CostToStudy.com • International Tuition Comparison
International Student Tuition Fees 2026: Country and Degree Comparison
The same student can face no tuition at a German public university, a low public registration charge in France or Austria, and a five-figure institutional fee in the Netherlands, Ireland or Finland. Nationality, degree level, subject and institution type decide which number applies.
Figures are planning estimates. Confirm programme fees, visa requirements and housing terms with the relevant official provider before making payments.
2026 Country and Degree Cost Calculator
Choose a living-cost profile, housing type and annual tuition route. Select the same destination in both country fields unless you are testing a deliberate cross-country combination.
Estimated Monthly Cost
€0
Housing and living costs for the selected destination profile.
Estimated Annual Cost
€0
Twelve months of living costs plus the selected annual tuition route.
Budget Gap
€0
Estimated shortfall after available budget and confirmed support.
Affordability Score
Score: 0/100
Planning Estimate
2026 Tuition Routes by Country and Degree
The comparison separates exact public charges from national ranges. A range means the institution or subject still decides the final amount; it does not mean that every programme falls near the midpoint.
| Country and Fee Status | Bachelor's | Master's | Doctorate | What Changes the Bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany — public university | Usually €0 tuition; Baden-Württemberg generally charges non-EU students €1,500 per semester. | Many public routes remain tuition-free; continuing-education and institution-specific programmes can charge. | Public-university doctoral tuition is free for at least the first six semesters. | Semester contributions remain separate from tuition, and additional state or institution exceptions may apply. [S1][S2] |
| France — public institution, 2026/27 | €178 standard registration; €2,902 differentiated non-EU route. | €255 standard registration; €3,950 differentiated non-EU route. | €397 standard rate; €398 published for the differentiated non-EU doctoral route. | Nationality, residence status, first enrolment and institutional exemptions affect the rate. [S3] |
| Netherlands — government-funded programme | €2,694 statutory fee for eligible students; non-EU/EEA average €9,000–€20,000. | €2,694 statutory fee for eligible students; non-EU/EEA average €12,000–€30,000. | No single national doctoral tuition band is published on the cited student-fee pages. | Students who do not meet statutory-fee conditions pay an institutional rate set by the provider. [S4][S5] |
| Ireland — non-EU national bands | Business €10,300–€29,000; engineering and science €14,500–€28,500; arts and humanities €13,500–€28,200; medicine and health €50,135–€62,500. | Business €14,000–€40,000; engineering €15,000–€30,000; science €15,000–€31,000; arts and humanities €12,000–€23,000; medicine and health €11,000–€30,000. | Institution and research programme determine the amount; the national pages do not publish one doctoral range. | The latest national fee bands available on July 17, 2026 are labelled 2025/26. [S6][S7] |
| Finland — non-EU/EEA, English-taught programme | €8,000–€20,000 per year. | €8,000–€20,000 per year. | €0 tuition. | Each university and programme sets its Bachelor's or Master's fee; scholarships are offered by individual providers. [S8] |
| Austria — public university, third-country route | Generally €751.92 per semester. | Generally €751.92 per semester. | Generally €751.92 per semester. | The compulsory student-union and accident-insurance fee is €25.20 per semester; universities of applied sciences and private providers may use other fees. [S9] |
Three Fee Labels That Change the Comparison
Statutory or Institutional
The Netherlands
The €2,694 statutory fee is not the default for every international student. It depends on nationality or residence status, prior degrees and enrolment in a government-funded programme. A non-EEA applicant who does not qualify usually pays an institution-set fee, which can be several times higher.
Standard or Differentiated
France
Public registration charges split into low standard rates and higher differentiated rates for some non-EU students. Exemptions and institutional decisions can move an applicant from the higher published route to a lower charge, so nationality alone does not settle the invoice.
Tuition or Semester Charge
Germany and Austria
A tuition-free German programme can still carry a semester contribution. Austria's public-university third-country route combines a semester tuition charge with a separate compulsory student-union and accident-insurance fee. These items should not be merged into one tuition average.
Country averages also hide the public/private divide. Students comparing state-funded institutions with independent providers can use the separate review of public and private university costs before treating a national figure as a likely offer price.
