# Student Tools & Pricing Guide

> **You can complete this entire course for $0.** Every paid tool has a free alternative or student discount.

---

## Step 1: Get the GitHub Student Developer Pack (Do This First!)

**URL:** [education.github.com/pack](https://education.github.com/pack)
**Cost:** FREE with a valid .edu email or proof of enrollment
**What you get:** 100+ tools and services, including:

| Tool | Normal Price | Student Pack Benefit |
|------|-------------|---------------------|
| **GitHub Copilot Pro** | $10/month | Free for 1 year |
| **GitHub Codespaces** | Pay-per-use | Included |
| **Microsoft Azure** | Pay-per-use | $100 free credits |
| **1Password** | $36-60/year | Free for 1 year |
| **Sentry** | $26/month+ | Sponsored plan (free) |
| **Termius** | $10/month | Free SSH client |
| **DataCamp** | Paid | Free access |
| **Educative** | Paid | Free access |

**How to apply:** Sign up with your .edu email. Verification usually takes 1-3 days.

---

## Step 2: Get Cursor Pro Free (For Students)

**URL:** [cursor.com/students](https://cursor.com/students)
**Cost:** FREE for 1 year (normally $20/month = $240/year savings)
**How:** Verify with your .edu email via SheerID
**What you get:** Full Cursor Pro features — AI chat, autocomplete, codebase understanding, agent mode

---

## The $0 Tech Stack

Here's everything you need for this course, completely free:

### AI Coding Tools (Pick Your Favorite)

| Tool | Cost | Best For | How to Get |
|------|------|----------|------------|
| **Gemini CLI** | FREE | Terminal coding, largest context (1M tokens) | `npm install -g @google/gemini-cli` + free Google account |
| **GitHub Copilot** | FREE | In-editor autocomplete & chat | Free tier (2000 completions/month) OR Student Pack |
| **Cursor** | FREE | Full IDE experience | Free tier OR 1 year free via student discount |
| **Windsurf** | FREE | Agentic IDE | Free tier (25 credits/month) |
| **aider** | FREE | Open-source terminal coding | `pip install aider-chat` (works with any AI API) |
| **Cline** | FREE | VS Code extension, open source | VS Code marketplace |

### Rapid Prototyping (Week 3)

| Tool | Free Tier | Best For |
|------|-----------|----------|
| **Bolt.new** | 300K daily tokens, 1M monthly | Full-stack apps in browser |
| **v0 (Vercel)** | Free generations available | React/Next.js components |
| **Lovable** | 5 generations/day | React apps with clean code export |
| **Replit** | 10 free projects | All-in-one: code + deploy |

### Deployment (Week 3+)

| Platform | Free Tier | Limits | Best For |
|----------|-----------|--------|----------|
| **Vercel** | Hobby (free forever) | 100GB bandwidth, 150K function calls/month | Frontend, Next.js, React |
| **Render** | Free tier | Static sites + 1 PostgreSQL DB (1GB) | Full-stack with database |
| **Netlify** | Free tier | 100GB bandwidth, 300 build min/month | Static sites, JAMstack |
| **Railway** | $5 free trial | Then $5/month | Backend APIs, databases |
| **Replit** | Free tier | Limited resources | Quick deploys |

### Databases (Week 9)

| Database | Free Tier | Storage | Best For |
|----------|-----------|---------|----------|
| **Supabase** | Free | 500MB + 1GB file storage | PostgreSQL + auth + realtime |
| **Neon** | Free | 512MB | Serverless PostgreSQL |
| **Firebase** | Spark plan (free) | 1GB Firestore | NoSQL + auth + hosting |
| **SQLite** | FREE (built-in) | Unlimited (local) | Prototypes, small apps |

### Testing & Quality (Free, All Open Source)

| Tool | Language | Purpose |
|------|----------|---------|
| **pytest** | Python | Unit & integration testing |
| **Jest** | JavaScript | Unit & integration testing |
| **Vitest** | JavaScript | Fast unit testing (Vite-based) |
| **Cypress** | JavaScript | End-to-end testing |
| **ESLint** | JavaScript | Code linting |
| **Prettier** | JavaScript | Code formatting |
| **Black** | Python | Code formatting |
| **Bandit** | Python | Security scanning |
| **Semgrep** | Any | OWASP security patterns |

