How to study in Tricity for free? 40 ways to save money

Housing is the largest expense in the budget of every student in the Tri-City. However, there are ways to bypass the commercial rental market, where the prices of single rooms in Żabianka or Przymorze reach PLN 1300-1700.

• Room on the private market (e.g. Przymorze, Wrzeszcz) Cost: 1300 – 1700 PLN/month
• Student Dormitory (UG, Gdańsk University, MUG Dormitory) Cost: 450 – 850 PLN/month
• Intergenerational programs (e.g. help for seniors) Cost: 0 PLN (in exchange for help)

1. Student Dormitories

Apply for a place in a dormitory (e.g. DS 5 or DS 7 in Sopot for UG students or Gdańsk University of Technology dormitories in the area of Wyspiańskiego Street in Wrzeszcz). Prices for places in dormitory rooms in the 2026/2027 academic year start at PLN 450-600 per month, which is a fraction of market rates.

2. Participation in the Dormitory Residents’ Council

By engaging in student self-government in Student Dormitories, you can apply for a waiver of part or all of your accommodation fees in exchange for on-call duty and the organization of the dormitory’s social life.

3. Cohabitation programs with seniors

The Gdańsk Municipal Family Support Center (MOPR) and local non-governmental organizations periodically implement programs in which students receive a free room with a senior in exchange for help with everyday duties (shopping, keeping company).

4. Sublease of a room for the holiday period (Sopot and the coastal strip)

Sopot is famous for the so-called “Sopot evictions” before the holidays. If you have a stable year-round contract in Gdansk (e.g. in Żabianka), you can sublet your room to tourists in July and August (with the landlord’s permission), thus earning rent for the remaining months of the academic year.

Finance: Scholarships and free money from universities

Public universities in the Tri-City have huge budgets for material assistance for students. Proper completion of documents allows you to obtain full funding for your studies.

5. Social Scholarship (academic year 2026/2027)

If the net income per person in your family does not exceed PLN 1500.50, you will receive a social scholarship, which in the Tri-City usually ranges from PLN 1200 to even PLN 2500 per month (depending on the university and a possible increase due to living in a dormitory).

6. Rector’s Scholarship for Top Students

You don’t have to be an outstanding scientist from your first year. The Rector’s Scholarship is awarded for a high grade point average (above a certain threshold at a given faculty) and for sports or artistic achievements. These amounts at Gdańsk Tech or UG range from PLN 900 to 2000 per month.

7. Random Allowances

In the event of a sudden deterioration in your life situation (e.g. theft of a laptop on an SKM train, fire, serious illness in the family), you can apply for a one-time, non-refundable allowance through the USOSweb system. At the University of Gdańsk or PG, the subsidy can be up to PLN 5000.

8. MOST programme (free domestic exchange)

Do you want to study at the University of Warsaw or the Jagiellonian University without paying tuition fees? The MOST programme allows you to study for a semester or a whole academic year free of charge at another Polish partner university.

Free and cheap food in the Tri-City

Food is the second most serious expense of a student. The Tri-City has a unique map of places where you can eat a hearty meal for a symbolic amount or completely free.

9. Foodsharing

The Tri-City foodsharing community is extremely dynamic. Canteens are points where everyone can leave surplus food and treat themselves to what others have left for free.

• Key locations: A canteen on the campus of the University of Gdańsk (Faculty of Social Sciences, 4 Bażyńskiego Street), a canteen in Wrzeszcz at Wajdeloty Street or a point in Gdynia at rtm. Witold Pilecki Street.

10. Tri-City Milk Bars – legendary cheapness

If you don’t have time to cook, milk bars offer full two-course dinners at state-subsidized prices.

