Maya Student Discounts – How Much Can You Save With The Student Edition of Maya?

Let’s face it…life as a student is expensive enough, right! You’ve got to pay tuition fees, accommodation, textbooks, and not to mention copious amounts of takeaways, alcohol and nights out

So it’s no wonder that folks who are involved in animation, visual effects or design and are using high-end software packages, want to see if there are any significant savings to be had by obtaining a student discount…

Since many companies have (thankfully!) realised that the students of today are the pioneers and professionals of tomorrow they have begun providing full working versions of their softwares at MASSIVE discounts especially for students.

The Maya Student Edition is no different, so…how much of a discount is Autodesk providing with the Maya Student version?

2 Licensing Options

The size of the Maya student discount depends primarily on which license type you choose, since they are 2:

- a 13 Month license

- a Perpetual license (no expiry date)

The 13 month license costs around $150 and the perpetual license costs around $350 (depending on where you buy it from – the cheapest place I’ve found is here).

Let’s not forget that the Maya Student edition is a fully working version of Maya Unlimited (not the Complete edition), meaning it has all the high-end advanced stuff like dynamics, hair, fur, and matchmove tracking.

Autodesk also bundles the Maya Student version with educational editions of the following:

• 3d Studio Max
• Softimage XSI
• Motionbuilder
• Mudbox
• Sketchbook Pro

…which means you are getting a massive discount.

How Big A Discount Is It?

Well let’s approximate the prices on the commercial versions of all the software, add them all together and see what we get:

• Maya ($4,000)
• 3d Studio Max ($4,000)
• Softimage XSI ($3,800)
• Motionbuilder ($5,000)
• Mudbox ($1,000)
• Sketchbook Pro ($100)

Total = $17,900

(The above prices are guides only…please consult Autodesk Store and Escape Studios store for more accurate info on the commercial licenses)

Now, when you consider that you are getting access to all that software for a maximum of $350…then you can see it’s a pretty big discount.

Obviously, the Maya student edition comes with certain restrictions, which I talk more about here ==> Maya Student Edition Restrictions

If you’re looking to purchase the Maya Academic Version then this site has the best deals I’ve seen so far on the net ==> Maya Student Discount

If you’re considering whether to invest in the Maya Student Edition then you’re no doubt wondering what in the heck is the difference between the Maya student version vs the professional version.

I mean, is the student version a cut down version?

Does it render with a horrible watermark like the old Maya PLE used to?

Is it the Complete version or the Unlimited version with all the bells and whistles?

How Are They Similar?

Well, the Maya Student Version is a fully functional version of Maya Unlimited…meaning that you can do all the funky advanced stuff, like:

Maya Hair,
Maya Fur,
Maya Fluid Effects,
Maya nCloth,
Maya nParticles,
Maya Live

This is really great for student projects as you’re able to properly showcase your talents and get proficient at these modules, which will go a long way in helping you to secure a VFX or animation job after graduation.

There’s also no watermark on the Maya Student Version.

How Are They Different?

The major difference between the Maya Student Version and the Professional Edition is that you obviously are NOT allowed to use the student version to make money or participate in any commercial endevour.

Since the student edition comes at a significant discount (see here), this makes sense.

The licensing is the other big difference…

The Maya Student Version has two licensing options:

- A 13 month option – $150
- A Perpetual option (no expiry) – $350

Where as the Professional Edition just has the one – (around $5,000)

Now, if you can afford the perpetual option it obviously makes financial sense to take that instead of the 13 month one…but I know that some folks only need it for a few months or during their final year at College or University so in those cases the 13 month option can be best.

It all depends on your personal preference.

Obviously, if you decide to buy the Maya Student Version then you’ll need to provide all the necessary documentation and evidence to prove that you are currently a student or academic who is eligible for the Maya Student discount.