Beyond Tuition: How Everyday Student Essentials Have Shifted in Price Since 2015

Student living costs have surged by 36.3% since the UK’s cost-of-living challenges were declared in 2021, and they’re expected to rise another 4.17% in 2025.

It’s no secret that being a student has become more expensive in recent years, but the scale of the increase is staggering. A new study by Now Student Living has revealed just how much your everyday expenses as a student have climbed, reaching record-breaking levels across food, transport, tech, and more. 

To bring it all into focus, we’ve crunched the numbers to create the Student Price Index: a detailed breakdown of what students should be paying attention to, and why.

The data paints a stark picture of how economic instability is hitting students particularly hard. With inflation and the cost of living in the UK impacting everything from social escapes to hearty meals, today’s students are juggling academic demands alongside rising bills and shrinking budgets. By shining a light on the true cost of being a student, the Student Price Index helps us understand the financial hurdles young people are facing and why more support is needed now than ever.

What is the Student Price Index?

Inspired by the Consumer Price Index, our Student Price Index tracks the rising costs of student living over the past decade, focusing on essential spending categories, broken down into the following categories:

• Food & Groceries
• Health & Wellbeing
• Clothing & Personal Care
• Transport
• Technology & Connectivity
• Social & Lifestyle
• Academic Expenses
• Accommodation & Utilities

Using a mix of ONS data, price archives, and real-life experiences from students, we’ve built a real-world look at how inflation and lifestyle trends have reshaped student budgets.

Academic Expenses

While tuition fees often grab the headlines, they’re far from the only academic cost students face. Hidden behind every lecture and seminar are mounting expenses for materials that, over time, chip away at student budgets.

Although the cost of textbooks has seen a slight dip over the past decade (dropping from £120 in 2015 to around £85 in 2025 due to the rise of digital formats and second-hand markets), that saving has been offset by increases in other academic essentials. The price of stationery has crept up by 40%, rising from £25 in 2015 to £35 in 2025, so even the most basic of study kits contributes to the mounting costs.

For many students, especially those on practical or creative courses, course-specific materials have seen the steepest climb. These materials, be it lab coats or art supplies, now average £75 per student, up 50% since 2015. With more hands-on degrees growing in popularity, these costs are harder to avoid.

Beyond Tuition

Aside from the costs of your education, there are additional costs associated with studying, especially if you’re moving to a new city or a new country entirely.

Food & Groceries: Eating Out Takes a Bite

The cost of food and drink has skyrocketed, and it’s not just your weekly shop. The data reveals that “Eating Out” saw the biggest overall price jump of any category between 2015 and 2025, rising to over £22 per order on average. From campus cafes to late-night Uber Eats orders, convenience is costing students more than ever.

Meanwhile, prices for basic supermarket staples like milk, bread, and pasta have also steadily crept upwards. 

Many of the students we interviewed said the same thing when it comes to food and groceries: planning your meals is essential. “Buying lunch at uni every day is lethal for the bank account. You can make a sandwich at home for about 20p. In the supermarket, a meal deal costs £3.60. Plan ahead, it’ll save you bundles of time and money”, advises Theo.

Health, Toiletries & Personal Care: Wellbeing Costs Climb

From skincare to supplements, students’ spending habits on health and personal care have spiked in the last decade. Trends around mental wellness, gym culture, and skincare routines have made self-care non-negotiable, but they come with a price tag.

Costs have also been driven up by rising prices in essentials like toiletries, which now rival eating out in weekly spend. Brands once considered “budget” are no longer so affordable, and personal care is becoming one of the fastest-growing categories to budget for.

In the past 10 years, clothing items such as t-shirts, hoodies, jeans, and trainers have seen a significant average price increase of 63.3%, reflecting broader trends in fashion costs and inflation. Similarly, self-care essentials like haircuts, shampoo, and deodorant have risen by an average of 42.6%, pointing to a steady increase in personal grooming expenses over time.

Transport & Travel: Rerouting Budgets

Getting from A to B isn’t what it used to be. Between rising train fares, increased bus ticket costs, and petrol prices, students are rethinking how they move around. The shift towards ride-hailing apps like Uber might offer convenience, but it often means higher costs, especially during peak times or nights out.

Some students are swapping travel altogether for remote learning and walking, but not everyone has that option.

Theo Salsby, one of the students we interviewed for this research piece, discussed how he decided to opt for cheaper alternatives to public transport. In the 2024/25 academic year, he mentioned how he brought his bike up to his accommodation and invested in a good lock, lights, and a helmet. “I still saved over £250 on transport,” he said, reinforcing the idea that finding student accommodation within walking (or cycling) distance to your university is paramount. On the subject, Theo continued, “Not to mention that it’s a healthy alternative that will improve your well-being. And it’s great for the environment, too!”

