Back to School sales may typically revolve around stationery or school uniforms, but in a post-pandemic world, the need for remote learning tools is becoming all the more apparent.
Back to school sales provide the perfect opportunity to find discounts on laptops, PCs, and accessories like webcams, keyboards, monitors, cases, bags and more. In some cases, student discounts also extend to parents and staff.
With September around the corner, sales and student discounts are picking up. We’re seeing new Back to School promotions launch every day – including brands such as Adobe, Xiaomi, OnePlus and Microsoft.
Amazon’s End of Summer sale is also poised to launch on 26 August and run until 3 September promising even more savings!
We’re looking at all Back to School sales on right now, along with any all-year student discounts. If you’re in the US, see the best offers across American retailers.
When do Back to School 2021 dates – when do sales start?
While there’s no official start date to back-to-school sales, sales can start as early as July through to August, and until the new school year begins. In the US, Back to School Sales can start Auguest-end to early September.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our round-up of the best student deals of the month and our dedicated Back to School hub.
Best Back to School 2021 sales & deals right now
- Acer – 15% off Notebooks, Desktop PCs, Tablets, Monitors, Projectors and Accessories for students or 16-26 year olds, extra 10% off + free shipping in US
- Adobe – 65% off Creative Cloud All Apps + 1 month for free in the UK; Get 70% off in US – See full guide to Adobe CC student discount – Best Adobe deals: £236 off All Apps from Very!
- Amazon Prime Student – Get a 6-month trial instead of a 30-day trial, along with 50% off the standard rate. See our full guide to Amazon Prime Student.
- Audible – Get 3 months for 99p – see our full coverage
- AmazonBasics Back to School – Amazon’s section on school supplies and backpacks, along with electronics.
- Apple Back to School Sale – Free AirPods with purchase of M1 Mac, MacBooks, iPad Pro or iPad Air 2020 from the Education Store. You also get 20% off AppleCare+. Ends 11 October, 2021.
- Best laptops for students
- Best Fitbit deals
- Dell – Up to 20% off + free delivery across XPS 13, Alienware m17 R3, monitors and accessories. See Dell Outlet Back to School Offers for recommended devices. Dell US Back to School Sale here.
- HP Store – HP’s dedicated Student Store gives students up to 40% off. Here’s our full guide to HP student discounts. Check out HP US’s back to school sale here
- Laptops Direct – 25% off laptops, 30% off monitors, 25% off tablets, plus deals on TVs, smart home, and more
- Microsoft Student discount – Students save 10%, get £290 off Surface Pro 7 Essentials Bundle, £175 off Surface Go 2 Essentials Bundle and more. See our full guide on how to get the Microsoft Student Discount.
- OnePlus – Get £50 off OnePlus 9 along with up to 50% off on OnePlus Buds Z
- Free Office 365 for students – Students and teachers in the UK and US can get Office 365 completely free (it’s not a trial version!)
- Where to buy PS5 in the UK
- Where to buy Xbox Series X/S
- Xiaomi Back to School Sale – £150 off Xiaomi Mi 11 with free Mi Watch Lite, Redmi Note 9T bundle with Scale 2, Hair Dryer, Earphones, Band 5 & more ( see our full coverage) – ends 5 September
- Best SIM deals for students in the UK
- Best SIM deals and plans for kids
See our dedicated article on the best student deals of the month.
How to get a student discount?
Most retailers and companies with a student discount program require you to provide your university or school email address to qualify for the discount. Many rely on UniDays or Student Beans to verify your student status, which also require your uni email address for verification.
Both UniDays and Student Beans help students find discounts across tech, fashion, food and more all in one place. See our full guide to UniDays.
Below are some of the best deals on the web right now, which you can access with or without a student email.
Best laptops deals right now
Below are a few highlights of the best laptop deals on the market this month. You can see the full list and our expert advice on how to choose a laptop in this article.
Best tablet deals
Check out the best tablet deals below and how to spot one here.
Top 10 Tablet Deals
Apple iPad mini (2021)
Currys has 23% off the RRP of the latest iPad mini with 256GB of storage. That cheapest price only applies to the Silver Grey model, but Grey only costs £4 more.
Best Microsoft Surface deals
Microsoft’s incredible Surface range is an easy choice for students. Save on a Surface device below and see our full guide to buying one here.
Top 10 Surface Deals
Microsoft Surface Duo 2
This is the only main retailer with the Surface Duo 2 in stock right now, with either £500 off this 256GB model or a £489 saving on the 128GB version.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (13.5in)
The Surface Laptop 5 is here, but that doesn’t mean you should disregard this older model. At just £949, it’s great value for money.
If you don’t mind a smaller storage configuration of 256GB, Very also has £200 off the model with the Ryzen 5 processor – now £799.
Best VPN deals for streaming
A VPN is an essential not only for security but for all your international streaming needs. These are the best deals around, but you can see more here.
