Autodesk software for educational institutions

Educators, lab administrators and IT administrators of qualified educational institutions may receive free access to Autodesk software titles for installation in classrooms or labs. Most Autodesk products are available with educational access, including web services like Fusion 360. See the Education Community site (US Site).

All Autodesk software and services are available in English. Certain titles may also be available in additional languages. For more information about specific titles, see the Autodesk product page. Access to products includes the current version plus up to three prior versions (where available).

For assistance with your education account, see Autodesk Education Support (US Site).

Note: Free Autodesk software and/or cloud-based services are subject to acceptance of and compliance with the terms and conditions of the terms of use and/or other terms (US Site) that accompany such software or cloud-based services. Software and cloud-based services subject to an Educational licence or subscription may be used by eligible users solely for Educational Purposes (US Site) and shall not be used for commercial, professional or any other for-profit purposes.

Qualified educational institutions are eligible for Autodesk education software and services. A qualified educational institution is one that has been accredited by an authorised governmental agency for the primary purpose of teaching enrolled students. This includes all accredited public and private schools, including:

• Middle schools and high schools
• Junior colleges
• Colleges, universities and technical schools
• Homeschool programmes that belong to a nationally recognised homeschooling body (or one that’s expressly recognised by a local school governing body as an acceptable alternative to an accredited educational institution)

The following types of organisations are not qualified educational institutions:

• Non-accredited educational institutions
• Training centres
• Churches, hospitals, health care systems and public libraries
• Research laboratories
• Retraining programmes

If your organisation doesn’t qualify, see Options for organisations that don’t qualify.

Note: Most educational institutions worldwide qualify for educational access. Exceptions are institutions in countries subject to the United States trade embargo. For more information, see Export Compliance (US Site).

Educational access to software and services may be used only for purposes directly related to learning, teaching, training, research and development. They may not be used for commercial, professional or any other for-profit purposes. However, access to software and services may be used to design, create and mentor entries in Autodesk-sponsored design competitions.

For more information about eligibility, see Understand eligibility for admins and institutional educators.

Uses not permitted for educational access include:

• Facilities use: Designing, constructing and maintaining an educational institution’s campus physical structures and infrastructure is not permitted.
  Exception: An educational institution may continue to use those specific versions of the software for facilities use if such use was previously granted in a licence agreement or a separate agreement.
• Research: Research conducted by any commercial programmes or entities operated by or affiliated with the educational institution for a commercial purpose is not permitted.
  Exception: Academic research conducted and published by students or faculty as part of the educational institution’s accredited educational programmes is permitted.

For more information, see Options for organisations that don’t qualify.

The following cloud services are available through the Education maintenance plan:

• Rendering – Create more photorealistic images and panoramas of your designs in less time.
• Energy Analysis for Revit – Compare the energy and lifecycle costs of design alternatives and make informed decisions that help you create more sustainable designs.
• Autodesk Green Building Studio – Optimise energy efficiency and work toward carbon neutrality with multiple design iterations.
• Optimisation for Autodesk Inventor – Test the performance of multiple designs through cloud-based design simulation for Autodesk Inventor software.
• Structural Analysis for Revit – Extend design models from Autodesk Revit software to the cloud and analyse them as part of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process.
• Autodesk MockUp 360 – Work with suppliers and customers in a simple, cloud-based environment using this real-time collaboration and digital design mockup tool.
• Autodesk Process Analysis 360 – Model, study and optimise your manufacturing processes. Identify bottlenecks from planning through layout and increase your efficiency.
• Autodesk Remote software service – Drive the Autodesk software installed on your primary computer from a remote PC or iPad to access native design data. The iPad app, compatible only with Autodesk Inventor software, enables you to work anywhere you can access the Internet.

To learn more about Autodesk cloud services, see Cloud Services.

Education maintenance plan customers receive 25 GB of Autodesk cloud storage space per named user on the plan. Contract administrators can designate one named user per seat on an active plan.

For example, if you sign up for 1,250 users, your educational institution will receive 31,250 GB (1,250 x 25 GB) of Autodesk cloud storage.

Currently, you cannot combine storage between named user accounts and the storage is not aggregative: a named user account can have a maximum storage amount of 25 GB.

In March 2020, Autodesk changed educational access from a three-year term to a one-year term. If you currently hold a one- or three-year single-user standalone (individual) educational licence for Autodesk software that was issued prior to August 2020, the licence will continue to run for its full term. When it expires, you will need to confirm your eligibility for the Education plan, then download the product to activate your licence. There is no need to reinstall.

In March 2023, Autodesk changed educational institutions access with educational licences from a one-year term to a three-year term. We have automatically extended Educational institutions with multi-seat/network licence access to 3 years from the date of acquisition for Autodesk software. If institutions have had the licence for 1 year, they’ll get 2 more years of access and if they have had the licence for 2 years, they’ll get 1 more year of access. Institution IT administrators or educators just need to reactivate their licence using their original serial number to continue using the software. In case of downloading multi-seat/network licence after March 28, 2023, it is valid for a three-year period and no further action required. After the three-year period, we recommend upgrading licence(s) through the Education Community (US Site) to ensure uninterrupted access in their lab or classroom environment.

In June 2024, Autodesk changed educational access to multi seat/network licences from a three-year term to a one-year term. If you currently hold a one- or three-year multi seat/network licence for Autodesk software that was issued prior to June 2024, the licence will continue to run for its full term. When it expires, we recommend upgrading licence(s) through the Education Community. Maintain your eligibility for the education plan to ensure uninterrupted access.

Educational institution licences automatically allow the following number of users and devices:

• Network licences - 3,000 concurrent users
• Multi-seat, standalone licences - 1,250 devices

To add more than 3,000 users or 1,250 devices, contact Autodesk Support.

Note: Make sure you register the initial licence at registeronce.

The Terms of Use provides the terms and conditions for use of software through the Education plan. For additional information about terms that supplement the Terms of Use, see Educational Users - additional terms.

In addition to the website Terms of Use that apply to all customers who use the Autodesk website, your access to the Education Community (US Site) is also subject to the Education Special Terms (US Site).

Autodesk Drive and other web services are offered under the terms of service. The conditions that apply to a particular service may vary, so be sure to review the terms that accompany each service. These terms are in addition to any terms applicable to your use of any Autodesk software associated with a service and the website terms of use for autodesk.com and other Autodesk websites.

To maintain our commitment to providing free professional software for use in education, Autodesk has engaged SheerID, a third-party verification services provider, to verify eligibility for educational access. To confirm eligibility, users must provide proof of enrolment, employment or contractor status at a qualified educational institution. See Confirm eligibility for admins and institutional educators.

Protecting the privacy of our customers is important to Autodesk. For more information on how your personal data is collected, used, and disclosed, see the Autodesk Privacy Statement (US Site).