Tech & Streaming: The Digital Everyday

With the rise of digital learning, laptops, tablets, and reliable broadband have gone from “nice to have” to essential. At the same time, students are paying more for streaming services, software subscriptions, and cloud storage, all of which have become embedded into daily life.

Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Grammarly, Zoom: it all adds up. While prices have crept up, the number of services students rely on has grown even faster. And with streaming services cracking down on password sharing, it’s no longer a viable option to use their parents’ accounts to watch their favourite shows.

Phone Plans: SIM-Only on the Rise

Monthly phone contracts were once standard, but our findings show a sharp rise in SIM-only deals and refurbished mobiles. Students are cutting costs by buying phones outright and avoiding locked-in contracts, but data-heavy usage means even SIM-only plans are climbing in price.

With group chats, research, and entertainment all running through smartphones, this is a non-negotiable cost, but one that requires careful comparison shopping.

Social Life & Entertainment: Price of Fun

From a pint at the pub, which has risen by over 70% in the past year, to a society membership, the cost of having a social life is becoming quite expensive. Event tickets, club entry, and society fees are all on the rise. The student experience isn’t just about lectures and deadlines; it’s also about building community, which is why many students are opting for cheaper or free alternatives.

The Price Tag That Comes with Being an International Student

From the big costs, like student visas and the immigration health surcharge, to smaller payments, like UK SIM setups and society fees, there was already an additional cost associated with being an international student. In fact, in 2015, international students had to pay around £1,162, which has seen an unprecedented 96% increase in the past decade. International students should now expect to pay around £2,280, which we predict will continue to climb as the years go on.

Making Your Accommodation Work for You

Renting as part of a house share continues to eat up the largest slice of the average student’s expenses, and it’s only getting pricier. The average monthly rent for students in the UK saw an increase of 40% in just a decade. It’s now normal for students to dedicate over half their maintenance loans to housing costs alone.

Then there are the bills. Broadband has increased from £20 to £32 a month, with fast internet now a non-negotiable. Electricity bills have fluctuated wildly, spiking post-pandemic due to the energy price spikes, reaching £125 a month in 2023 before easing slightly in 2025 to £80. Water costs have also quietly risen, creeping up by £10 per month since 2015.

Speaking on the issue of house shares, Gabriela Bergmann-Chornik states that “university housing landlords take advantage because students are often not accepted by ‘normal’ landlords, and so we are forced into extortionate prices.”

But all is not lost! Private, purpose-built student accommodation often ends up saving students money overall. With all-inclusive stays and free amenities, such as a gym and social lounges, students can actually offset a lot of their expenses.

As a premium accommodation provider, Now Student Living offers more than just a place to stay. Many of our properties feature fitness studios, games and cinema rooms, stylish social spaces, all-inclusive bills, superfast Wi-Fi, an on-site maintenance team, and more. By combining these perks, students can save an average of £173 on gym memberships and household bills alone. Plus, our central locations, lively events calendar, and welcoming common areas make it easier to cut down on transport costs and social spending, all while still getting the full student experience.

Why it Matters

To keep up with the cost of living in 2025, students need more financial support. Over the years, everyday student essentials have crept up in cost, and in some cases, they’ve doubled. From meal deals to basic toiletries, the student basket spend has changed significantly, reshaping how far a maintenance loan really stretches in 2025.

Let’s break it down:

• Toiletries have jumped from £8 in 2015 to £13 in 2025, a 62.5% increase on basic self-care.
• Takeaways are now nearly double what they cost in 2015, rising from £5.50 to £10.20.
• Eating out went from £8 to £14, a 75% increase, meaning the odd pub lunch or date night now costs a lot more.
• Meal deals saw a 33% price hike, from £3 to £4. It might be small, but it’s significant for students on tight daily budgets.
• Fruit & veg, tinned goods, and rice all doubled in price, making student staples that bit more expensive.

Even cupboard basics like:

• Milk (+60%)
• Cheese (+60%)
• Pasta (+40%)
• Eggs (+57%)
• Bread (+37%)

…have followed this upward trend.

But this isn’t just about rising prices. It’s about the widening affordability gap. With so much of their income swallowed by rent, utilities, and transport, students are opting to make hard choices, including working more hours, limiting their social life, and getting savvier with their spending.

“I always think about how much I’m spending. I limit how I socialise because of my budget. It’s always in the back of my mind, ” says Gabriela, and her experiences aren’t isolated. Rising living costs don’t just affect spending habits; they also shape how students balance their studies, social lives, and well-being.

