HBO has launched the new HBO Max in May 2020. HBO Max offers all of HBO’s TV series, plus access to the vast library of Warner Brothers films over the past century. This includes DC Entertainment which recently released “Wonder Woman: 1984” on their service first.
There are over 10,000 hours of well-respected content and HBO Max is the exclusive home to 4k popular TV series such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory.
In the past, HBO Max did offer promotions that included student discounts.
Does HBO Max have Student Discount?
If you already have a student subscription, you’ll continue to be billed $9.99/month (plus applicable taxes) until you cancel.
As of 2024, HBO does not offer a student discount subscription for HBO Max, HBO Go, and HBO Now. However, if you had an old HBO student discount, you can carry it on to an HBO Max subscription for $9.99 per month.
When compared to other streaming services, HBO Max’s monthly subscription falls on the higher end in terms of price. Additionally, there is only one price and no tier system that you find with other streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+, and more.
Related: Does HBO Max Have Ads?
Is There Any Way to Get Free HBO Max for Students?
The only way to get HBO Max for free is if you already have HBO or HBO Now as part of your cable or satellite service. This may come as a surprise to some who may want the added value of HBO Max but didn’t realize that it was already part of their cable or satellite subscription to HBO or HBO Now.
Additionally, you can also get HBO Max by getting a TV and internet package at the same price. With AT&T’s Fiber 1000 MPS plan, you can get HBO Max for free.
There is no HBO Max free trial for students. HBO Max used to have a 7-day free trial, but it has ended in December of 2020. You can also sign up with Hulu for $6.99 and get free access to HBO Max as an add-on for a month.
HBO Max Alternatives for Students
What HBO Max does do is provide plenty of good content with the promise of more to follow. Whether it can keep up with the other major streaming services will depend on what it can deliver.
| Streaming Service | Student Discount? | Price (Students) | Content Compared to Netflix |
| Netflix | No | $8.99/month | Thousands of viewing options, including movies, television series, documentaries, and more. |
| Hulu | Yes | $1.99/month | Offers original content, movies, series, documentaries, and FX films. |
| Amazon Prime Video | Yes | $6.49/month | Original content and hundreds of movies, series, and documentaries. |
| Youtube Premium | Yes | $6.99/month | Ad-free viewing of millions of videos and YouTube original series and videos from popular content creators. But, does not include movies and television series. |
| Paramount+ | Yes | $5.24/month | Student discounts give access to the limited commercial plan and 30,000 episodes on demand. |
| Showtime | Yes | $4.99/month | The price per month covers Spotify Premium, Hulu, and Showtime. This combination is likely the most content for the best price. |
| HBO Max | No | $9.99/month | Offers many popular shows that can only be found on HBO Max, such as Friends and Game of Thrones. Warner Brothers will release 17 movies on HBO Max in 2021. |
| Disney+ | No | $7.99/month | Includes original Disney movies, television shows, and classic Disney and Disney Channel movies and shows. |
| Crackle | No | FREE | Crackle does not need a student discount because it’s free to use There are 150 movies and 75 shows. |
| Shudder | No | $5.99/month | Specializing in horror films, Shudder has both classic and other horror movies and shows. |
| Apple TV+ | Yes | $9.99/month (Apple Music and TV) or $4.99/month for TV | Shows and movies available for screening including Apple Original films. |
Related: Netflix Student Discount (2022 Update)
Is HBO Max Free with Amazon Prime?
HBO Max is not free with Amazon Prime because Amazon Prime is separate from HBO Max. This means that if you get HBO Max through Amazon Prime, you pay for both services.
You can get Amazon Prime for $12.99 per month and HBO Max is $14.99 per month for a grand total of $27.98 per month for both. Admittedly, there are considerable perks with Amazon Prime that go beyond the streaming service being provided.
For one thing, you also get free music streaming and free delivery of items ordered through Amazon with their prime service. Plus, you can save about 25% off the subscription price if you pay for the full year as opposed to monthly payments.
