NUS Hostel Fees (2026): Every Room Rate, by the Week

Your NUS offer is in, and now you have to pick where to sleep. NUS hostel fees are charged by the week, from S$104 for a double room in a hall to S$272 for the priciest single in Prince George's Park Residences (PGPR). The number most people miss is the meal plan. Halls and residential colleges make you buy one, and it adds S$621 to S$1,148 a semester on top of the room. Below is every rate and what a full year costs once meals and air-con are in. After that, you'll see how rooms get handed out and where the cheapest beds are.

How much are NUS hostel fees in 2026?

The cheapest bed on campus is S$104 a week. That's a double (twin) room in one of the six halls of residence.

NUS sets a weekly rate for each room type, and the rate depends on the kind of hostel. These are the rates for students who matriculated, or enrolled, from AY2025/2026.

A single in a hall is S$151 a week. In most residential colleges and in the houses, an air-con single is S$187 a week, or S$165 without air-con. The priciest standard room is an air-con single in PGPR, at S$272 a week.

Two costs sit on top of the room rate, and they catch people out. Is the meal plan optional? Not in a hall or a residential college.

A hall plan is about S$671 in semester one and S$621.30 in semester two. A residential college plan is S$1,147.77 and S$1,062.75, and each figure is for one semester.

The second cost is air-con. Air-con rooms bill utilities on top of the weekly rate, and you pay for what you use. A non-air-con room skips that charge completely.

A full year of term is 35 weeks: about 18 in semester one and 17 in semester two. Over that, the room alone runs from about S$3,640 for a hall double to about S$9,520 for a PGPR single.

Add the compulsory meal plan, and a hall place lands near S$5,000 to S$6,500 a year. That's the number to put into our personal budget calculator before you accept a room.

Hall double (twin): S$104 a week, the cheapest bed on campus.
Hall single: S$151 a week.
Most residential college or house singles: S$187 a week with air-con, S$165 without.
PGPR single (air-con, Type A): S$272 a week, the priciest standard room.
Meal plan: S$621 to S$1,148 a semester, and you can't skip it in a hall or residential college.
Air-con rooms: utilities are billed on top of the weekly rate, for what you use.

What does every NUS room cost, by hostel type?

Every rate below is per person, per week, in Singapore dollars, with GST already in. These are the official NUS rates for non-graduate students who matriculated from AY2025/2026.

Does semester two cost the same? The weekly rate does. You're billed for fewer weeks, though, about 18 in semester one and 17 in semester two, so semester two costs a little less in total.

It's easiest to read the table as four tiers. Halls of residence are the cheapest, and the most packed with CCAs.

In the middle sit the residential colleges, the NUS College wings (Cinnamon and West Wing) and the houses. The colleges come with an academic programme and a guaranteed two-year stay. Ridge View Residential College is the value pick of these, with a non-air-con double at S$108 a week.

At the top are PGPR and UTown Residence, the apartment-style student residences. You get more independence there, and you pay for it.

Cheapest beds: a hall double at S$104 a week, or a Ridge View non-air-con double at S$108.
Houses and the student residences (PGPR, UTR) don't come with a meal plan, so you cook or buy your own food.
The 6-bedroom apartments sit in the residential colleges, so the college meal plan still applies there.
The 4-bedroom UTown Residence apartments have a kitchen and no meal plan, which can cut your food bill.
Air-con rooms add a metered utility charge that isn't in the weekly rate.

NUS hostel weekly room rates, AY2025/26 (S$, per week, per person, GST-inclusive; matriculated from AY2025/2026)
Hostel type	Room type	Weekly rate	Air-con?	Meal plan required?
Hall of Residence	Double (twin)	104	No	Yes
Hall of Residence	Single	151	No	Yes
Residential College / NUSC	Single	187	Yes	Yes
Residential College / NUSC	Single	165	No	Yes
Residential College / NUSC	6-bedroom apt	200	Yes	Yes
Residential College / NUSC	6-bedroom apt	179	No	Yes
Ridge View RC	Single	180	Yes	Yes
Ridge View RC	Single	159	No	Yes
Ridge View RC	Double	118	Yes	Yes
Ridge View RC	Double	108	No	Yes
Houses (Pioneer, Light, Helix)	Type C single	187	Yes	No
Houses (Pioneer, Light, Helix)	Type C single	165	No	No
Valor House	Single	195	Yes	No
PGPR single	Type A	272	Yes	No
PGPR single	Type C	187	Yes	No
PGPR single	Type B / Type C	179 / 165	No	No
PGPR twin-sharing apt	Twin	210	No	No
UTown Residence 4-bdrm apt	Single in apt	187 / 165	Yes / No	No
UTown Residence twin-sharing apt	Twin	255 / 245	Yes / No	No

The catch: how much does the compulsory meal plan add?

