Raycast Student Discount 2026: How to Get 50% Off Pro

If you're a student studying computer science, design, or any field that keeps you on a Mac all day, Raycast Pro can be a serious productivity multiplier. The good news: Raycast offers a 50% student discount on Pro subscriptions, bringing the cost down to just $4/month. Here's everything you need to know about getting it, including a step-by-step walkthrough of the application process.

Before we dive in — if you're not a student, or if you want an even bigger discount, check our main discount page for the current best deal (80% off, no student verification required).

What Is the Raycast Student Discount?

Raycast offers verified students 50% off Raycast Pro for the duration of their enrollment. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• Monthly plan: $4/month instead of $8/month
• Annual plan: $48/year instead of $96/year
• Savings: $48-$96/year depending on billing cycle

The discount applies to the full Raycast Pro feature set — you get everything a regular Pro subscriber gets. There are no feature limitations or reduced capabilities on the student plan. You get Raycast AI, cloud sync, unlimited clipboard history, custom themes, floating notes, and all future Pro features.

Who Qualifies for the Student Discount

Raycast's student discount is available to students at any accredited educational institution worldwide. This includes:

• University and college students — undergraduate, graduate, and PhD programs
• Community college students — associate degree and certificate programs
• Trade and vocational school students — accredited technical programs
• High school students — with valid student identification
• Bootcamp students — some accredited coding bootcamps qualify (verification depends on the institution)

The key requirement is that you can verify your enrollment through a .edu email address or valid student ID. International students with non-.edu institutional emails can typically verify through student ID upload.

Faculty and staff at educational institutions may also qualify for education pricing — check Raycast's education page for current eligibility.

What's Included in Raycast Pro for Students

The student plan gives you the complete Raycast Pro experience. Here's what you get on top of the free tier:

Raycast AI. This is the headline feature and the primary reason most students upgrade. Raycast AI is a system-wide AI assistant powered by GPT-4 and Claude. You can highlight text in any app and ask Raycast to explain a concept, debug code, summarize a paper, translate text, or rewrite your notes. For CS students writing code all day, the ability to get instant code explanations and refactoring suggestions without leaving your editor is a massive time-saver.

Unlimited Clipboard History. The free plan gives you 30 days. Pro gives you unlimited. As a student, you're constantly copying code snippets from documentation, URLs from research papers, terminal output from debugging sessions, and text from lecture slides. Having your entire clipboard history searchable means you never lose something you copied three hours ago during a lecture.

Cloud Sync. If you use a Mac at home and a Mac in the lab (or a laptop and a desktop), cloud sync keeps your snippets, quicklinks, and Raycast settings identical across machines. Set up your workflow once, and it follows you everywhere.

Custom Themes. Cosmetic, but nice. Customize Raycast's appearance to match your aesthetic or reduce eye strain during late-night study sessions.

Floating Notes. Quick notes that stay on top of your windows. Useful for keeping a to-do list visible while working on an assignment, or jotting down points during a video lecture.

Step-by-Step: How to Apply for the Student Discount

The application process is straightforward and usually takes under five minutes. Here's the exact process:

Step 1: Create a Raycast account. If you haven't already, download Raycast from raycast.com and create an account. You can use any email address for the account itself — it doesn't need to be your .edu email at this stage.

Step 2: Navigate to Billing settings. Open Raycast, type "Settings" in the launcher, and go to the Account or Billing tab. You can also access this through the Raycast website by signing into your account.

Step 3: Click "Apply Student Discount." Look for the student or education discount option in the billing section. Click it to begin the verification process.

Step 4: Verify your student status. Raycast uses a verification partner to confirm your enrollment. You have two options:

• Email verification: Enter your .edu email address. You'll receive a verification email — click the link to confirm. This is the fastest method and usually takes under a minute.
• Document upload: If your institution doesn't use .edu emails (common for international students), you can upload a photo of your valid student ID or enrollment letter. Manual verification typically takes 1-2 business days.

Step 5: Select your plan. Once verified, choose between monthly ($4/month) or annual ($48/year) billing. The annual plan saves you an additional 17% on top of the student discount.

Step 6: Start using Pro. The discount applies immediately. You now have full access to all Raycast Pro features at the student rate.

Student Discount vs. Regular Pricing

For a complete breakdown of all Raycast plans and how they compare, see our Raycast Pro pricing guide.