• “Kmar” Milk Bar (Gdańsk-Oliwa, Czyżewski Street): A cult place right next to the UG campus and the SKM Oliwa station. Open around the clock, it offers legendary dumplings and pancakes at prices friendly to the student wallet.
• “Akademicki” Milk Bar (Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz, Grunwaldzka Avenue): Located close to the Gdańsk University of Technology. You can eat a classic home-cooked dinner here for about 14-18 PLN.
• “Słoneczny” Milk Bar (Sopot, Bishop Nowickiego Street): Located right next to the Sopot campus of the Faculty of Management of the University of Gdańsk. The cheapest food option in the otherwise expensive Sopot.

11. Too Good To Go and Foodsi Apps

These applications allow you to buy surplus food from Tri-City bakeries, restaurants and hotels for 1/3 of the regular price. Excellent packages with fresh bread or ready-made dinners are offered, for m.in example, by the “Pellowski” or “Szydłowski” bakeries scattered throughout Gdańsk and Wrzeszcz.

12. Shopping at local markets

Instead of buying expensive vegetables in discount stores, go to the Market Square in Oliwa (Inwalidów Wojennych Square) or the Green Market Square in Przymorze (Czerwony Dwór Street) at the end of the trading day. At the end of the day, sellers drastically reduce the prices of fresh products so as not to return to warehouses with them.

Public transport and travel for pennies

The Tri-City agglomeration stretches over several dozen kilometers. Clever use of transport allows you to save hundreds of zlotys a year.

13. Mevo 2.0 public bike system

Mevo is the most modern metropolitan bike system in Poland, fully integrated in Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia.

• The principle of saving: A monthly student subscription for traditional and electric bicycles costs only PLN 15-20 (depending on the selected tariff). This allows you to completely resign from buying more expensive ZTM/ZKM semester tickets, while taking care of your fitness.

14. MZKZG Semester Ticket (Metropolitan)

If you have to travel every day on both trams in Gdansk, trolleybuses in Gdynia and SKM trains, the best choice is the MZKZG Semester Ticket. It entitles you to unlimited travel on all means of transport in the Tri-City. By buying a 5-month (semester) ticket once, you save about 15% compared to buying monthly tickets.

15. SKM Segment Ticket Trick

Do you travel with SKM only on a short route (e.g. Gdańsk Żabianka ↔ Sopot)? Instead of an expensive network ticket, buy monthly line tickets for a specific number of kilometers. With a distance of up to 5 km, the student rate is extremely low.

16. Seaside Bike Route

The Tri-City has the most beautiful and best developed bicycle route along the seashore (from Brzeźno, through Sopot, to Gdynia Orłów). With your own bike (often bought for $150 at local sales groups), you can commute to classes completely free of charge for most of the year.

Science, books and teaching materials without expenses

Academic textbooks, software, and printing materials can take up a significant portion of your budget. Here’s how to have it all for free.

17. Main Library of the University of Gdańsk Tech (BUG) and the Library of Gdańsk Tech

Instead of buying expensive textbooks for law, engineering or economics, use faculty libraries. BUG (Gdańsk-Oliwa, 53 Wita Stwosza Street) has a reading room with access to the latest editions of books and free art scanners that allow you to digitize book chapters directly to a flash drive for free.

18. Free codes for Legimi and Empik Go in city libraries

By signing up for the Provincial and Municipal Public Library in Gdańsk (e.g. the branch in Wrzeszcz in the iconic “Metropolis”), you can download free access codes to the Legimi or Empik Go platforms every month, which gives free access to thousands of e-books and audiobooks.

19. Free software for Gdańsk University of Gdańsk University of Gdańsk Tech students

As a student, you have free access to the full Microsoft Office 365 suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) using your university email address. Students of the Gdańsk University of Technology additionally receive free access to specialized engineering software, such as Autodesk (AutoCAD, Inventor), MATLAB or SAS databases.

20. Textbook Exchanges and FB Groups

Groups such as “UG Textbook Exchange” or “Gdańsk University of Technology Books – Sell/Buy” are thriving on Facebook. Buy textbooks used at the beginning of the semester and sell them at exactly the same price to younger grades after passing the session – the actual cost is PLN 0.

