Worth Every Penny
🛡️ NordVPN – ~£2.50/month (2-year plan)
The single best-value subscription for students. Campus and café WiFi is unencrypted and shared — NordVPN protects every connection. At £2.50/month on the 2-year plan, it's less than a coffee. Also unlocks geo-restricted content for streaming.
NordVPN Student Deal
Campus WiFi protection + streaming access
Get 67% Off →📦 Amazon Prime Student – Free 6 months, then 50% off
Free next-day delivery pays for itself if you order anything online during your degree. Prime Video, Prime Reading, and exclusive student deals included. The 6-month free trial alone is worth signing up for — cancel before it ends if you don't want to continue.
✍️ Grammarly Premium – ~£10/month
The plagiarism checker alone justifies one month before any major submission. For students who write a lot, monthly is good value. For lighter writing loads, get one month per term around deadline season and cancel in between.
Use the Free Tier Instead
- Notion — free personal plan is unlimited. Pay only if you need team features.
- Grammarly Free — good enough for day-to-day. Only upgrade for submissions.
- Canva Free — covers presentations, posters, social graphics. Pro is nice but unnecessary.
- Spotify Free — ads are manageable. Student plan is only £3.99/month if they bother you.
Subscriptions to Skip (For Now)
- Expensive cloud storage (extra iCloud, Google One): Microsoft 365 gives you 1TB free with your uni email. Use that first.
- Multiple streaming services simultaneously: Rotate them. Subscribe to one for a month, binge what you want, cancel, move to the next.
- Software you'll only use once: Most universities give free access to specialist software through campus licences. Check before buying.
The rotation trick: For streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Paramount+), never pay for more than one at a time. Subscribe for one month, watch everything you want, cancel, move on. With monthly contracts, you can cycle through all of them for less than the cost of one annual subscription.