Microsoft 365 UK Discounts: What Students, NHS and Armed Forces Really Get

Office-Watch.comLast updated: 24 June 2026

Microsoft UK promotes a single “Student, NHS and Armed Forces discount” banner, which makes the Microsoft 365 UK discounts look identical for everyone. They are not even close. Students can get Microsoft 365 free for years, while NHS staff and armed forces members get only a small hardware discount and no money off Office software at all. Here is exactly what each group qualifies for in 2026, including one big Microsoft 365 offer that Microsoft does not even mention.

Microsoft UK has a “Student, NHS and Armed Forces discount” banner, which makes it look like everyone gets the same thing. They don’t. There’s also a major discount offer for Microsoft 365 plans that’s not even mentioned on the page.

We’ve tried to untangle the UK offers to explain what’s available to students, faculty, NHS workers and the UK armed forces.

Students get the best deal by far

There are two separate student offers, and people understandably confuse them.

If you are a student: Get Office free through your school first (Option 1). Only take the 12 month Premium promotion (Option 2) if you specifically want Copilot AI features, and set a calendar reminder to cancel before it starts charging you.

Option 1: Microsoft 365 Education, free through your school or university

If your school, college or university has an institution-wide Microsoft licence, you get Microsoft 365 for free for as long as you are enrolled. This includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Teams. Microsoft says roughly 99.9 percent of UK universities, 87 percent of colleges and many schools are covered.

How to get it:

Go to the Microsoft 365 Education sign-up page
Enter your school or college email address (the one ending in something like ac.uk, not your personal Hotmail or Gmail)
Your email must be able to receive external mail
You’re verified and signed up

This is the version most students should use. It costs nothing and lasts the whole time you study.

What you get under this offer depends on the plan that the school/college has signed up for.

Office 365 A1 is free to all eligible institutions (students and educators) but only for the online web apps, not the desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.
Microsoft 365 A3 includes the desktop apps.
Microsoft 365 A5 adds more communications and security.

Option 2: 12 months of Microsoft 365 Premium free

This is a newer, separate promotion aimed at higher education students only. You get 12 months free of Microsoft 365 Premium, which includes the Office apps, 1TB of OneDrive storage, Microsoft Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook, and AI image creation in Copilot chat.

The catch: this auto renews into a paid subscription after 12 months. The Premium plan is the most expensive Microsoft 365 consumer option. When the ‘free’ year is up, Microsoft will charge in the most expensive way, £18.99 per month instead of the cheaper annual fee.

A payment method is required to sign up, and once the free year ends you pay the standard monthly fee every month unless you cancel.

Treat that renewal date as a hard deadline in your calendar.

To qualify you sign in with a personal Microsoft account, then verify your student status using a college or university email, enrollment details, an International Student Identity Card, or documents like a dated student ID, class schedule or acceptance letter.

It is for new subscribers only. However Microsoft says “Existing Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers, including those who recently took the Microsoft 365 Personal 12-month offer, may upgrade their existing subscription and all remaining time to Microsoft 365 Premium.”

Student hardware discount

Separately, students (plus parents, teachers) can get up to 10 percent off eligible computers and accessories, and 5 percent off Surface Go. You sign in at the Microsoft Store, verify eligibility once, and the best available price (your discount or the current sale price, whichever is lower) is applied automatically in your basket.

The fine print defines who is eligible for the hardware discounts:

“Education discount available to all
(i) students and parents of students, including students enrolled in primary and grammar school through higher education,
as well as home school programs, and
(ii) faculty currently working in education.”

NHS staff and Microsoft 365 discounts

This is where Microsoft’s marketing is misleading. NHS staff get the same 5 to 10 percent hardware discount as students, but no free or discounted Microsoft 365. The official terms explicitly exclude “Services/subscriptions (e.g., Microsoft 365, Game Pass, and Skype)” and “Office software & apps” from the discount.

What NHS staff actually get:

Up to 10 percent off eligible computers and accessories
5 percent off Surface Go
Available to all levels of staff and their immediate families

You verify eligibility by signing in with a personal Microsoft account. Some third party sites mention verifying via Blue Light Card or Health Service Discounts, but the discount itself is on Surface and PC hardware, not the Office software.

According to Microsoft:

“National Health Services discount available to all levels of staff and their immediate families. ”

Microsoft 365

NHS employees might qualify for the Workplace Discount Program, which gives 30 percent off Microsoft 365 Personal and Family annual subscriptions. That program is tied to your employer, so ask your HR or IT department whether your organization is enrolled.

Armed forces and Microsoft 365 discounts

Armed forces members get an identical deal to NHS staff. No Microsoft 365 discount, hardware only.

Up to 10 percent off eligible computers and accessories
5 percent off Surface Go
Available to active, former and retired armed forces members and their immediate families

According to Microsoft

“Armed forces discount available to active, former and retired armed forces members, and their immediate families.”