Free culture, sports and entertainment in the Tri-City

Student life is not only about learning. The Tri-City offers a huge range of free cultural and sports events.

21. Free days in Tri-City museums

Most museums in the Tri-City have one day a week when admission to the permanent exhibitions is completely free:

22. Free Outdoor Cinemas

In the period from June to September, numerous free open-air film screenings take place in the Tri-City. The most popular are the Summer Cinema on the Pier in Sopot and film screenings in the Gdańsk Garrison (Wrzeszcz, Słowackiego Street) or in Ołowianka.

23. Academic Sports Association (AZS)

By signing up for the sports sections of AZS at your university, you gain free (or co-financed by the university) access to professional sports halls, swimming pools (e.g. the modern academic swimming pool of the Gdańsk University of Technology at Zwycięstwa Avenue) and tennis courts under the supervision of coaches.

24. Student concerts and festivals (Gdańsk Juwenalia)

Gdańsk Juwenalia is the largest celebration of students in Pomerania. If you have a student card of Tri-City partner universities, you get free or ultra-cheap tickets to concerts of the biggest stars of the Polish music scene, taking place at the People’s Assembly Square in Gdańsk.

Work, discounts and daily life-saving hacks

Clever everyday decisions and the use of statutory reliefs allow you to keep hundreds of zlotys in the student’s pocket.

25. PIT exemption (No PIT for young people)

When working in the Tri-City on a contract of mandate (e.g. in gastronomy in Sopot or in offices in Olivia Business Centre), as a person up to the age of 26, you are fully exempt from income tax (PIT-0). Your gross rate becomes the net rate (paid “on hand”).

26. Honorary Blood Donation (Free Days Off & Chocolates)

By donating blood at the Regional Blood Donation and Blood Treatment Center in Gdańsk (Hoene-Wrońskiego Street, right next to the MUG campus):

• You get 2 days off from classes at the university (the day of submission and the next day).
• You gain a caloric equivalent in the form of 9 chocolates.
• You can deduct the donation from your tax (if you have taxable income).

27. Paid Research and Experiments

The Institute of Psychology of the University of Gdańsk (Oliwa) and the laboratories of MUG are regularly looking for volunteers to participate in paid scientific research, fitness tests or surveys. For an hour of simple examination (e.g. eye tracking on a computer) you can earn from 50 to 150 PLN.

28. Free drinking water in Gdansk

Gdańsk waterworks supply water with excellent quality parameters (comparable to spring water). Forget about buying bottled water – drink safe and free tap water. Throughout the city (e.g. in the coastal strip, at the pier in Brzeźno) there are free water springs (drinking fountains).

29. Lumpeksy in Wrzeszcz – free style

Wrzeszcz (mainly Wajdeloty, Grunwaldzka and Dmowskiego streets) is the Tri-City capital of second-hand stores. On delivery or sale days (usually Mondays and Tuesdays), you can buy branded, high-quality clothes there for a symbolic PLN 5-15 each.

30. Free medical and dental care at MUG

The Medical University of Gdańsk runs student clinics where students of older years of dentistry (under the supervision of professors and specialist doctors) perform dental check-ups, fillings or oral hygiene free of charge or for a fraction of the market price.

10 additional, ultra-fast ways to save in the Tri-City

31. Resident’s card (Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia)

Obtaining a local resident card gives free entry once a year to key attractions (e.g. to the pier in Sopot, to the ZOO in Oliwa or to the tower of St. Mary’s Church) and high discounts from partners.

32. Use free city Wi-Fi

The Tri-City has a dense network of free urban hotspots (especially in the coastal strip, at Długi Targ and around the university). Keep your mobile bandwidth package to a minimum.

33. Food Cooperatives

Join the Tri-City food cooperatives. By buying vegetables and fruits directly from Pomeranian farmers, bypassing intermediaries, you save up to 40% on groceries.

34. Free Hairdresser

Search on groups like “Tri-City Hairstyle Model”. Hairdressing salons in Gdańsk Śródmieście and Wrzeszcz are constantly looking for people to cut or dye their hair free of charge as part of training for new employees.

