A student in Plymouth needs about £807 a month for a room in a shared house and the essentials in 2026/27. The maximum maintenance loan outside London is £879 a month, so the standard budget balances with about £72 to spare before any part-time work. Here is where the money goes, and where the numbers come from.
Monthly student budget in Plymouth
| Cost | Per month | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Room in a shared house | £420 | NatWest Student Living Index average student rent |
| Groceries | £164 | NatWest UK student average (£155) scaled by ONS regional food spend for the South West |
| Bus pass | £86 | Adult city pass less typical 20% student discount |
| Bills and broadband | £60 | Ofgem Oct–Dec 2026 typical-use energy + Water UK 2026/27 + £32 broadband, split four ways |
| Eight pints | £39 | Finder.com 2026: £4.85 a pint in Plymouth |
| Two nights out | £38 | Site estimate |
| Total | £807 | Maximum loan £879/month (£10,544/year, England, away from home outside London) |
Adjust it for your own numbers
Rent in Plymouth: what the ONS data says
The ONS Price Index of Private Rents publishes an average monthly rent for Plymouth by number of bedrooms. These are averages across every private tenancy in the area, not student-area asking prices, which is why they run below what student letting agents quote. They are the most reliable rent figures that exist.
| Property | Plymouth, Aug 2026 | England | Per room (shared) |
|---|---|---|---|
| One bedroom | £705 | £1,195 | — |
| Two bedrooms | £886 | £1,335 | £443 each |
| Three bedrooms | £1,065 | £1,489 | £355 each |
| Four or more bedrooms | £1,493 | £2,161 | £373 each (four sharing) |
| NatWest Student Living Index 2025 average student rent | £420 | Survey figure; student areas and bills-included lets push it above the ONS average |
Rents in Plymouth were up 4.7% in the year to August 2026 (England: up 4.0%). A three-bedroom home is 28% cheaper than the England average. Per-room figures exclude bills; add the £60 bills line above, or look for a bills-included let and compare the total.
Halls in Plymouth
University of Plymouth halls for 2026/27 start at £141 a week for a room with shared facilities in Gilwell Hall or Robbins Hall and rise to £209.50–£233 for en-suites in Francis Drake, Mary Newman, Radnor and Pilgrim. All halls fees include utility bills, WiFi and contents insurance, and no deposit is taken.
Halls look expensive next to a shared-house room, but most include energy, water and internet and run for 39–44 weeks rather than 52, so compare the yearly total: a £141 a week room on a 40-week contract is £5,640 a year, against roughly £5,760 for twelve months of a shared room plus bills.
Where students live
The student areas are North Hill and Mutley, uphill from the campus and lined with shared terraces, with Greenbank and Lipson further out. The Barbican and the Hoe are the nicer places to live and are priced accordingly.
What Plymouth is like on a student budget
Plymouth is the cheapest of the South West university cities by a distance: Bristol, Bath and Exeter all cost more for rent. What you give up is transport links. It is a long way from anywhere by train, and if home is the other end of the country, budget for travel. The sea is the compensation, and a surprising number of students take it up.
Getting around
Plymouth Citybus runs a 28-day city ticket at £99; the student budget below assumes the typical 20% student discount. The campus is a 10–15 minute walk from Mutley, so many students skip the pass.
See how Plymouth compares with 22 other cities in the student cost comparison tool.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to live in Plymouth as a student?
Around £807 a month for a room in a shared house, groceries, a bus pass, bills, a few pints and two nights out, on September 2026 figures. The maximum maintenance loan for 2026/27 outside London is £879 a month, so the standard budget leaves about £72 spare before any part-time work or family support.
What is the average rent in Plymouth?
The ONS Price Index of Private Rents gives an average of £705 a month for a one-bedroom and £1,065 for a three-bedroom home in Plymouth in August 2026, up 4.7% on a year earlier. A room in a shared three-bedroom house therefore averages about £355 before bills.
How much are halls in Plymouth?
University of Plymouth halls for 2026/27 start at £141 a week for a room with shared facilities in Gilwell Hall or Robbins Hall and rise to £209.50–£233 for en-suites in Francis Drake, Mary Newman, Radnor and Pilgrim. All halls fees include utility bills, WiFi and contents insurance, and no deposit is taken.
Is Plymouth cheaper than Exeter for students?
Yes. ONS average rents in August 2026 were £1,065 a month for a three-bedroom home in Plymouth against £1,362 in Exeter, a 22% gap. Halls in Plymouth also start lower. Exeter has the higher-ranked university; Plymouth has the cheaper year.
Sources
- ONS Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics, August 2026 data, released 16 September 2026 (local authority average rent by bedroom count).
- University of Plymouth halls, 2026/27 prices as published on 17 September 2026.
- ONS Family Spending in the UK, FYE 2025, regional food spend (workbook 3, Table A33).
- NatWest Student Living Index 2025, UK average monthly student spend on food and groceries.
- Ofgem energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026, regional Direct Debit rates; Water UK average bills 2026/27.
- Finder.com pint price research 2026.
- Published operator fares for the bus pass line (see the methodology page for the operator and ticket used for each city).
- Student Finance England, 2026/27 maintenance loan maximum.