Cost of Living in France for Indian Students in 2026
From 1 August 2026, France requires new student visa applicants to show €877.50 for every month of their stay, up from €615. That change arrived in the same summer that housing aid ended for most non-EU students, so the cost of living in France for Indian students now looks different from what older guides describe. Many of those guides also convert euros at ₹83 to ₹90, while the rate this autumn sits near ₹110.
- 1.Cost of Living in France in 2026
- 2.What Changed in 2026 for Indian Students
- 3.Monthly Budget Breakdown in Euros and Rupees
- 4.City-Wise Cost of Living in France
- 5.Accommodation Costs: CROUS, Shared Flats and Private Studios
- 6.One-Time Costs Before and After You Land
- 7.Tuition Fees in France for 2026–27
- 8.Proof of Funds and Your Real Budget
- 9.Can You Earn While You Study?
- 10.How to Lower Your Monthly Budget
- 11.Conclusion
- 12.FAQs
This guide gives you a month-by-month budget in euros and rupees for three kinds of student life, a city comparison, the one-time costs that catch people off guard, and the 2026 rule changes that affect your numbers. It is written for Indian students shortlisting France for a bachelor’s or master’s, and for the parents who will ask what the monthly bill really is.
Cost of Living in France in 2026
A single Indian student without a scholarship should plan for about €785 a month in a regional city, €1,055 in a mid-size city with a private studio, and €1,565 in Paris. At ₹110 per euro, that is ₹86,350, ₹1,16,050 and ₹1,72,150 a month. These figures exclude tuition and flights.
| Student type | Per month (€) | Per month (₹) | Per year (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional city, CROUS room or shared flat | €785 | ₹86,350 | ₹10.36 lakh |
| Mid-size city (Lyon, Lille, Toulouse), private studio | €1,055 | ₹1,16,050 | ₹13.93 lakh |
| Paris and Île-de-France, private studio | €1,565 | ₹1,72,150 | ₹20.66 lakh |
These are Admissify planning estimates, built from Campus France reference ranges, CROUS prices, 2026 rent data and the Imagine R fare. They land inside the ranges Campus France publishes as a reference, €600 to €800 outside Paris and €1,200 to €1,800 in Paris, but toward the upper half. The reason is that 2026 rents are high and the housing aid that used to soften them is gone for most non-scholarship students.
The rate used throughout is €1 = ₹110, the mid-market level through August and September 2026. Check the live rate before you transfer money, because a ₹5 swing moves a ₹1,16,050 monthly budget by about ₹5,000.
What Changed in 2026 for Indian Students
Five changes affect your budget this year.
- Proof of funds for the student visa rose to €877.50 a month from 1 August 2026, replacing the €615 threshold. Over 12 months that is €10,530, or about ₹11.58 lakh.
- Housing aid (APL) ended on 1 July 2026 for non-EU students who do not hold a social-criteria scholarship, according to Service-Public. Students who work or are on apprenticeship contracts may still qualify, so run your case through the CAF simulator before assuming you have lost it.
- The CROUS meal now costs €1 for every student, down from €3.30 for non-scholarship students. Service-Public confirms the rollout began in May 2026, and you need an active Izly account to claim it.
- Non-EU students now pay differentiated tuition at almost all public universities, and a May 2026 decree caps exemptions at 30% of non-EU students for 2026–27.
- The Imagine R Student pass for Île-de-France costs €401.30 for the year, application fees included.
These changes pull in opposite directions. Food and transport got cheaper on paper, while rent support and the visa threshold moved the other way. A student who once counted on €100 to €250 a month in housing aid will lose more than the €1 meal saves, which is about €46 a month for someone eating at a CROUS restaurant 20 times.
Not sure which threshold applies to your application? Admissify’s visa team can review your documents before you submit. Read more: Student Visa Assistance.
Monthly Budget Breakdown in Euros and Rupees
The table below splits each tier into the six lines that make up most of a student’s spending.
| Expense | Regional city | Mid-size city | Paris region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | €400 (₹44,000) | €600 (₹66,000) | €1,000 (₹1,10,000) |
| Food | €220 (₹24,200) | €250 (₹27,500) | €300 (₹33,000) |
| Local transport | €25 (₹2,750) | €35 (₹3,850) | €35 (₹3,850) |
| Phone and internet | €25 (₹2,750) | €30 (₹3,300) | €35 (₹3,850) |
| Health and insurance | €35 (₹3,850) | €40 (₹4,400) | €45 (₹4,950) |
| Leisure and extras | €80 (₹8,800) | €100 (₹11,000) | €150 (₹16,500) |
| Monthly total | €785 (₹86,350) | €1,055 (₹1,16,050) | €1,565 (₹1,72,150) |
Rent decides the rest of the budget
Rent is the largest line in every tier, and it swings more between cities than anything else. Average studio rents in the first half of 2026 were €1,039 in Paris, €819 in Nice, €676 in Lyon and €492 in Lille. Nationally, MonImmeuble puts the average student housing budget at €636 in the provinces and €962 inside Paris, with a studio in Limoges averaging €409 against €923 in the capital.
