Tuition Fees
Let’s get the elephant out of the room first: tuition fees. Dutch universities offer high-quality education at “relatively” affordable prices compared to other popular study destinations, such as Canada or the U.S, for example. EU/EEA students can expect to pay around €2,000 to €3,000 for a year of university.
For non-EU students, however, tuition fees are higher. Expect to pay €9,000 to €17,000 for a year, depending on your study, and usually an extra €5,000 if you’re doing a Master’s instead of a Bachelor’s. It’s no secret that studying can get expensive, so it’s important to have your finances sorted in time. To be completely sure about prices, check out your university’s rates.
Living Expenses
As with most things, your living expenses will vary greatly depending on where you live, what kind of accommodation you’re looking for, and your lifestyle. In the Netherlands as a whole, students can pay for rooms as low as €300 to as high as €1,000 per month, with cities in the Randstad (such as Amsterdam or Rotterdam) being more expensive. For Enschede, the average rent for students is just shy of €500 per month, so most rooms you’ll be looking at will sit around this price range. Naturally, if you want something nice like a studio or private apartment, you can expect prices from €700 to €1200, depending on its location and size.
Outside of rent, there are your daily expenses such as food, utilities, and (if applicable) transport. My biggest monthly expense is definitely food, so make sure you’re keeping track of what you buy. I personally spend about €300 a month on food, including groceries (about €200), and the rest on snacks I buy elsewhere and eating out. My utilities are included in my rent (which is exactly €500), which leaves transport. I pay for the Weekend Vrij train subscription, which sets me back about €40 a month, but seeing as I don’t buy it every month, I choose to leave it out of my budget planning when applicable.
In addition, I can spend up to €50 for fun activities a month, which can include buying ingredients to cook things with my friends, going out to the arcade, or buying tickets to a party. Seeing as I set €900 as my soft limit for the month, I put the rest of my money in my savings account or in small investments. This does not include any extra money I get from my job or elsewhere.
Finally, outside of these expenses, there are mandatory bills you have to pay, such as your mobile data plan, your wifi, and your health insurance. My wifi is included in my rent, but most people pay around €20 for the whole house, so it’s not too expensive. The phone bill can also vary wildly depending on how often you’re away from campus or home. In my opinion, you can get by just fine with around 5 GB of data in the country per month as long as you’re not on Instagram Reels the entire time, which should cost around €10-€15.
For health insurance, the costs will depend on whether or not you have a job in the Netherlands. If you’re an international student, you will most likely have signed up for international insurance, such as AON, which costs about €70 per month. If you’re taking out Dutch health insurance, expect to pay up to €160 per month, though this can be reduced greatly if you qualify for health insurance allowance (zorgtoeslag).
Verdict
In short, the Netherlands is an expensive country. It’s also a ridiculously well-organised country, so you’ll at the very least know where your money is going. However, always keep in mind that your money is precious, and you should set limits on your spending. Most students I talk to spend similarly to me, ranging from €800 to €1,000 a month, with some outliers in the low and high ends. At some point, also try to save up at least two or three months’ worth of living expenses in case of emergencies. And check out one of our articles on saving money as a student. Managing your money well will not only make your student life in the Netherlands easier, but also give you peace of mind to fully enjoy your time here!
