Average Student Bills Per Month (2026)

Quick links:

• What bills do students actually pay?
• Average student bills per month
• Bills included in rent?
• How location affects your wallet
• Setting up and splitting student bills
• How to lower your monthly outgoings
• Student bills? Sorted with Fused

Moving into your student house is exciting, but all the financial responsibilities can seem like a lot to take in.  

Paying rent is just the start. You need to budget for bills and food, too. If it’s your first time paying your own bills, then you might not know what everything costs, or even what you’re expected to pay for. 

You or a housemate might set up a bills package, which makes budgeting easier, ‘cause you know exactly what’s going out of your account each month. Some student places come with bills included, which also simplifies your finances.

But if you have to sort some or all of your own bills, you'll need to know what to expect from day one. The last thing you want is to miss out on student life because you’ve run out of cash!

Even if you pay your own bills, you’ve got choices: 

• set up manual payments to each provider
• Create a bills package to cover them all in one monthly payment.

Learn about both options in this guide so you can decide which is best for you. 

Need help budgeting? Let’s dig into the average student bills per month. We’ll cover gas, electricity, water, broadband, and more. 

What bills do students actually pay? 🧮

All students pay bills. Some tenancies include bills, while others are the tenants' responsibility. The “Big Three” essential types of bills are:

Energy (Gas & Electricity) ⚡

Your property might have gas and electricity, or only electricity.

These power your home; everything from heating up water to keeping your lights on.

Your gas and electricity bill is made up of:

• Cost per unit of gas (kWh) 
• Cost per unit of electricity (kWh)
• Daily standing charges for both– a fixed fee to cover the supplier’s admin costs. 

Gas and electricity costs can vary, but the cost per unit (and daily standing charges) are limited by The Energy Price Cap. 

This is the maximum a supplier can charge for their standard variable tariff, which limits the price per unit of energy, not the price for your bill. Your bill will be priced based on how many units of energy your supplier thinks you’ll use. 

If you use more, you’ll be billed for the difference at the end of your contract, or get a rebate if you use less. This is complex, so here’s a guide that explains energy tariffs and fixed vs. variable options.

The two types of energy tariffs:

• Fixed: A price is set in stone for a period of time, such as one or two years. Costs are predictable, but there’s usually an exit fee if you want out of the contract early.
• Variable: A price fluctuates depending on the wholesale energy market and the Price Cap. Harder to budget, but more flexible and usually no exit fees.

There are a few different ways to pay for your gas and electricity, depending on how your student house is set up. The most common are:

• Included in rent: Your landlord deals with everything, and you can’t choose the provider. You might have to send meter readings, but everything else is up to them.
• Monthly direct debit to the supplier: A fixed or variable tariff directly with the utility company, you pay a set amount per month via Direct Debit. This is usually the cheapest way to pay, but splitting bills can be tricky.
• Pre-payment meter: Some properties have a card or key that you top up online or at a local shop. This is a more expensive way to pay, and if you don’t top it up, you’ll get cut off. Your supplier can switch these to a ‘credit’ meter, where you pay via bills rather than pre-payment. 
• With a bill splitting feature in your banking app: You can set up bills manually, then split them through a third-party service or a banking app. 
• With a bill bundling service: Set up your bills with Fused, and all utilities, including gas and electricity, are grouped into one single direct debit per housemate. 

Are gas and electricity cheaper in the summer?

It depends on how you pay. Most people prefer predictable bills and choose to pay a set monthly amount to build credit for the winter months. You can pay for the energy you use each month, which would mean higher bills in winter and lower ones in summer. This can make finances harder to plan. 

Now you’ve got your head around gas and electricity, let’s move on to the other bills you’ll pay as a student.

Water and Sewerage 💦

In England and Wales, students pay for water and sewerage to the local provider. There’s only one water supplier per area, so you can’t shop around.

In Scotland, students don’t pay water bills. 

There are two different types of water tariffs:

• Metered: A water meter is fitted in your home and you pay for what you use
• Unmetered: There’s no meter, so you pay a set price that’s calculated based on averages. 

