5 things to know about the Spotify Hulu student discount

If you're in college, one of the most popular music streaming services has done you a solid. We're talking about the Spotify Hulu student discount.

Spotify Hulu student discount: Everything you need to know

We’ve checked around with other streaming services and the Spotify Hulu student discount for just $4.99 a month is the best one around.

The big thing to know about the Spotify deal is that it doesn’t include Hulu live streaming, so you won’t catch the day’s TV news shows as they happen. But when it comes to TV, the discount offers plenty of on-demand content. That includes season upon season of popular shows and original movies.

As in the case with any TV or streaming service you sign up for, you’ll need to provide your name, address and payment information. To confirm you are “qualifying student,” Spotify and Hulu will also require your date of birth, college or university and possibly other documents.

Let’s break down five major things you should know about the Spotify Hulu student discount:

1. Spotify + Hulu + Showtime: What’s included?

The Spotify Hulu student discount gets you a ton of music, movies and TV to choose from for just $4.99 a month. For music lovers, Spotify Premium gives you access to millions of songs, which you can sync and download to your devices. Unlike Spotify’s free option, Premium is ad-free.

Also included in the student discount is Hulu Limited Commercials. This product is regularly $7.99 by itself and is a step below the Hulu No Commercials plan, which costs $11.99 a month. With Hulu Limited Commercials, users get to enjoy their favorite TV shows on demand, supported by ads. Again, there are no Hulu live TV offerings with this deal.

Thrown in for free is Showtime, where students will find popular original programming like Homeland and Ray Donovan. For “live” TV, Showtime offers its East (Eastern time zone broadcasts) and West (Pacific time zone) options.

2. Doing the math: How much does the Spotify Hulu discount save?

Let’s talk price: For $4.99 a month, the Spotify Hulu student discount is pretty much a steal, especially when you throw in Showtime. If you paid for each separately, the math would look like this: Hulu ($7.99) + Showtime ($10.99) + Spotify Premium ($9.99) = $28.97. Add it all up and students are saving nearly $24 a month. That’s almost $288 over the course of a year!

3. Spotify Hulu student discount: Who is eligible for this deal?

The discount only applies to students who currently attend a Title IV accredited institution in the United States. That basically means that if your college or university processes federal financial aid, you should be good to go. If you're unsure, go to this list and see if your institution is on it.

4. There are a few restrictions you need to know about

As with anything, when it comes to Spotify + Hulu + Showtime, the devil is in the details. In this case, the fine print doesn’t have too much to worry about. The one doozy is that qualifying students will receive “the advertised discounted monthly subscription” only “up to a period of twelve (12) consecutive months.”

However, those students can re-up for the discount as many as three additional times by resubmitting their info. So, Spotify is basically saying that they’ll give you the deal for up to four years of your college career.

5. What if you already have Spotify, Hulu or Showtime?

If you’re already a paying subscriber, there are some other things you want to know.

If you already have Spotify Premium, you’re still eligible for the discount plan. Just know that once you switch over, your payment date will likely be a few days earlier than it had been.

For existing Hulu subscribers who want to take advantage of this deal, it’s best to use a new email address. If you’re a Hulu live customer or have the service through a third-party like Roku, you won’t be eligible for the student discount.

If you’re already a Showtime customer, cancel your subscription and wait until after the billing date to link your account with Spotify.