In a hall or a residential college, the meal plan isn't optional. NUS charges it as a fixed sum each semester, on top of your weekly room rate.

A hall plan is S$671 in semester one and S$621.30 in semester two. A residential college or NUS College plan is S$1,147.77 and S$1,062.75. Both cover breakfast and dinner, six days a week.

Over a year, the college plan comes to about S$2,210 and the hall plan to about S$1,292. That's a gap of nearly S$920, before you've compared a single room.

NUS meal plan cost per semester, hall vs residential college, AY2025/26

NUS meal plan cost per semester, hall vs residential college, AY2025/26
Hostel type	Semester 1	Semester 2
Hall of residence	S$671.00	S$621.30
Residential college	S$1,147.77	S$1,062.75

Source: NUS Office of Student Affairs, hostel and meal plan rates

There's no meal plan in the vacation. If you are charged for part of a meal period, NUS uses a daily rate. That's the plan cost divided by the total meal days, rounded up to the nearest five cents.

Houses and the student residences (PGPR, UTown Residence) have no meal plan at all. In a PGPR or UTown Residence apartment with a kitchen, you can buy groceries and cook. If you eat simply, that can cost far less than a S$1,148-a-semester catered plan.

So if you're weighing a residential college against a house, run a quick food budget for both. The room rate is only half of it. Six days a week of meals you didn't cook is easy to get used to, and that lifestyle creep is real.

Halls: S$671 (Sem 1) and S$621.30 (Sem 2), for breakfast and dinner six days a week.
Residential colleges and NUS College: S$1,147.77 (Sem 1) and S$1,062.75 (Sem 2).
You must buy one in a hall or residential college, but not in a house or student residence.
There's no meal plan in the vacation, and part periods use a daily rate.
A room with a kitchen can undercut a catered plan if you cook.

Quick maths: what does a full year in an NUS hostel cost?

A hall double, the cheapest real option, comes to about S$4,930 a year with meals.

To work out your own figure, take the weekly room rate and multiply it by 35. That's the weeks billed in a year, about 18 in semester one and 17 in semester two. Add both meal plan charges if your hostel has them, then something for air-con if your room has it.

For a hall double, S$104 x 35 is about S$3,640 in rent. The meal plans add S$671 and S$621.30, for roughly S$4,930 a year. There's no air-con bill, because hall rooms are non-air-con.

A residential college air-con single costs more. S$187 x 35 is about S$6,545 in rent. Add S$1,147.77 and S$1,062.75 for meals, and you're at roughly S$8,760. Air-con utilities come on top, and they can add a few hundred dollars more if you run the air-con a lot.

A PGPR air-con single works differently again. S$272 x 35 is about S$9,520 in rent, with no meal plan. You then buy your own food and pay metered air-con on top.

A grey tabby cat on a rug snaps its head round to the camera, eyes wide, as the shot zooms in on its face — S$9,520 in rent, and the groceries aren't in yet. via GIPHY

The table sets out the yearly cost of each main option, so you can see where the money goes. Treat these figures as planning estimates, since your bill depends on your weeks in residence and how much air-con you use.

Cheapest with meals included: a hall double, at roughly S$4,930 a year.
Residential colleges cost more for both room and meals, near S$8,760 plus air-con utilities.
Houses and student residences skip the meal plan, but you buy your own food and pay metered air-con.
*Leaves out the application fee, the acceptance fee or deposit, and air-con utility use, which all vary.