35. Free Study Spaces (Coworking)

Don’t pay for expensive coffee in cafes to study in silence. You can find free, comfortable coworking zones with free electricity and internet, m.in, in the BUG Library, Olivia Garden (Olivia Business Centre) or in the Forum Gdańsk shopping centre.

36. Avoid shopping in the coastal strip

Prices in grocery stores and frogs at a distance of 500 m from the beach in Sopot and Jelitków are up to 30% higher than in the sleeping districts (Żabianka, Zaspa, Przymorze). Do spare shopping away from tourist zones.

37. Banks and Student Account Promotions

Tri-City bank branches are fighting for young customers. By opening a free student account at the beginning of the academic year, you can gain from PLN 200 to PLN 500 in cash bonus for simple activities (e.g. 5 card payments per month).

38. Free psychological help at the University of Gdańsk and Gdańsk Tech

Students going through emotional crises can take advantage of completely free and anonymous psychological help offered by university Psychological Support Centers (e.g. at the University of Gdańsk at Wita Stwosza Street).

39. Carpooling

Do you commute to your family home for weekends? Use carpooling groups on Facebook (e.g. “Shared rides Gdańsk – Olsztyn/Bydgoszcz/Toruń“). Traveling by car with someone who shares the cost of fuel can be cheaper than PKP Intercity trains.

40. Selling unnecessary notes

Do you keep meticulous, legible and aesthetic notes from lectures at the University of Gdańsk or Gdańsk Tech? After passing the semester, you can legally sell them to younger students in major groups – this is a great way to recover the cost of purchasing stationery.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does Mevo 2.0 work all year round in the Tri-City?

Yes, the Mevo 2.0 metropolitan bike system operates in the Tri-City all year round (12 months). During the winter period (from December to February), the bicycle fleet is only slightly reduced in order to carry out service work, but bicycles (both traditional and electrically assisted) are constantly available at parking stations in Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot.

Where in the Tri-City can students print or photocopy materials free of charge?

Although there is no completely free commercial photocopy, UG and Gdańsk Tech students can use free scanners in university libraries, transfer materials to digital media and learn from tablet screens. If printing is necessary, the cheapest service points (cheaper than in shopping centres) are located in dormitories or in the immediate vicinity of faculties (e.g. photocopying points at Siedlicka Street near Gdańsk University of Technology or Wita Stwosza Street near the University of Gdańsk).

Can a student get a free SKM ticket?

Completely free SKM tickets are not awarded as standard, but students with a valid student ID (ELS) have a statutory 51% discount on single and monthly PKP/SKM tickets. People with the lowest incomes can finance the cost of purchasing monthly tickets from a social scholarship or a targeted random allowance.

What if I don’t get a place in a public dormitory and the private market is too expensive?

If you do not qualify for a UG or Gdańsk Tech dormitory, look for rooms in the so-called student apartments in sleeping districts with direct tram access (e.g. Gdańsk-Zaspa, Przymorze, Żabianka). The best way to save money is to rent a larger apartment (e.g. a 3-room apartment) in a group of friends from college and divide the costs of rent and utilities among several people – in this way, the cost of a room per person can be reduced to about PLN 900-1100.

Is free dental care at MUG safe?

Yes, free dental procedures performed in the clinics of the University Dental Center of MUG (Gdańsk, Orzeszkowa Street) are completely safe. All treatments are performed by students of the last years of dentistry under the direct supervision of experienced dentists, research assistants and professors of MUG, using modern medical equipment and materials of the highest quality.

Studying in the Tri-City for free is fully achievable, provided that you manage your budget wisely and take full advantage of your student privileges. The Tri-City offers excellent and cheap transport infrastructure, a thriving system of material assistance at universities and unique gastronomic and housing alternatives. By combining scholarships with free culture, Mevo 2.0 transportation, and budget milk bar food, you can enjoy student life on the Baltic Sea without burdening your wallet.