Low Tuition Can Still Produce a High First-Year Cash Need
Living costs can reverse the order created by tuition alone. These figures are official student-budget references or university planning estimates, not interchangeable national guarantees.
| Destination Profile | Published Living-Cost Reference | How the Calculator Uses It |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | DAAD reports average student expenses of €876 per month and a €992 monthly visa-finance reference. [S1] | The general profile is calibrated near €1,000 before lifestyle changes and higher private housing. |
| France | Campus France gives a national living estimate of €600–€800 per month, while location and housing type can move the total. [S10] | The outside-Paris profile starts lower; the Paris profile adds a larger location adjustment. |
| Netherlands | Study in NL reports average student spending of €1,000–€1,500 per month. [S11] | The selected default profile targets the middle of that band with shared housing. |
| Ireland — Dublin | UCD's April 2026 estimate ranges from €1,735 to €4,035 per month, with a €2,445 median. [S12] | The Dublin option begins at UCD's lower estimate, then changes with housing and lifestyle selections. |
| Finland | The official national study portal places living costs at about €900–€1,200 per month. [S8] | The profile is centred near €1,050 with shared housing. |
| Austria | Study in Austria gives an average of about €1,300 per month. [S13] | The country adjustment calibrates the standard shared-housing result to that level. |
A low-fee public route therefore does not remove the need for rent deposits, first rent, travel, residence paperwork, insurance setup and basic household purchases. The calculator's arrival allowance keeps those one-time payments outside the recurring monthly estimate.
Methodology
Tuition uses 2026/27 official charges where they were published by July 17, 2026. Ireland's national portal still displayed 2025/26 subject bands on that date, so those figures remain labelled as the latest national bands rather than being advanced by an assumed inflation rate.
All calculator values are in euros. Exact charges are entered directly. Range-based routes use a midpoint: Netherlands non-EEA Bachelor's €14,500 and Master's €21,000; Finland Bachelor's or Master's €14,000; Ireland arts and humanities Bachelor's €20,850 and postgraduate €17,500; Ireland medicine and health Bachelor's €56,317.50, rounded to €56,318.
The monthly estimate adds food, transport, insurance, phone, personal spending, the selected destination adjustment and housing, then applies the lifestyle multiplier. The annual estimate adds twelve monthly totals to annual tuition. First-year cash need adds a €2,500 arrival allowance for travel, deposits, permits or registration charges and initial household items. This allowance is a planning amount, not an official fee.
Official Sources
- [S1] DAAD — Costs of education and living Applies to: German public-university tuition exceptions, semester charges and monthly student-cost references. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S2] DAAD — How to finance your PhD Applies to: doctoral tuition at German public universities. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S3] Campus France — Tuition fees in France Applies to: 2026/27 public Bachelor's, Master's, engineering and doctoral registration charges. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S4] DUO — Tuition fees Applies to: Netherlands statutory tuition for 2026/27 and statutory-fee eligibility. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S5] Study in NL — Tuition fees Applies to: average non-EU/EEA Bachelor's and Master's tuition ranges. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S6] Education in Ireland — Undergraduate tuition fees Applies to: latest published non-EU undergraduate subject bands. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S7] Education in Ireland — Postgraduate tuition fees Applies to: latest published non-EU postgraduate subject bands. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S8] Study in Finland — Fees and Cost of Living Applies to: non-EU/EEA Bachelor's and Master's tuition, doctoral tuition and monthly living-cost range. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S9] Study in Austria — Tuition fees Applies to: public-university third-country tuition and compulsory student-union fee. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S10] Campus France — What is the cost of life in France? Applies to: national monthly living-cost reference and location variation. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S11] Study in NL — Daily student expenses and cost of living in the Netherlands Applies to: average monthly student spending and room-cost context. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S12] UCD Global — Living Costs Applies to: April 2026 Dublin monthly low, median and high student-cost estimates. Checked: July 17, 2026.
- [S13] Study in Austria — Living costs Applies to: Austrian average monthly student living expenses. Checked: July 17, 2026.