Estimated all-in annual cost by option, AY2025/26 (35 term weeks; S$, planning estimate)
Option	Room (year)	Meal plan (year)	Indicative all-in*
Hall double (non-AC)	~3,640	~1,292	~4,930
Hall single (non-AC)	~5,285	~1,292	~6,580
Ridge View double (non-AC)	~3,780	~2,210	~5,990
Residential college single (AC)	~6,545	~2,210	~8,760+ utilities
House Type C single (non-AC)	~5,775	none	~5,775 + own food
PGPR single (AC, Type A)	~9,520	none	~9,520 + utilities + own food

How does NUS decide who gets a room?

NUS doesn't hand out rooms first come, first served. Each kind of hostel has its own way in, so the cheapest room isn't always the easiest one to get.

Halls of residence run on points. As a freshman, you apply through the Freshman Accommodation Exercise. It looks mostly at your pre-university CCAs, and at what rooms are free.

Does a freshman place keep you in the hall for every year? No. To stay on, you earn hall points each year through CCAs, sports and committee work.

Only full-time NUS students can apply. International students also need a valid ICA or MOM pass for the whole stay.

Residential colleges work the other way round, and so does NUS College. You apply to a programme, such as the Ridge View Residential College Programme, the University Town College Programme or NUS College. Get in, and you're guaranteed a two-year stay with no yearly points chase.

The trade is academic. Instead of CCA points, you clear programme modules, commonly about five. Houses and the student residences (PGPR, UTown Residence) go more by availability and category rules.

If a sure bed matters more to you than the lowest rate, a programme-linked residential college can be the safer bet.

Halls: freshman entry weighs your pre-university CCA record, and staying on means earning hall points each year.
Residential colleges and NUS College: getting into the programme gives you a two-year stay, with no points chase.
College residents clear programme modules (about five) instead of earning CCA points.
Only full-time NUS students qualify, and international students need a valid ICA or MOM pass.
Houses and student residences go more by availability and category rules.

What else do you pay, and when do you apply?

Beyond rent and meals, expect a couple of one-off charges and some dates to hit. The amounts change by hostel and year, so check your hostel's own admissions page.

The pattern stays the same, though. You pay an application or registration fee when you apply. When you take the room, you pay an acceptance fee or deposit, often tied to part of the rent. After that, NUS bills your room charge by semester, along with your meals.

When do applications open? Around the middle of the year, for the freshman exercise as well as the main hostel windows. Results come out before the semester starts. The residential college programmes run their own rounds and interviews earlier.

You can pay through the usual NUS channels, such as PayNow and card. Rooms are competitive, so treat the deadline as hard. Get your CCA records or programme application ready well before it.

If you're paying the bill yourself, NUS offers Residential Programme Bursaries and a study loan. The government schemes for tuition can also free up cash for housing.

Our guide to university fees in Singapore covers how to fund the whole degree. That includes the new Higher Education Student Loan from July 2026. Borrowing versus paying cash comes down to the same opportunity cost sum as any student loan.

Expect a one-off application or registration fee, then an acceptance fee or deposit, often tied to the rent.
Main hostel applications open mid-year, and residential college programmes open earlier, with interviews.
Results come out before the semester starts, and deadlines are firm because rooms are competitive.
Residential Programme Bursaries and an NUS study loan help students who need it.

Is living in at NUS cheaper than at NTU or SMU?

For an on-campus bed, NUS is generally the cheapest of the three. Its hall doubles start at S$104 a week, and its big campus has plenty of rooms.

NTU prices its campus halls by the month. They run from the low S$400s for a non-air-con double, and up to the high S$700s for an air-con single with its own bathroom. Over a year, that's a similar band to NUS for the same kind of room, sometimes a little higher for the premium rooms.

SMU is the odd one out, a city campus with no traditional halls. Its students use off-campus partner residences such as Prinsep Street Residences, or rent co-living rooms near the campus.

Rent there commonly runs from the high S$500s into the S$900s a month. An academic year can total roughly S$11,000 to S$12,000, the priciest of the three. You're paying for a city-centre address, which is a different thing from a points-based campus hall.

So look at what each rate includes, as well as the rate itself. NUS and NTU rates buy a campus room with a community, and many of those rooms come with a meal plan. SMU's options are closer to renting a room in town.

For the wider numbers, see how the big Singapore universities compare, and the graduate starting salaries each one commands. Together they set the housing cost against what the degree pays back.

