Use your school email where possible; verification is usually instant.
- Watch cloud costs. Stop resources you are not using so Azure credit lasts.
Music production student? Ableton gives students 50% off Live 12; see Ableton. For office apps, see Microsoft 365 for students, and for everything else free, free stuff for students.
Tool pages
Students also ask
Is AutoCAD free for students?
Yes, through Autodesk’s free one-year education access, renewable while you are eligible.
Which CAD software is free for students?
Autodesk (AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion) through its education plan, and SOLIDWORKS Design Standard for Students.
Do computer science students get free cloud credit?
Azure for Students gives full-time university students $100 of credit for 12 months without a credit card.
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