Plymouth is a city in Devon, South West England and is one of the cheapest cities in the UK to live as a student. Not including rental costs, it’s around 26% cheaper than London. You’ll find plenty of affordable cafes, restaurants and pubs in which to meet friends and have fun. You’ll also be able to enjoy student nights with cheap drinks to help you keep your going out and entertainment costs down. Keep reading to find out more about the cost of living in Plymouth for a student.
Students in Plymouth are subject to the same fees and funding that are applicable in most other student towns and cities. Most university courses cost up to £9,250 per year (this will be rising to £9,535 from the 2025/26 academic year) to study and you’ll also have various other living expenses that we’ll cover in this article.
To help pay these costs you can apply for two loans through Student Finance – a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan. Your tuition fee loan will go towards covering your tuition fees (and for most UK students it’ll pay your entire tuition fee), while the maintenance loan is worth up to around £10,000 per year and is to help with living costs (this will be rising to up to £10,544 from the 2025/26 academic year).
Repayment for both of these loans only starts when you’ve graduated and are earning over a certain threshold. For new students this amount is £25,000, although plans differ depending on when you take out the loan.
Depending on your personal circumstances, you may also be able to apply for extra funding from your uni in the form of scholarships and bursaries. For example, the University of Plymouth offers Sanctuary Scholarships of £1,000 per year to students living in the UK who may have difficulty accessing home fees due to their immigration status. You’ll also find subject-specific scholarships, such as the Tamar Engineering Project scholarship which is for engineering students who achieved especially good grades at A-level (or equivalent qualification) and is worth £3,000 per year.
Student accommodation in Plymouth is affordable and comparatively cheaper than in many other university towns and cities. The University of Plymouth has a large variety of uni-managed halls of residence on offer, starting from £128.50 per week for a single bed and shared bathroom. The price increases across different options up to an en-suite, double bedroom for £207 per week.
You can also choose to live in private rented accommodation in Plymouth. A one-bedroom flat in the city centre costs an average of £1,000 a month, or you might go for a more budget-friendly option of renting a room in a shared house for around £560 a month. In these instances, you may need to pay rent for a full 52-week year, whereas uni halls often only charge rent for the academic year, around 44 weeks.
If you live in privately rented accommodation you’ll probably need to pay utility bills, such as water, gas, electricity and internet, on top of your rent payments. On average, basic utilities cost around £75 a month in Plymouth. If you live in a shared house, your utility expenses will be less as you can split these bills with other people, and you might only be paying around £50 a month. If you live in halls, your utility payments will probably be covered in your rental fees.
Plymouth has a wide range of supermarkets to shop at. To keep costs down, seek out budget-friendly options such as Lidl or Aldi, or check out weekly farmers markets to find some bargains on fruit and veg.
On average, you’ll find the following rough prices for these common goods in Plymouth:
Milk (1L): £1.07
Bread loaf: £1.11
Rice (1kg): £1.94
Eggs (12): £4.29
Cheese (1kg): £7.62
Chicken fillets (1kg): £7.50
Apples (1kg): £2.16
Potatoes (1kg): £0.97
Plymouth is cheaper than a lot of UK towns and cities to go out. A pint of beer costs on average £4.75. Higher-end bars and clubs will be more expensive but student nights are common in Plymouth and offer cheap bar and club entry and discounted drinks.
For a meal in an inexpensive restaurant, you’ll pay on average £15 per person and a three-course meal for two people in a mid-range restaurant will cost around £60.
As Plymouth is in the south of England, trains to and from the city to other major places can be expensive, but by getting a 16-25 Railcard for £30, you’ll save 1/3 off rail fares. Train fares to London start at £31 each way, but you can get to closer cities, like Exeter and Southampton, for much less. To get the cheapest fares, you should book as early as possible and buy advanced single tickets where you can.
The city has good transport links with regular train and bus services, and as a student you can access 15% discounts off bus tickets through the Plymouth Bus website.
As a student in Plymouth you’ll have other expenses. Depending on your course, you might need to set some money aside for materials and books, although you can save money here by sourcing free PDF versions of texts online. You’ll also likely need to pay for laundry services which could be around £25 per month, as well as toiletries and sanitary items at around £10-£15 per month.
We’d recommend a budget of around £900 as a university student in Plymouth, not including course fees. This figure will vary depending on your individual lifestyle, so make sure you take into account any extra hobbies or travel you plan to do during your degree.