Well, sure, that's a cynical but also accurate description of the difference. The other, on a plaintiff level, is that they might be happy to turn a blind eye to student activity in the interests of 'helping' society in that way – whereas a for-profit company can and should be paying for anything they're directly profiting from.
Obviously, under law, a student should also have to pay. I'm merely saying that an IP owner might choose to let it slide. So, y'know, that's a difference too. If a more idealistic one. :)
Must admit I'm perfectly happy with the free tier of feedly.