Guildford is a top student town which offers a fantastic balance of advantages. It has a population of 140,000, making it a compact place to live, with a lively social scene. It has plenty of entertainment and culture within the town centre and is within very easy reach of London, while being surrounded by the marvellous scenic countryside of Surrey. Students love it here, and for good reason. Our guide takes a look at the cost of living in Guildford and helps you to plan your time here while sticking to a modest student budget.
The annual tuition fee cost of studying an undergraduate degree in Guildford is set at £9,250 (this will be rising to £9,535 from the 2025/26 academic year), and while this may sound like a lot to organise at the start of each year, there’s a quick and convenient solution. Most students choose to take out a tuition fee loan to cover this cost, and if you’re a UK student, your nation’s student finance company offer a service which pays your tuition fees directly to your uni at the start of each year, meaning that you don’t even need to handle the transfer.
Even better, they offer a maintenance loan to help out with your university expenses such as accommodation, transport, groceries, and course materials. This loan is worth up to around £10,000 per year, paid into your account in three instalments. The amount you receive will depend on your household income.
The best part is that these loans only require repayment once you’re graduated, securely employed, and earning over the repayment threshold for your loan plan per year. Payments are calibrated based on your salary too, which gives you a lot of financial freedom upon leaving university and doesn’t hamper you with unfeasibly large bills.
Scholarships and bursaries are another great way to cut your uni costs and eventual loan payments. The University of Surrey, which is based in Guildford has a programme of financial award schemes, granted for both merit and need-based criteria. These are awarded as discounted tuition fee rates, cash stipends and access to equipment and resources, and we suggest you check them to see if you’re eligible for anything. Additionally, the uni’s financial services team can help you to track down and apply for external funding opportunities from national funds or professional sponsors.
Student accommodation at the University of Surrey gives you a lot of options for getting started, with many different types of advantage. Their halls of residences are fun, social, cost-effective, and super convenient being located within walking distance of campus and having all your bills, internet, and insurance costs included within the rent price.
Typically, rooms are self-catered and arranged in apartments of three to eight students with communal kitchen and living spaces. There are options for room size, and bathroom facilities, and the university has a variety of different price points ranging between £79 per week for the most budget-friendly room up to £215 per week for the most luxurious. There are also studio apartments available, priced at £266 per week for those who want a bit more independence.
After leaving halls, you’ll be looking at renting locally. If you’d like your own place, then you can expect to pay around £1,300 per month for a one-bedroom flat in the town-centre. While this is quite expensive compared to the rest of the UK, it’s still a lot less than living in London and you’ll have superb access to the capital by rail. You can bring this price down by about 25% by living outside the town-centre, or by sharing the flat with friends. A three-bedroom house will cost about £2,000 per month, which works out at about £650 per person, just a little over half the price of getting your own place.
Guildford has loads of options for groceries with a combination of large supermarkets, independent stores, and weekly markets where you can find fresh produce at competitive prices.
Average spending for common items in Guildford include:
Milk (1L): £1.19
Bread Loaf: £0.93
Rice (1kg): £1.56
Eggs (12): £3.18
Cheese (1kg): £11.00
Chicken fillets (1kg): £7.80
Apples (1kg): £2.66
Potatoes (1kg): £1.27
The cost of groceries in Guildford is generally more expensive than elsewhere in the UK, however by shopping at low-cost outlets like Lidl, Aldi, and Costcutter, you can keep food expenses within your student budget. Our top tip is to get a membership card to your favourite store and rack up those loyalty points.
You might think that everyone in Guildford just goes to London for a night out, but this is absolutely not the case. The town is a buzz of activity at the weekends, and has regular student nights scattered throughout the week, so you’ll never be short of a party. Guildford has a vibrant nightlife scene and, even better, is considered to be one of the safest and most respectable places to party, having been has been awarded the Purple Flag for three years running.
If you’d like to eat out then there’s plenty of restaurants to choose from too, with prices generally about 20% lower than in London. A pint of beer averages about £4.25, considerably cheaper than both London and nearby Reading, which is all the more reason to head back to the bar! We recommend checking out your uni’s students’ union bar for the very best drinks deals, and starting your night here save a few extra pennies.
Guildford is one of the best-connected towns in the country and has a superb network of buses and trains for getting around. A single journey ticket costs £2, and a monthly pass costs only £69. That’s a pretty good deal! You can pick up a 16-25 railcard for £30 per year which gives you a whopping 1/3 of all domestic rail tickets too. This pays for itself very quickly if you visit nearby London, since you can use the discount on the London Underground and other train lines.
The cheapest way to get around is, of course, on foot or by bike. Guildford is well set up for cycling, with many cycle paths throughout town making it safe and fast to get where you need to go. The University of Surrey has ample bike locking facilities too, so you can easily commute to uni while getting free exercise and having a better environmental impact.
Depending on which course you choose to study, you’ll probably benefit from allocating a small monthly budget towards extra-curricular materials such as extra books, stationary supplies, printer credits or new softwares. You may also want to join a gym or a local sports team, and there may be membership fees involved so be sure to factor this in to your budgeting.
As ever, keep an eye out for student discounts to save money. They’re everywhere to be found, and with a little bit of searching you can usually pay lower prices for commonly bought supplies. Your students’ union is a great place to source student-friendly deals, so check out their website and see what’s around.
Living in Guildford, we'd recommend a student budget of around £1,200 per month. This is a rough guide only, and will vary depending on your accommodation costs and lifestyle, so we do advise that you put together a personalised budget.