Top 10 VPN Deals
Private Internet Access two-year subscription
Private Internet Access is offering two free months on top of its two-year subscription. The monthly price shown on PIA’s site counts those extra ‘free’ months not as free but as paid, though your subscription will last for 26 months instead of 24. It’s just a cheeky way of making the monthly price look cheaper than it really is. But it’s a good deal overall for this trusted service: it’s one of few VPN services that have made the source code for its apps public so it can be scrutinised. Read our full PIA review for more details.
CyberGhost two-year subscription
CyberGhost is currently offering a two-year subscription with two extra months free at the end.
At this price, it’s a good deal for a VPN service that can unblock a lot of popular streaming services.CyberGhost has apps for Fire TV and Android TV, too, and lets you connect up to seven devices at the same time. It also has thousands of servers around the world.
You’ll find CyberGhost in our roundup of the best VPN services.
Surfshark two-year subscription
Surfshark is offering 82% off its usual monthly price if you opt for its two-year ‘Starter’ subscription.
It’s a good deal overall, even if the two ‘free’ months aren’t actually free at all if you go by Surfshark’s monthly price claims. The UK price above includes VAT, which is the other reason why it’s higher than the price you’ll initially see on Surfshark’s website.Buyers in the US will also have to pay local taxes on top of the price shown above.
However, Surfshark is a top VPN service, which doesn’t put a limit on the number of devices you can connect to the service at the same time, and has now had an audit of its no-logs policy, so it’s a better choice than ever before.
FastestVPN Lifetime plan
Unlike most VPN deals which are subscriptions for a set number of years, FastestVPN’s is for a lifetime subscription. We asked the company exactly what that meant and were told “we will never terminate their accounts”. And for just $40 – around £30 – that’s unbeatable. FastestVPN has fewer locations and servers than the biggest services, but now has a no-logs audit and unblocks Netflix, Disney+ and BBC iPlayer.
Ivacy five-year VPN subscription
Ivacy’s deal is one of the best around, knocking a whopping 90% off the usual monthly price. It’s a five-year subscription that works out at $1 per month, or 80p if you’re in the UK. The up-front payment of $60 / £50 is a real bargain, as that’s what most VPN services charge for two years, or even one year.Ivacy offers a great service which supports P2P downloads, unblocks streaming services (including Netflix and Disney+) and, like any VPN service, gives you security when using public Wi-Fi and privacy when browsing the web. You can use it on up to 10 devices at the same time, but even if you use it only on one or two, it’s still one the cheapest VPN services around.
Atlas VPN Premium two-year subscription
Atlas VPN is owned by Nord Security and is effectively the company’s low-cost alternative to NordVPN.
Its current offer gives you an extra three months on top of a two-year subscription, but they’re not really free if you go by the monthly cost that AtlasVPN advertises.Nevertheless, this is a decent overall price for a 27-month VPN subscription.
Atlas VPN doesn’t tick as many boxes as NordVPN or Surfshark, but if you’re just looking for the low monthly price, then this deal should be tempting, especially as Atlas VPN doesn’t put any restrictions on the number of devices you can use with the service at the same time.
PureVPN five-year subscription
PureVPN’s five-year deal costs just $79.95 (around £63).
That’s $1.25 per month (£1), and you can use the subscription on 10 devices at the same time.
As with all the deals here (and with all VPN subscriptions longer than a month), you pay for the full subscription up front – not per month.
NordVPN two-year subscription
NordVPN is by no means the cheapest VPN service (it’s still cheaper than ExpressVPN though!) but because it is one of the best out there, it’s arguably worth paying more for.
It offers amazing speeds, loads of servers, unblocks streaming services, and has just done a third audit of its no-logs policy.If you’re happy to compromise on features and speeds, you can get a similar length subscription from several other VPN services here for around half the price NordVPN charges. That’s why NordVPN’s deal features down here in our list..
Hidden24 two-year subscription
Hidden24 is a VPN service with a difference: it doesn’t require an app. It will suit anyone wanting a VPN for absolute privacy as it logs precisely nothing.Your device will need to support a VPN connection natively, but Windows, Android, iOS and macOS all do. Hidden24 is also a great option if don’t want to sign up for a year or two. It’s around half the cost of its rivals if you just want a VPN for a month.
Best printer deals
If you’re writing papers, you’re gonna need to print them. Save on a printer below, plus here’s how to choose a printer.
Top 10 Printer Deals
Canon Pimxa MegaTank G5050
As the name suggests, this MegaTank model from Canon is designed for those who need to do lots of printing. It can yield up to 18,000 pages from 3 black ink bottles or 7,700 pages from a colour set.
– Inkjet– Wi-Fi
– Includes full set of ink
See our dedicated Back to School hub for even more deals and buying advice.
Author: Somrata Sarkar, Senior Staff Writer
Somrata researches and writes about the best tech deals to help readers make smart, informed buying decisions. She's an expert on accessories and also reviews laptops, phones, audio and other devices.