Food: where the €1 meal changes the math
Campus France’s reference basket puts groceries at about €200 to €250 a month, and closer to €300 in Paris. A student who eats lunch at a CROUS restaurant on class days can sit at the low end of that range or below it. That is why the regional tier above uses €220.
Transport is the cheapest line
The Imagine R Student pass works out to about €33 a month for unlimited travel across Île-de-France zones 1 to 5. Outside Paris, student transport passes in most cities run roughly €10 to €50 a month, depending on the network.
Health, insurance and phone
Registering with the French social security system costs nothing, and IMT Atlantique’s 2026–27 budget lists it at €0. Optional top-up health cover is about €20 a month on the same budget, and home insurance is about €40 for a campus studio. Phone and internet plans typically run €25 to €35.
City-Wise Cost of Living in France
Rent drives the gap between cities, and the gap is wide. Lille is the cheapest of the big student cities, Paris is the most expensive by a long way, and Lyon, Nantes, Montpellier and Toulouse sit in the middle.
| City | Private studio (€/month) | CROUS room (€/month) | All-in budget (€/month) | All-in budget (₹/month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | 900–1,400 | about 450 | 1,200–1,800 | ₹1,32,000–₹1,98,000 |
| Lyon | 500–750 | 200–400 | 1,000–1,400 | ₹1,10,000–₹1,54,000 |
| Nantes | 400–600 | 250–400 | 950–1,300 | ₹1,04,500–₹1,43,000 |
| Montpellier | 450–650 | 250–400 | 950–1,300 | ₹1,04,500–₹1,43,000 |
| Toulouse | 450–650 | 200–370 | 950–1,250 | ₹1,04,500–₹1,37,500 |
| Lille | 400–600 | 200–350 | 900–1,250 | ₹99,000–₹1,37,500 |
City ranges are drawn from Meridiane’s 2026 student city comparison and Campus France reference figures. Rupee values use €1 = ₹110. Treat them as planning ranges, not quotes.
Cheaper does not mean worse. Toulouse ranked first in L’Étudiant’s 2026 student city ranking while Paris placed 19th, largely because of housing costs. Smaller cities such as Limoges, Nancy and Pau can be cheaper again, though course choice and the job market will narrow your options.
Cost of living in Paris for students
Paris needs the most planning. A private studio costs about €1,039 on average, and sharing a flat is the usual way to bring that down. If your course is based in the Paris region, apply early for a CROUS room, which at about €450 a month is the most reliable way to keep housing under €500.
Comparing France with another destination? Read more: Cost of Living in Germany.
Accommodation Costs: CROUS, Shared Flats and Private Studios
There are three realistic routes for an Indian student, and each has a different cost and a different amount of paperwork.
- CROUS and university residences: rooms run roughly €200 to €450 a month depending on the city and room type, but demand exceeds supply, so apply as early as your admission allows.
- Shared flats (colocation): a room in a shared apartment typically costs less than a private studio and splits utilities, though landlords still ask for a guarantor.
- Private studios: the easiest to find and the most expensive, with the Paris and Nice averages above setting the ceiling.
Most landlords ask for a guarantor based in France, which is the obstacle for many international students. Visale is a free guarantee run by Action Logement, and it is open to international students under 30 who hold a valid residence permit. Paid alternatives exist, and one provider’s guarantee costs about 3.5% of the rent plus €50, with a minimum near €249. The deposit is usually one month’s rent and is refunded when you move out, provided the flat is undamaged.
Admissify’s accommodation partner, StudentLife, can help with housing searches before you travel.
One-Time Costs Before and After You Land
Your first month costs far more than your tenth. IMT Atlantique’s 2026–27 budget for its Nantes campus shows €1,345 to €1,403 in the first month against €845 to €903 afterwards, a gap of about €500. Plan for the following one-time items:
- Campus France procedure fee, which varies by country, so check the current amount on the Campus France India site
- Long-stay visa fee, about €50 for applicants from countries in the Études en France procedure
- Visa validation fee after arrival, roughly €50 to €75
- CVEC student and campus life contribution, €105
- Security deposit, usually one month’s rent
- Household basics, about €50 in the first month
- Return flights, budgeted separately from the monthly figures above
Missing the visa validation step can cost you the visa itself, so complete it online within three months of arrival.
