Google Chrome Education Upgrade

The Google Chrome Education Upgrade — formerly sold as the Google Chrome Management Console, Education Perpetual license, and officially called the ChromeOS Education Upgrade by Google — is a one-time, per-device license that unlocks full management of your school’s Chromebooks in the Google Admin console. One license manages one Chromebook for the life of the device. No renewals, no annual fees, ever.

What Is the Chrome Education Upgrade?

Out of the box, a Chromebook is a consumer device. The Chrome Education Upgrade is what turns it into a school-managed device: once a license is assigned and the Chromebook is enrolled in your domain, your IT team controls it from the cloud-based Google Admin console — policies, apps, updates, security, and testing configurations across the entire fleet. You’ll sometimes hear it called a Chromebook management license, a Chrome device management license, or by its legacy name, the Chrome Management Console license. They all refer to the same Google product.

Every Chromebook your school wants to manage needs its own upgrade — one license per device, consumed when it’s assigned. Chromebooks are the #1 selling device in U.S. K–12 schools, and more than 40 million students and educators worldwide use them — in nearly every case managed through this upgrade.

“I would say that we are saving more than 70% of our time on managing the devices. If we were going to do this with another device, we’d have to almost double our staff.” — IDC White Paper, The Economic Value of Chromebooks for Educational Institutions

Key Features

• Simplified Deployment: Deploy hundreds or thousands of Chromebooks without touching a single one. Devices can enroll automatically into your domain (including zero-touch enrollment), with fleet-wide oversight of both school-issued and student-owned devices from one Admin console.
• 500+ Device & User Policies: Configure everything from Wi-Fi networks and pre-installed apps to blocked sites and sign-in restrictions, applied instantly across the fleet.
• Managed Access: Restrict sign-ins to your domain, lock devices into kiosk mode for standardized testing, and enable identity-free sessions for shared carts.
• Advanced Security: Remotely disable a lost or stolen Chromebook so it’s useless to anyone else. Ephemeral mode wipes user data at logout on shared devices, and forced re-enrollment guarantees a wiped device comes right back into your domain.
• 24/7 Admin Support from Google: Licensed fleets include around-the-clock ChromeOS troubleshooting support for your IT admins directly from Google, at no additional cost.

Perpetual vs. Annual Licenses

Google offers the Education Upgrade in two forms. Tech to School sells the perpetual license — the standard choice for school-owned fleets:

Education Upgrade vs. Chrome Enterprise Upgrade

The Education Upgrade and the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade unlock the same core management capabilities. The difference is eligibility and pricing: the Education Upgrade is deeply discounted and reserved for qualifying educational institutions, while Chrome Enterprise Upgrade pricing is subscription-based and aimed at businesses. If you’re a K–12 school, district, or other qualifying institution, the Education Upgrade is the one you want — and if your organization doesn’t qualify, we can quote Chrome Enterprise Upgrade licensing instead.

Eligibility & Requirements

To purchase and use Chrome Education Upgrade licenses, your school needs a Google Workspace for Education account (any edition, including the free Fundamentals tier). Licenses are provisioned directly to your Workspace domain, so there’s a small amount of information we’ll collect at order time — your Google Workspace domain and an admin contact — and Google handles the rest.

How Ordering Works for Schools & Districts

• Buy online or request a quote: Add licenses to your cart for card checkout, or use the quote button for a formal district quote.
• Purchase orders welcome: We work with K–12 purchasing departments every day — POs, W-9s, and net terms for qualified institutions.
• Nothing ships: Licenses are delivered electronically. They appear in your Google Admin console, typically within 1–2 business days of order confirmation.
• White-glove enrollment: Buying Chromebooks too? Bundle licenses with new and certified refurbished Chromebooks and our team can provision the licenses and enroll every device into your Google Admin console before it ships — including zero-touch enrollment and asset tagging. Your Chromebooks arrive classroom-ready.

Specifications (GOOGLE CHROME OS)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the same thing as the ChromeOS Education Upgrade?
Yes. Google has used several names over the years — Chrome Education Upgrade, ChromeOS Education Upgrade, and originally the Google Chrome Management Console license. This is the current education license for managing ChromeOS devices.

How much does the Chrome Education Upgrade cost?
$37.99 per device from Tech to School — a one-time perpetual license with no renewal fees. Request a quote for district-scale orders.

Do I need a license for every Chromebook?
Yes. Each Chromebook you want to manage in the Admin console needs its own upgrade. The license is consumed when it’s assigned to a device.

Who can purchase Education Upgrade licenses?
Qualifying educational institutions with a Google Workspace for Education account. See our requirements guide if you’re not sure whether your school qualifies.

Are the licenses transferable to another device?
No. A perpetual license is consumed when assigned and stays with that device for its lifetime.

Do the licenses expire or need to be renewed?
No. Perpetual licenses are valid for the lifetime of the device — there is nothing to renew and no annual fee.

How are the licenses delivered?
Electronically. After your order is confirmed, Google provisions the licenses to your Workspace for Education domain — typically within 1–2 business days. Nothing physical ships.

Do you accept school purchase orders?
Yes — purchase orders from schools and districts are our specialty. Use the quote button on this page or email your PO and we’ll take it from there.

Can you enroll our Chromebooks for us?
Yes. Ask about white-glove enrollment when you order devices and licenses together — we’ll enroll everything into your domain before it ships.

We’re not a school — can we still manage Chromebooks?
Businesses and other non-qualifying organizations use the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade instead. Contact us for Chrome Enterprise Upgrade pricing.

Questions about licensing your fleet? Call us at 877-255-8450 or request a quote — Tech to School licenses and enrolls Chromebook fleets for schools nationwide.