UK's Cheapest & Most Expensive Student Nights Out Ranked for 2026-27
27 September 2026 • 4 min read
Nights out and budgeting are two staples of student life. But how much should you be setting aside for nightlife? We've dug into the data to rank the UK's cheapest and most expensive cities for student nights out in 2026-27.
How does your city fare? And how has the data changed since we first ran the numbers in 2022? Let's find out.
Cheapest student nights out for 2026-27
Stoke-on-Trent takes the crown as the UK's cheapest student night for 2026-27, with a total cost of under £14 and the cheapest average nightclub entry anywhere. If that alone isn't enough to convince you to go on a night out in Stoke, check out our guide to Stoke's best nightlife venues.
At £3.36, Hull boasts the UK's cheapest pint, and the bargains don't end there: as native Hullensian (yes, that's what they're called) Morgan explains in her guide to Hull nightlife, Spiders nightclub offers 50p crumpets and five-year membership for just £1. What a city.
Nottingham also ranks very highly, coming second overall and claiming the UK's cheapest average taxi fares. "There's always lots to do in Nottingham in terms of nightlife," says Nottingham student and UniHomes Brand Ambassador Charlotte. "You'll find the majority of students attending either Rock City or Ocean for student nights out."
Manchester came out as the cheapest student night out when we first ran this study in 2022, but has slipped to sixth-cheapest in 2026. Newcastle, the runner-up in 2022, now sits in bang in the middle of the pack four years later in 20th place of the 40 cities analysed, with an average cost just under £20. Likewise Liverpool, third-cheapest in the original study, has dropped to 19th.
On the flipside, Coventry, the second-most expensive night in 2022, has flown up the table and is now the seventh-cheapest city! Coventry Uni student and UniHomes Content Ambassador Isabelle Miller says Thursday nights are the best night to go out there - and as Socials Sec for the uni's radio station she should know! Check out her ultimate Coventry bar crawl route here.
Most expensive student nights out for 2026-27
At £31.84, an average student night out in Reading comes to more than twice the cost in Stoke, making it the most expensive in the UK. Reading has the most expensive pints (even more than London!) as well as costly nightclub entry and taxi fares, and there's a big gap - over £5 - over the next-most expensive student night out, in Oxford.
Of course, just because a night out is expensive, doesn't mean it's not good - or worth it. "Whilst Oxford is undoubtedly renowned for its academia, you shouldn't underestimate the vibrant nightlife that it has to offer," says Oxford Brookes student and UniHomes Content Ambassador Heather Behenna in her Oxford nightlife guide. "The various venues across Oxford do a great job of ensuring that there is something for everyone - from Moroccan cocktail bars to house and grime clubs."
Likewise, with pints over £6 and taxis approaching a tenner, Brighton comes out as one of the most expensive nights out, but University of Sussex student and UniHomes Content Ambassador Shiqin Ong is a huge fan nonetheless. "There are seemingly endless options when it comes to nights out in Brighton," she concludes in her roundup of the seaside city's best clubs, pubs and bars. "Its venues are always packed with live gigs, open mics, quizzes, readings and, well, whatever interests you most."
We weren't surprised to see London top the list of most expensive student nights out in our first edition of this report in 2022, but in 2026 the capital has been overtaken in cost by Reading, Oxford and Aberdeen to sit fourth.
Of course, nightlife isn't the only factor that makes up student experience. For a more complete overview of how cities compare for overall student life, see our ranking of the UK's most inclusive student cities.
Campaign overview and methodology
We scored 40 major UK cities and towns across three measures of student nightlife: nights out affordability, choice of societies, and variety of alternative/quieter venues. Average pint costs were sourced from Finder’s 2026 data, with Numbeo and WhatUni used for a handful of cities missing from their index. Average nightclub costs were calculated from the stated ticket prices for September 2026 Freshers’ events in each city listed on Fatsoma. Average taxi fares were calculated using average starting tariff plus 3km and sourced from Numbeo, or WhatUni for a couple of cities missing from Numbeo’s index. These three averages were then aggregated to calculate a typical night out cost per city.