Tuition Fees in France for 2026–27
Tuition is not part of the monthly figures above, but it belongs in your total. Public universities now charge non-EU students about €2,900 a year for a licence (bachelor’s) and about €3,950 for a master’s, which is roughly ₹3.2 lakh and ₹4.3 lakh. ICEF Monitor reports that universities no longer choose whether to apply these fees. Private and business schools set their own fees, which commonly run into five figures in euros each year.
Here is a worked example for a public master’s in a mid-size city, using the middle budget tier:
| Item | Euros | Rupees |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition (public master’s) | €3,950 | ₹4.35 lakh |
| Living costs, 12 months | €12,660 | ₹13.93 lakh |
| CVEC | €105 | ₹11,550 |
| Total for the first year | €16,715 | ₹18.39 lakh |
Flights, the Campus France fee and one-time setup costs come on top.
Proof of Funds and Your Real Budget
The visa threshold and your actual spending are two different numbers, and they do not line up neatly. At €877.50 a month, the visa figure sits above the €785 regional budget and below the €1,055 mid-size budget. A student in a regional city therefore has to show more than they are likely to spend, while a student in Paris must plan for spending well above the minimum.
Campus France accepts personal savings, a financial guarantor, a scholarship or other supporting documents as proof. Treat the visa figure as a floor for your paperwork and your city tier as the guide for your real planning. Scholarships such as Charpak and Eiffel can cover part of both, and Admissify can help you match your profile to the right ones. Start with the study abroad scholarships .
Can You Earn While You Study?
Non-EU students with a validated long-stay student visa may work up to 964 hours a year, which is 60% of the legal working year and about 20 hours a week. Ten hours a week at the minimum wage brings in roughly €400 a month after deductions, based on published student guidance.
Treat that income as a top-up rather than the foundation of your budget. Part-time jobs take time to find, and exceeding the 964-hour cap can put your permit renewal at risk. Visa officers also expect your proof of funds to stand on its own.
How to Lower Your Monthly Budget
Small choices move the total more than any single discount.
- Apply for a CROUS room as early as possible, since it is often the cheapest housing option
- Choose a city outside Paris unless your course requires it
- Activate your Izly account before arrival so you can use the €1 CROUS meal from the first week
- Use Visale instead of a paid guarantor service
- Share a flat to split rent and utilities
- Buy the student version of the local transport pass and ask about under-26 discounts
- Apply for scholarships that cover living costs, not only tuition
Conclusion
The cost of living in France for Indian students in 2026 ranges from about ₹86,000 to ₹1.72 lakh a month, and the city you choose matters more than almost any other decision. The new visa threshold of €877.50 and the end of APL for most non-scholarship students mean older budgets are now too low. Your next step is to pick a tier from the table above, check it against the visa figure, and shortlist two cities with different rent levels.
If you want the numbers checked against your own course and city, a counselor can build the budget with you.
FAQs
France sits in the middle to upper range for Europe. Public tuition is moderate, but living costs run from about ₹86,000 a month in a regional city to about ₹1.72 lakh in Paris. Rent is the main reason for the spread, so your choice of city has the biggest effect on the total.
From 1 August 2026, you must show at least €877.50 for each month of your stay, replacing the earlier €615. For a full 12 months that is €10,530, or about ₹11.58 lakh at ₹110 per euro. Savings, a guarantor or a scholarship can serve as proof.
Among the large student cities, Lille has the lowest average studio rent at about €492. Smaller cities such as Limoges, where a studio averages around €409, are cheaper again. Toulouse is another good value option and ranked first in L’Étudiant’s 2026 student city ranking.
Since 1 July 2026, non-EU students without a social-criteria scholarship no longer qualify for APL. Service-Public notes that students who work or hold apprenticeship contracts may still be eligible. Check your case on the CAF simulator before you plan your rent around it.
Non-EU students can work up to 964 hours a year with a validated student visa. Ten hours a week at the minimum wage brings in roughly €400 a month after deductions. Treat it as extra income, and never exceed the hour cap.
Registering for the French student social security system is free. Many students add optional top-up cover at about €20 a month, and tenants need home insurance, which is about €40 for a campus studio. Budget roughly €35 to €45 a month for health and insurance together.
For a public master’s in a mid-size city, plan for about €16,715, or ₹18.39 lakh. That covers tuition of about €3,950, 12 months of living costs and the CVEC. Flights, Campus France fees and setup costs are extra, and private schools cost considerably more.
Tanishka Goel
Tanishka Goel is a content writer who is extremely passionate about academics and desires to help students around the world make the perfect choice for their careers and has obtained substantial expertise in the realm of content writing by working in various organizations.
