How much does it cost to go to university per month?

First, the money coming in

For students from England, the main source of living money is the Maintenance Loan. In 2026/27 the maximum is £10,830 a year if you live away from home outside London, £14,135 in London, and £9,118 if you live with your parents. How much you get depends on household income, and the minimum away from home outside London is £5,048. Our guide to how much maintenance loan you'll get has the full breakdown.

Here's the important bit for monthly budgeting. That money arrives in three instalments a year, one each term, but your rent and food arrive every single month. So the honest monthly figure is the year's loan divided by 12:

• £10,830 a year is about £903 a month.
• £5,048 a year is about £421 a month.

Divide by 12 even if your rent contract is shorter, because summer still needs feeding.

The money going out: the big three

Rent is almost always the biggest cost, and it varies hugely by city, by halls versus private, and by whether bills are included. Check your university's accommodation pages for real prices. Also check how many weeks the contract runs: halls are often around 40 to 51 weeks, private houses usually 12 months.

Food is the one you control most. Batch cooking, own-brand swaps and yellow stickers make a big difference. The everyday spending library is full of tricks that don't involve living on toast.

Travel depends on whether you walk, bus or train home. A 16 to 25 Railcard costs £35 a year and takes a third off most rail fares, so it often pays for itself in one trip home.

The sneaky extras

These are the costs that turn a good budget into a bad week:

• TV Licence: £180 a year if you watch live TV or BBC iPlayer. Our lesson TV Licence: do you need one? explains when.
• Energy: if bills aren't included, you'll be splitting them. Ofgem's typical household figure from October 2026 is £1,723 a year, but your house could use more or less.
• Prescriptions: £9.90 an item in England, free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Course costs: books, printing, kit, field trips.
• Subscriptions: music, streaming, the gym you went to twice. Audit them termly.
• Nights out and birthdays: budget for them, because pretending you won't go is not a plan.

A budget you can copy

Here's a worked example for one made-up student, living away from home outside London on the maximum loan. These are example numbers, not averages. Swap in your own.

• Rent: £150 a week for 42 weeks is £6,300 a year, about £525 a month
• Food: £45 a week, about £195 a month
• Phone: £15 a month
• Travel: £30 a month plus the Railcard, about £33
• Course costs: £15 a month
• Social and fun: £60 a month
• TV Licence: about £15 a month

That comes to about £858 a month, against loan income of about £903. In this example the student is about £-45 a month short before any part-time work, bursary or family help. That gap is normal, and it's exactly why GOV.UK says students are expected to make up the difference between the loan and their living costs. Knowing it in September beats discovering it in November.

Our 50/30/20 lesson shows a simple way to split what you have, and Small leaks sink ships helps you find where the money quietly escapes.

Ways to close the gap

• Bursaries and hardship funds from your university. Many students never ask.
• Part-time work. If you work, our guide to tax on a part-time job shows what you'll actually take home.
• Student discounts on travel, food and software. See Student discounts and deal sites.
• Spreading payments. In Scotland you can choose to get your SAAS money over 12 months. Elsewhere, move a chunk of each instalment into a separate pot the day it lands.

Get help early

If the numbers don't add up, talk to your university's student money adviser before things get tight. It's free, confidential and they've seen it all. For free, impartial help outside uni, try MoneyHelper or Citizens Advice.

Ready to test your budget under pressure? The budgeting library has Survive Term One, a game where the loan lands and the chaos begins.