NUS: the cheapest campus beds, from S$104 a week for a hall double.
NTU: campus halls are billed monthly, and run from S$400-plus to the high S$700s a month, by room type.
SMU: no campus halls, and off-campus partner residences run roughly S$11,000 to S$12,000 a year, the dearest.
Compare what comes with each room, since many NUS and NTU rooms come with a meal plan.

What's the cheapest way to live near NUS?

The cheapest bed is the non-air-con hall double, at S$104 a week. It's also the most fought over, and it ties you to a meal plan and the hall points grind.

If you'd rather know you'll keep your bed for two years, the Ridge View non-air-con double does that for S$108 a week. That's barely more in rent, though its meal plan is the pricier college one.

If you'd rather skip the meal plan, a house or a kitchen apartment in PGPR or UTown Residence lets you cook for yourself. A frugal cook can spend well under a S$1,148-a-semester plan.

Pair a non-air-con room with careful grocery runs, and the yearly cost can rival a hall's, with more independence. With an air-con unit, the metered bill comes on top. That makes a non-air-con room the true budget pick.

For some students, the cheapest hostel is no hostel. Living at home and commuting removes the whole S$5,000 to S$10,000-a-year line. What's left is transport, plus the odd late night.

You trade convenience and campus life for the money saved. That's a personal call, so make it with the numbers in front of you.

Whatever you choose, build the housing figure into a goal-based plan early. Our look at how to start investing shows what even a small sum saved on rent can grow into.

Cheapest bed: a non-air-con hall double at S$104 a week, and you also pay the hall meal plan.
Cheapest bed you keep for two years: a Ridge View non-air-con double at S$108 a week.
No meal plan: a house or kitchen apartment lets a frugal cook spend less on food.
No air-con bill: a non-air-con room avoids the metered utility charge.
Cheapest of all: live at home and commute, and the housing line disappears.

The MoneyBees take: what we'd check first

We'd price the food before the room. A hall double is the cheapest bed at S$104 a week, but its meal plan adds about S$1,292 a year, and a college plan adds about S$2,210.

A house or a kitchen apartment drops that charge, and you take on the groceries and the cooking instead. What settles it is whether you'd really cook most nights.

Frequently asked questions

How much are NUS hostel fees per month in 2026?

NUS bills by the week, not the month, so here are the AY2025/2026 rates converted. A hall double at S$104 a week is roughly S$450 a month, and a hall single at S$151 is about S$650. A residential college air-con single at S$187 is around S$810. A PGPR air-con Type A single at S$272 comes to about S$1,180 a month. Halls and residential colleges add a compulsory meal plan on top.

What is the cheapest NUS hostel?

It's a non-air-con double (twin) room in a hall of residence, and it costs S$104 a week. Close behind is a non-air-con double at Ridge View Residential College, at S$108 a week. Both come with a meal plan you can't skip. A non-air-con house or apartment room, with your own cooking, can cost less in total. That depends on how much you spend on food.

Is the NUS meal plan compulsory?

Yes, if you live in a hall of residence or a residential college (NUS College too). A hall plan costs about S$671 in semester one and S$621.30 in semester two. A residential college plan is S$1,147.77 and S$1,062.75. Both cover breakfast and dinner six days a week. Houses and the student residences (PGPR, UTown Residence) have no meal plan, so you cook or buy your own food.

How do I get a room in an NUS hall?

Through the Freshman Accommodation Exercise. It weighs your pre-university CCAs and what's available, rather than who applies first. To stay on in later years, you earn hall points through CCAs, sports and committee roles. Residential colleges work differently. You apply to a programme such as Ridge View, UTown College or NUS College, and getting in comes with a guaranteed two-year stay.

Do NUS hostel rates include utilities and GST?

GST, yes. Every published weekly rate includes GST and is per person. Air-con utilities, no. Air-con rooms and apartments bill those separately, prepaid or for what you use. Non-air-con rooms have no separate utility charge, which makes them the true budget option.

Is NUS hostel cheaper than NTU or SMU?

For an on-campus bed, usually yes. NUS hall doubles start at S$104 a week. NTU prices its campus halls by the month, from the low S$400s to the high S$700s, which lands in a similar yearly band. SMU has no traditional halls on campus, so its students use off-campus partner residences in the city. Those can total around S$11,000 to S$12,000 a year, the most of the three.

Sources

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This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.

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