As with other bills, paying by monthly direct debit is the best option as it’s cheapest and keeps things predictable. You can split this between your housemates in some banking apps, or with a bill bundling service like Fused.

Broadband 🛜

Student broadband is all about short-term, flexible contracts that match the academic year. Standard 18–24 month deals don’t work when you’re only in a house for 9–12 months, so look for student-specific plans that offer:

• Shorter contracts (9 or 12 months, or even 30-day rolling)
• Easy moves between student houses without extra fees
• Clear pricing with minimal setup costs and no long exit charges

Check which providers cover your area on the Ofcom broadband availability checker. Then you can start shopping around and find a student broadband deal that works for your household. Check out our student broadband guide for more info.

Speed

Students need fast, reliable internet, so you can get your studies done while your housemate streams Netflix and another is video calling home. A student home typically needs a minimum of 100–300 Mbps speed, with bigger houses (5+ people) should look for 500+ Mbps deals.

Cost

If broadband isn’t included in your rent, you’ll pay a monthly direct debit to your provider. That’s not the only cost, though. Check for:

• Setup/activation fees
• Router or delivery charges
• Annual price rises (often inflation-linked)
• Exit fees if you leave early

Contract length

• 12-month: cheapest but covers summer
• 9-month: matches the uni year but costs more
• Rolling monthly: most flexible, highest monthly cost

Don’t be tempted by a contract that’s longer than your tenancy just to save money now, ‘cause there’s usually an exit fee at the end. 

Let’s move on to the bills you legally need to pay as a student…

TV Licence 📺

If you watch live TV (that’s anything as it’s being broadcast) or stream anything on BBC iPlayer (even pre-recorded stuff), you’ll need a TV Licence.

For other streaming services (like Netflix or Disney+), you don’t need one, but you’ll need to claim an exemption.

Since a TV licence is only about £15 a month and tricky to split, it’s easier to roll your TV Licence into your Fused bills package and pay it all together.

Council Tax 🏠

You’re exempt from council tax if you’re a full-time student (on a course that’s at least 1 year and 21+ hours/week). You do still need to tell your council you’re exempt. Find your local council on the Gov website.

If one housemate is part-time or not studying, you’re not fully exempt. If it’s just one tenant, they would be classed as a ‘single occupant’, so they’d get a 25% discount.

Optional extras 🎧

A couple of bills you don’t legally need, but are worth including in your budget:

Contents insurance

The landlord insures the building, but you are responsible for what’s in it. Content insurance covers your laptops, phones, and other devices. You might have this included in your phone contract or bank account, so it’s worth checking before you sign up for a new contract. Also, ask your parents if you’re covered by their insurance, even if you’re away at uni. 

Streaming services

Spotify, Netflix, Prime Video… these are all pretty small payments, but they all add up.

A few tips for keeping those costs down:

• Only choose the services you’ll actually use. 
• Get added to your parents' accounts for Spotify Family and Netflix
• Check for student deals on UNiDAYS and Student Beans 
• Check you’re not paying for anything you’re not using (those pesky free trials that turn paid!)
• See if any of your housemates have a login they don’t mind sharing with the rest of the house.  

Average student bills per month 💷

We hear you: how much is all of this actually going to cost me?

Every student house is different, so bills aren’t a fixed price. But we can tell you some averages to help with budgeting. 

Average student bills by type

Based on a student house of four people paying suppliers directly:

Total average student bills per month

For a student household of four tenants, using the above averages, the monthly student bills per person are:

• Gas & Electricity: £50.50
• Water: £12.60
• Broadband: £7
• TV Licence (average per person): £5.46

Total per person: £75.56 per month

Things to remember:

• Your energy payment only covers a certain amount of usage, which often isn’t enough to keep student houses at the recommended safe temperature over winter. If you use more, you’ll be billed extra!
• These are just averages. There are so many factors that affect how much you pay, particularly how much energy you use and how energy-efficient your place is.

