I'm looking for some statistics around student-to-professional conversion. ie, when a student buys your product (presumably with an EDU price/discount), how likely are they to buy it as a professional? What are the various factors that influence this? And are there some of those factors that we can manipulate in order to increase the conversion?

Student to professional conversion is a powerful long-term growth lever. Most reports show that when students build habits with a product early, especially with an EDU discount the likelihood of them becoming paid professional users later increases significantly. Factors like ease of use, ongoing value, strong onboarding, and a clear path from ‘student needs’ to ‘professional workflows’ all play a huge role. The exciting part is that many of these can be influenced: better training, community support, and seamless upgrade experiences can dramatically boost conversion over time.

Usually, about 20–40% of students stick with a product and continue using it as professionals. It really depends on how useful they found it during their student days, how relevant it is for their career, and whether the brand stays in touch after they graduate.

If you want to increase that number, the best approach is to start building the relationship early. Show them the value beyond just student life, offer smooth transition plans (like a post-grad discount or free trial), and keep the conversation going with helpful, well-timed emails.

In the end, it’s all about making the shift from student to professional feel easy — and making sure your brand is right there with them.