Tips for Students Getting the Most Out of Raycast Pro

Once you have Pro, here are some ways to maximize its value as a student:

Set up code review snippets. If you do peer code reviews or grade assignments as a TA, create snippets for common feedback. A keyword like ;lgtm could expand to your standard "looks good to merge" comment with specific formatting. ;nitpick could expand to a template for minor suggestions.

Use AI for research summaries. Highlight a paragraph from a research paper, invoke Raycast AI, and ask for a plain-language summary, a list of key points, or a comparison with another concept you've studied. It's faster than re-reading dense academic text multiple times.

Create quicklinks for university resources. Set up quicklinks for your LMS (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle), the university library search, your school's IT help desk, course registration, and any other portals you visit regularly. Type a keyword and you're there instantly.

Use clipboard history during coding assignments. When you're debugging, you often copy error messages, stack traces, variable values, and code snippets in rapid succession. Clipboard history lets you go back to any of these without re-running commands or re-finding information.

Build custom AI commands for your courses. Create an AI command that takes selected code and explains it line-by-line at a beginner level. Create another that takes a math formula and explains each variable. These custom commands become study aids you can invoke instantly.

Sync between lab and personal machines. If you use a Mac in a university lab and your own Mac at home, cloud sync ensures your entire Raycast setup — snippets, quicklinks, settings — is identical on both machines.

What Happens When You Graduate?

Your student discount remains active until your next re-verification date. Raycast requires annual re-verification of your student status. When you graduate and can no longer verify enrollment, your subscription will continue at the student rate until the end of the current billing period, then revert to the standard price.

When that happens, you have a few options:

• Continue at full price — $8/month or $96/year for Pro
• Use the promotional discount — check our discount page for the current best deal (currently 80% off)
• Downgrade to Free — you keep the launcher, extensions, and 30-day clipboard history
• Check for alumni programs — some institutions have partnerships that extend education pricing

Other Developer Tool Student Discounts Worth Knowing

While you have your student status, here are other tools with education pricing that pair well with Raycast:

• GitHub Student Developer Pack — free GitHub Pro, Copilot, and dozens of partner tools
• JetBrains — all IDEs free for students (IntelliJ, WebStorm, PyCharm, etc.)
• Figma — free education plan for students and educators
• Notion — free Plus plan for students with .edu email
• 1Password — free for students through the GitHub Student Developer Pack
• Vercel — Pro plan free for students through GitHub Education

Combine these with Raycast Pro's student discount and you've got a professional-grade development setup at a fraction of the cost. Many of these tools have Raycast extensions too, so you can access them directly from the launcher.

Student Discount vs. Promotional Discount: Which Is Better?

Here's something important to consider: the current promotional discount on our site offers 80% off Raycast Pro, which is actually a bigger discount than the 50% student offer. The promotional discount doesn't require student verification and includes a free 14-day trial.

At 80% off, Pro costs $2/month — less than the $4/month student price. The promotional discount applies automatically through our link and doesn't require you to prove enrollment.

So why would a student use the student discount at all? The student discount is guaranteed to be available as long as Raycast offers education pricing, while promotional discounts can change or expire. If the promotional discount isn't available when you're reading this, the student discount is your best option.

Our recommendation: check our deal page first. If the promotional discount is still live, use that. If not, apply for the student discount.

You can also start with a free 14-day trial to make sure Pro is worth it before committing to either discount.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get the Raycast student discount?

Sign up for a Raycast account, go to Settings > Billing, and click "Apply Student Discount." Verify your student status using your .edu email address or a valid student ID through the verification partner. Once verified, the 50% discount applies immediately to your Pro subscription.

Which schools and universities qualify for the Raycast student discount?

Any accredited college, university, or higher education institution worldwide qualifies. This includes community colleges, trade schools, and graduate programs. You need a valid .edu email address or student ID to verify. High school students with a valid student ID may also qualify.

How long does the Raycast student discount last?

The Raycast student discount lasts for the duration of your enrollment. You'll need to re-verify your student status annually. Once you graduate or are no longer enrolled, the discount will end at the next billing cycle and your subscription will revert to the standard price.

Can I stack the student discount with other Raycast promotions?

No, the student discount cannot be combined with other promotional offers. However, you should compare the 50% student discount with the current promotional discount (80% off via our deal page) and use whichever saves you more. The promotional discount does not require student verification and may offer greater savings.