### CI/CD (Free)

| Tool | Free Tier | Best For |
|------|-----------|----------|
| **GitHub Actions** | 2,000 min/month | CI/CD pipelines, automated testing |
| **npm audit** | Built-in | Dependency vulnerability scanning |

### Monitoring (Week 9)

| Tool | Free Tier | Best For |
|------|-----------|----------|
| **Sentry** | Free tier (or free via Student Pack) | Error tracking, crash reporting |
| **UptimeRobot** | 50 monitors free | Uptime monitoring |
| **Better Uptime** | Free tier | Status pages + monitoring |

### Screen Recording (Week 12 — Demo Video)

| Tool | Cost | Platform |
|------|------|----------|
| **OBS Studio** | FREE (open source) | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| **Loom** | Free tier (25 videos/5min each) | Browser, desktop |
| **Built-in OS recorder** | FREE | QuickTime (Mac), Game Bar (Windows) |

---

## Budget Tiers

### Tier 1: $0/month (100% Free)
- **Editor:** VS Code + GitHub Copilot Free
- **AI Assistant:** Gemini CLI (free tier)
- **Prototyping:** Bolt.new free tier
- **Deploy:** Vercel Hobby (free)
- **Database:** Supabase free or SQLite
- **Testing:** Jest/pytest (open source)
- **CI/CD:** GitHub Actions (free)
- **Monitoring:** UptimeRobot free

### Tier 2: $0/month (Student Discounts Applied)
Everything in Tier 1, PLUS:
- **Editor:** Cursor Pro (free 1 year via student discount)
- **AI Assistant:** GitHub Copilot Pro (free via Student Pack)
- **Monitoring:** Sentry (free via Student Pack)
- **Extras:** 1Password, Azure credits, JetBrains IDEs

### Tier 3: ~$20/month (If You Have Budget)
Everything in Tier 2, PLUS:
- **AI Assistant:** Claude Code or Claude Pro subscription
- **Deploy:** Railway Pro ($5/month) for always-on backend
- **Prototyping:** Bolt.new or Lovable paid tier for more generations

---

## Tool Decision Flowchart

```
What's your budget?
│
├── $0/month
│   ├── Want an IDE? → VS Code + Copilot Free
│   ├── Want terminal? → Gemini CLI (free tier)
│   ├── Want to prototype fast? → Bolt.new free tier
│   └── Want to deploy? → Vercel Hobby (free)
│
├── $0/month (with Student Pack)
│   ├── Want best IDE? → Cursor Pro (1 year free)
│   ├── Want best autocomplete? → Copilot Pro (free via Pack)
│   └── Want monitoring? → Sentry (free via Pack)
│
└── $20/month
    ├── Want premium AI? → Claude Pro subscription
    ├── Want always-on backend? → Railway Pro ($5/mo)
    └── Want more prototyping? → Bolt.new paid tier
```

---

## API Keys You'll Need (All Free)

| Service | How to Get API Key | Cost |
|---------|-------------------|------|
| **Google (Gemini)** | [aistudio.google.com](https://aistudio.google.com) | Free |
| **GitHub** | Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens | Free |
| **Vercel** | Account Settings → Tokens | Free |
| **Supabase** | Project Settings → API | Free |

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## Important Notes

1. **Never pay for something with a free tier** until you've outgrown the free tier
2. **Apply for the GitHub Student Pack first** — it unlocks the most value
3. **Gemini CLI is a strong option** for $0 budget — free tier available (verify current limits)
4. **Tools change constantly** — by the time you graduate, half of these will have new pricing. The skills you learn are permanent.
5. **Ask in class** if you're unsure about costs — we'll always find a free path

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*Last Updated: February 2026*
*Prices verified as of course start date. Check individual websites for current pricing.*