Bills included in rent? 👀

These bill totals are on top of your rent, unless you’re in a “bills included” tenancy, where utilities are bundled into your monthly payment. (If you’re unsure, check your contract or see our guide on bills included vs. paying separately.)

How location affects your wallet 📍

You’ll already know that some student cities are more expensive than others. Typically, the cost of living is higher in the south, but that doesn’t mean student rent and bills aren’t still high in places like Durham and Edinburgh.

Energy prices can also vary by location, as it’s easier for some areas to access power while others are more remote. 

Here are some of the most popular student cities and the average bills:

No matter what city you’re living in, your habits have a much bigger impact on your bills than small regional price differences. Standing charges might vary slightly from place to place, but those differences usually add up to just a few pounds a month.

Your day-to-day energy use, though? That’s what really makes the difference.

Two houses on the same street can end up with totally different bills simply because of how they use their heating, hot water, and appliances. Leaving the heating on all day or taking long showers you can easily add £30–£60 a month to a student house’s energy bills.

Setting up and splitting student bills 🤝

Ideally, before you move in, you’ll agree with housemates how you’ll pay your bills and who is responsible for what. Sorting this early avoids student house disputes later and stops everything landing on one unlucky person.

Everyone should know what they owe, when it’s due, and how it gets paid.

Here are a few ways you can pay the bills for your student house:

1. Manually splitting the bills
   The classic method: one housemate pays the bills, everyone else transfers their share. It works, but it can be stressful as it all comes out of one person’s account.
2. Using a joint house account
   Everyone pays into a shared account, and bills come out of there. No single person takes the hit, but if someone doesn’t put their money in, the whole house risks going into the red.
3. Splitting through a banking app or third-party app

Most banks now let you split payments or send payment links. It’s quicker than chasing bank transfers, but there’s still one person responsible for every direct debit. If housemates pay late (or forget), then someone else might end up paying. There are other bill-splitting services like Splitwise, too. They don’t set up or manage the bills, just split the payments.

4. Bundling everything with Fused
   With Fused, you can roll gas, electricity, water, broadband, and your TV Licence into one simple monthly package, with Unlimited Energy included as standard. Each housemate pays their own share by direct debit, so no one is responsible for the whole bill, and no one gets stung if another housemate forgets to pay.

How to lower your monthly outgoings 📉

If you’re reading this and worried about how you’re going to afford student life, don’t panic. There are some easy steps you can take to keep costs down. Here are our top tips:

Turn the thermostat down

Heating is the most expensive part of your energy bill. Dropping the thermostat by just 1°C can save a noticeable amount over the year.

Switch off appliances properly

“Vampire devices” get exaggerated online, but the principle is still true: anything left on standby uses energy.. The Energy Saving Trust recommends turning off TVs, consoles, kitchen appliances, and chargers fully to keep your electricity usage down.

Choose short showers over baths

Heating water is the second biggest energy cost in most homes. Shorter showers use far less hot water than baths, and the savings add up fast. 

Look out for student discounts

If you’re arranging broadband directly with a provider, check UNiDAYS and Student Beans. There are tons of ways to save money at uni.

Walk or cycle when you can

Swapping a couple of bus journeys for walking or biking each week can shave a surprising amount off your monthly spending.

Cook together as a house

Bulk-buying ingredients and sharing meals is one of the easiest ways to lower your food costs. It cuts waste, saves money, and usually tastes better than eating alone.

Student bills? Sorted with Fused ✅

When it comes to average student bills per month, budgeting around £100+ each is a solid way to stay on top of costs. That way, you’ll likely have a bit left over, rather than running out of money at the end of each semester. 

If you get a traditional energy deal, it might also be smart to put some money aside each month, if you can, to cover any overuse, or get really good at keeping an eye on your smart meter!

Make life easier with Fused. Get a quick quote, see exactly what you’d pay, and bundle everything into one simple student bills package– split easily among housemates.

Less stress, fewer arguments… so you can focus on the fun parts of student life.