Theo discusses how “budgeting is useful, but it prevents me from enjoying spontaneous activities or treating myself as often.” University should be a time for learning, growth, and building connections. To support this, it’s important that the financial system keeps pace with real student needs. Addressing affordability isn’t just about covering costs; it’s about enabling students to thrive academically, socially, and personally.

Student Money-Saving Tips

You’ve got the data, so you’re now aware and ready. But do you know how you can stretch your money further? With these budgeting tips for students by students, you can master the art of managing your money in no time:

1. Create a budget planner

“Use a banking app, like Monzo, to set a budget and assign a cap to each category,” suggests Elena Buti, when asked what her top budgeting tips for students are. Expanding on this, she mentions that if you “keep track of your spending, you can see if any of your budgets need rearrangement.”

Speaking on budget planners, another student, Gabriela, advises to “always factor in your non-negotiable expenses. Take these away from your student finance straight away. Make sure you have enough money to eat and pay your bills. Then, work with what you have left for your own enjoyment and free time. Keep your money management simple but clear.”

2. Student-savvy meals

There’s a reason why pasta, instant noodles, and ready meals are so popular with students. Not only are they cheap, but they also have a long shelf life. Frequently-used products like these are items that Elena Buti recommends to “buy in bulk” when they’re on offer, something she learnt during her first year at university. This way, you can reduce the amount of money (and food!) that you’re wasting on your food shop.

On the subject, she also advises that “cooking from scratch with raw ingredients will save you money in the long run”. Yes, it may cost you more effort, but the amount you’ll save will be worth it, and you’ll be picking up lifelong skills in the process.

3. Limit your impulse buys

We all deserve a treat once in a while (whether it’s a pay-day takeaway, a morning caffeine fix, or a sweet treat at 3 pm), but the cost of constant impulse buys really adds up. “I realised how much I was spending on lattes, new outfits for each night out, and Ubers, when really, I could have had a coffee at home, re-purposed my former fits, and walked or got the bus”, says Anna Basham, a student studying in Liverpool. “When it clicked, I started making more conscious purchases, which really saved my bank account.”

What Needs to Change?

The Student Price Index makes one thing clear: we can’t ignore the cost of student life. To genuinely support the next generation of graduates, we need a multi-pronged effort. 

Advocating for financial support for students, Theo demands that universities go beyond occasional budgeting workshops and start offering ongoing, practical support for student wellbeing, including access to food banks, subsidised meal schemes, or surplus food hubs in partnership with local supermarkets. These initiatives can help combat both financial hardship and food waste, while encouraging students to cook at home and eat more nutritiously.

Continuing the discussion, he also believes that the government re-evaluating the student finance model is a must, not a nice-to-have. The current system assumes that students from higher-income households receive regular support from family, but that simply isn’t the case in most students’ situations. Baseline loans are no longer enough to fully cover rent, groceries, bills, and learning essentials. A more equitable solution would give all students access to a realistic, needs-based level of support, regardless of background.

Families and institutions also need better insight into the real cost of student living today. Rising prices aren’t just affecting luxuries; they’re hitting the basics. From toiletries to tinned goods, everything is more expensive. 

The Student Price Index gives us a roadmap to these realities. Now, we need to take action. At Now Student Living, we understand and recognise the challenges that students face. That’s why we prioritise wellbeing for students by hosting free social events, swap shops and donation stations! 

By acknowledging the full financial difficulties, we can better identify and implement scalable, inclusive solutions that leave no student behind.

Methodology 

The Student Price Index 2025 combines national data with real student experiences to reflect the true cost of student living across the UK. Pricing insights were gathered from a range of sources, including the National Student Money Survey by Save the Student, NatWest’s Student Living Index, and cost comparisons from MyStudentHalls.com. Official economic trends were drawn from ONS price indices, with 2025 estimates based on provisional projections using current inflation forecasts. The breakdown covers eight key spending categories, such as food, transport, accommodation, and tech, with figures benchmarked against historical data from 2015 to 2024. Additional insights, including quotes, were sourced from Now Student Living’s external research.

Inflation Through the Years

Intrigued by the results? Here’s a breakdown of our findings…

Travel

In 2015, travel was much more affordable, with monthly bus passes costing as little as £50 and train fares to your home city from university setting you back just £25. In the same year, petrol cost just £1 per litre on average. Today, students can expect to see increases of 48%, 52%, and 100% respectively, in these areas.

International Costs

With world-class universities in the UK like Cambridge, Oxford, and King’s College London, it’s no surprise that many students are determined to study in the UK. However, once upon a time, it would have cost an average of £1,162 in total, rising to a staggering £2,280 in 2025.

The Rise of Grocery Essentials

Back in 2015, students could afford a full weekly shop for £35.70. With inflation creeping up steadily since then, and dramatically increasing from 2021 onwards, students are no longer able to fill the same basket for less than £60.