MATLAB Student Discount: Official Pricing, What Changed in 2026
Last verified: 2026-07-21
MathWorks sells a genuine, officially discounted student subscription — not a free plan, but real academic pricing well below the commercial rate. There's also a real structural change worth knowing about before you buy: the old one-time "Student license" is gone.
Quick Answer
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Official student pricing | Available: $119/year |
| What's included | Student Suite (MATLAB + Simulink) plus 11 other toolboxes |
| Licensing model | Annual subscription only — perpetual student licenses were discontinued |
| Eligibility | Students at degree-granting institutions, or primary/secondary teachers and students |
What Changed in January 2026
For years, MathWorks sold a one-time "perpetual" Student license you paid for once. That's no longer being sold to new buyers as of January 2026 — MathWorks moved new student purchases to an annual subscription model. If you already own a perpetual Home or Student license, MathWorks says you can keep using it indefinitely, but you can't renew maintenance on it or add new toolboxes to it going forward. If you're buying MATLAB as a student for the first time now, you're buying the subscription; the "one-time payment, own it forever" option isn't on the table anymore.
What You Actually Get for $119/Year
The subscription covers the Student Suite (MATLAB and Simulink) plus 11 additional toolboxes bundled in — not just the bare core product. Eligibility is tied to using MATLAB/Simulink for coursework, academic research, or teaching at a degree-granting institution; MathWorks also covers primary/secondary teachers and students separately.
Savings Checklist
- Confirm you're buying through MathWorks' own academic/student pricing page, not a reseller quoting commercial pricing.
- If you already own a perpetual Student license, don't assume you need to switch — check whether your current version still covers your coursework before paying for a new subscription.
- Ask your department first: many universities have a campus-wide MATLAB Total Academic Headcount (TAH) license that gives you free access without personally paying $119/year at all.
- Budget for renewal — this is a subscription, not a one-time purchase, so the $119 recurs annually.
Compare Alternatives
If your coursework is closer to general engineering/CAD than numerical computing specifically, see Autodesk's student discount (also free through a different education-plan structure). For scientific computing outside MATLAB's ecosystem, Wolfram Mathematica's student pricing is a comparable paid-but-discounted option.
Official Source
Student Discount Details
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Who qualifies | Students at degree-granting institutions using MATLAB/Simulink for coursework or research; primary/secondary teachers and students separately covered. |
| Countries / regions | Global, subject to MathWorks academic-eligibility verification at purchase. |
| Offer scope | Official annual academic subscription, not a free plan — replaces the discontinued perpetual Student license for new buyers. |
| Discount value | $119/year for the Student Suite (MATLAB + Simulink) plus 11 additional toolboxes. |
| Plan / quota details | Student Suite (MATLAB + Simulink) plus 11 additional toolboxes for $119/year; existing perpetual licenses still work but can’t add toolboxes or renew maintenance. |
| Verification | Purchase through MathWorks’ own academic/student pricing page. |
| Key limits | Subscription only — perpetual Student licenses were discontinued for new buyers in January 2026. Existing perpetual licenses keep working but can’t renew maintenance or add toolboxes. |