Degree Cost Calculator
Estimate the total cost of a university degree including tuition and living expenses across the US, UK, India, Canada, and Australia.
Did this tool work for you?
How to use this calculator
- 1
Select your country to load the tuition and living-cost figures built into this tool.
- 2
Choose the course type — undergraduate, postgraduate, or MBA.
- 3
Enter the number of years of study; tuition and living costs are each multiplied by this number.
- 4
Choose whether you will be living away from home to include estimated living costs.
- 5
The calculator shows annual tuition, total tuition, living costs, and the full degree cost.
Frequently asked questions
What formula does this tool use?
This tool uses total cost = years × (annual tuition + annual living cost). The annual tuition is looked up from a fixed table by country and course type, and the living cost is one fixed amount per country, included only when you answer “Yes” to living away from home. For the US, public in-state, 4 years and living away, that is 4 × ($10,000 + $15,000) = $100,000.
Where do the tuition and living figures come from?
They are fixed values built into this tool, with no date attached, not published fee schedules or averages for any institution. There is no input for your own tuition, so if you know a real fee, multiply it by the years yourself and compare. Fees, caps and living costs differ by institution and change over time, and the institution’s own schedule governs.
What do the course types mean outside the US?
The second option, labelled “Public Out-of-State (US) / International”, reads as an international-student figure outside the US. In the UK, Canada and Australia the “Private” option uses exactly the same figures as that second option. India has separate figures for each of the five course types.
Is an MBA or a master’s degree priced per year or in total?
Per year for every country, then multiplied by the years you enter. A US MBA at $60,000 a year over 2 years shows $120,000 of tuition, and the Indian MBA figure of ₹575,000 is also annual, so a 2-year programme comes to ₹1,150,000 before living costs. Enter the number of years that matches the programme.
What does “Living Away From Home” change?
Choosing “Yes” adds the fixed annual living cost of the country (US $15,000, UK £12,000, India ₹120,000, Canada CA$15,000, Australia A$20,000) for each year. Choosing “No” removes it completely. The living figure is one number for the whole country and does not vary by city, housing type or lifestyle.
What costs are not included?
Scholarships, grants and loans (and the interest on loans), fee increases over the years, application and visa costs, books and equipment, travel, health insurance, one-off setup costs and exchange-rate changes. The tool shows gross cost at constant figures. For fee increases, the Tuition Inflation Calculator on this site projects a rising tuition.
How are years and blank fields handled?
Years can be fractional: 1.5 years on the US in-state option gives $15,000 of tuition and $22,500 of living cost. A value of 0 gives zero for every total while still showing the annual figures, and clearing the box has the same effect because an emptied number box becomes 0. Negative numbers are treated as 0, and the totals use the local symbol with no currency conversion.
Does the tool say whether a degree is worth the cost?
No. It only multiplies fixed annual amounts by the number of years. It does not estimate earnings, financing costs or alternatives, and it is not a quote from any institution.
Estimating a degree’s total cost: tuition and living costs
Two fixed amounts multiplied by years
The estimate has one moving part, the number of years. For the chosen country and course type the tool looks up an annual tuition, adds an annual living cost if you live away from home, and multiplies the sum by the years. The starting values (US, public in-state, 4 years, living away) give $40,000 of tuition, $60,000 of living cost and a total of $100,000. Everything is a figure built into the tool rather than a published fee.
The annual tuition values the tool uses
The table lists the annual tuition coded for each country and course type, which is what the tool multiplies by your years. It is not a statement of real fees: those vary by institution, subject and year, and the table is here so you can see which number any result is built on. The last column adds the fixed living cost used when living away.
| Country | In-state / domestic | Out-of-state / international | Private | Postgraduate | MBA | Living cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $10,000 | $28,000 | $38,000 | $20,000 | $60,000 | $15,000 |
| United Kingdom | £9,250 | £22,000 | £22,000 | £15,000 | £40,000 | £12,000 |
| India | ₹30,000 | ₹200,000 | ₹300,000 | ₹250,000 | ₹575,000 | ₹120,000 |
| Canada | CA$7,000 | CA$30,000 | CA$30,000 | CA$18,000 | CA$60,000 | CA$15,000 |
| Australia | A$12,500 | A$35,000 | A$35,000 | A$35,000 | A$75,000 | A$20,000 |
Worked runs
The table shows separate runs. The first four combine tuition and living cost, the fifth leaves out living cost, and the last shows fractional years. In the UK row the total of £63,750 is £27,750 of tuition and £36,000 of living cost, so living cost is the larger share in that run.
| Inputs | Total tuition | Total living | Total degree cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| US, in-state, 4 years, away | $40,000 | $60,000 | $100,000 |
| UK, domestic, 3 years, away | £27,750 | £36,000 | £63,750 |
| US, private, 4 years, away | $152,000 | $60,000 | $212,000 |
| India, postgraduate, 2 years, away | ₹500,000 | ₹240,000 | ₹740,000 |
| Australia, international, 3 years, away | A$105,000 | A$60,000 | A$165,000 |
| US, MBA, 2 years, living at home | $120,000 | not included | $120,000 |
How the living choice and the programme length interact
Living away adds the same amount every year, so longer programmes widen the gap with living at home. A 2-year US MBA at the built-in rate costs $120,000 living at home and $150,000 living away, a $30,000 difference. A 3-year UK domestic programme goes from £27,750 at home to £63,750 away, which is £36,000 more.
Replacing the built-in numbers
The estimate is only a starting point because it holds fees flat and uses one living figure per country. Use an institution’s own published fee schedule for the real tuition, and treat scholarships, loans and living arrangements as separate adjustments. Fees and funding rules change, so check the institution or funding body directly.
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Results are estimates for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional financial, medical, legal, or technical advice. Read full disclaimer →