How to Save Money in Warsaw: 20 Tips for Students

The following list is a collection of 20 proven Warsaw lifehacks that will allow you to survive your studies in the capital on a minimal budget.

ZTM Quarterly Student Ticket (90-day

Forget about buying monthly tickets. The most cost-effective option for a student in Warsaw is a 90-day personal ticket for zone 1, which with a 50% student discount costs exactly PLN 140. Converting this into monthly costs, you pay only PLN 46.60 for unlimited rides on both metro lines (M1, M2), all trams, buses and trains of the Fast Urban Railway (SKM) and Koleje Mazowieckie (KM) within the borders of Warsaw.

Free Veturilo up to 20 minutes for short transfers

Warsaw’s Veturilo public bike system offers free first 20 minutes of each rental.

• How to use it? It’s ideal for moving quickly between campuses. It takes about 5-7 minutes to cycle from the main campus of the University of Warsaw (Krakowskie Przedmieście) to the University Library (BUW on Dobra Street). By cycling, you save on short-term tickets and do not waste time waiting for the bus line 106 or 118.

Use SKM and KM trains instead of standing in traffic jams

Many people commuting to studies from cheaper, neighbouring districts or towns near Warsaw (e.g. from Legionowo, Ząbki, Piaseczno) do not know that SKM and Koleje Mazowieckie (KM) trains within the first ticket zone are covered by a joint ZTM ticket. The SKM train from Warszawa Olszynka Grochowska or Warszawa Gocławek stations takes students to Warszawa Śródmieście station in 12 minutes – without standing in traffic jams on the Poniatowski Bridge.

Warsaw Milk Bars – dinner for pennies

If you don’t have time to cook in a dorm, the capital’s milk bars offer full, two-course home-cooked dinners at state-subsidized prices.

• “Pressowy” Milk Bar (10/16 Marszałkowska Street): A legendary place close to Unii Lubelskiej Square and the M1 Politechnika metro station. You can eat here the iconic lazy, krupnik or pork chop with potatoes for about PLN 14-18.
• “Gdański” Milk Bar (33 gen. Andersa Street, Muranów): An excellent place for psychology students of the University of Warsaw (close to Stawki Street). Delicious pancakes and dumplings at prices not exceeding PLN 12 per serving.
• Milk Bar “Biedronka” (40 Grzybowska Street, Wola): Located close to the new business area, it offers classic, cheap home-cooked food surrounded by modern skyscrapers.

Buy vegetables at Haly Mirowskie at the end of the trading day

Hale Mirowskie (Mirowski Square 1) is the shopping heart of Warsaw.

• Shopping trick: If you go to the local bazaar on Saturday around 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (when the vendors close their trade before Sunday), you can buy fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs or dairy products from local farmers from Mazovia for a fraction of the discount price. Sellers drastically reduce prices so as not to return the goods to warehouses.

Use Warsaw’s Foodsi and Too Good To Go apps

Warsaw is the largest market for applications that save food from waste. Thanks to Foodsi and Too Good To Go, you can buy surplus food from iconic Warsaw bakeries (e.g. Vincent, Putka, A. Blikle), cafes and sushi restaurants for 1/3 of the regular price. You can often buy a package full of fresh sandwiches, salads or buns for the whole day of study for PLN 10-15.

Free and clean Warsaw tap water

The water supplied by Warsaw Waterworks (coming m.in from the “Gruba Kaśka” settling tank) undergoes rigorous tests and is completely safe and suitable for drinking directly from the tap. Forget about buying bottled water in Żabki. Carry a thermal bottle with you – in Warsaw, on university campuses and in urban spaces (e.g. on the Vistula boulevards or at Grzybowski Square), free drinking fountains with cold drinking water are installed.

Free codes for Legimi and Empik Go from Koszykowa

The Public Library of m.st Warsaw – the Main Library of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship (the famous Library on Koszykowa Street, 26/28 Koszykowa Street) is a cult place.

• Trick: By signing up for the library for free, you can download free access codes to the Legimi and Empik Go platforms every month. This gives unlimited access to thousands of e-books and audiobooks (academic readings, fiction) completely free of charge, saving about PLN 40-50 per month on private subscriptions.

Take advantage of free science zones (Coworking instead of cafes)

Don’t pay PLN 18 for coffee in fashionable cafes in Powiśle just to work with your laptop. Warsaw offers excellent, quiet and free zones for work and study:

• Reading Room of the National Library (213 Niepodległości Avenue, Pole Mokotowskie): After a thorough modernization, it is one of the most modern and beautiful workspaces in Poland. Free high-speed internet, sockets at each desk, silence and professional lighting.
• Gardens on the roof of the University of Warsaw (56/66 Dobra Street): On the warmer days of May and June, it is a great place to study outdoors with a view of the panorama of Warsaw and the Vistula River – entrance to the gardens is completely free.

Free student software at WUT and UW

As a student of a public university in Warsaw, you have the right to use the full Microsoft Office 365 package (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) free of charge using your university e-mail address. In addition, students of the Warsaw University of Technology receive free access to specialized engineering programs, such as AutoCAD, MATLAB or Adobe Creative Cloud licenses at selected faculties. Before purchasing any software, check the offerings of your departmental IT department.

Museum of Modern Art (MSN) on Defilad Square – free exhibitions

The Museum of Culture in its new, monumental building on Defilad Square (right next to the Palace of Culture and Science) is the most important point on the cultural map of Warsaw in 2026.

• Trick: In addition to the regular days of free admission, the museum organizes numerous free debates, curatorial tours, film screenings and workshops for students. It is an excellent, free alternative to spending free time in the very center of the city.

Free days in Warsaw’s national museums and castles

When planning a tour of the capital, match your plans with the days of free admission to key cultural institutions:

Cheap studio cinemas instead of expensive chain stores

Avoid expensive tickets in multiplexes in shopping centers (Złote Tarasy, Westfield Arkadia). Choose Warsaw studio cinemas that offer student tickets cheaper by half and a unique repertoire:

• Muranów Cinema (5 gen. Andersa Street): Atmospheric, historical cinema with a great atmosphere.
• Iluzjon Cinema (Mokotów, 50a Narbutta Street): The seat of the National Film Archive, delightful with its architecture from the 50s and offering student tickets for cinema classics at very low prices.

Summer chillout on Poniatówka and the Vistula boulevards

Warsaw is one of the few European capitals to have a completely wild, forested right bank of the river. Poniatówka Beach (under the Poniatowski Bridge) is a favorite meeting place for students. Lighting a barbecue in designated zones or spending time on the beach is completely free. On the other hand, the left bank (Vistula Boulevards) offers a modern promenade, where it is allowed to legally consume low-proof alcoholic beverages outdoors on certain sections.

Free entrances to student clubs with ELS

With an Electronic Student Card (ELS), you can use free or very cheap tickets to iconic Warsaw student clubs on selected days of the week:

• Remont Club (12a Waryńskiego Street, close to the Politechnika metro station): Legendary Thursday and student parties with free admission for students with a valid ID.
• Stodola Club (10 Batorego Street, Pole Mokotowskie): It organizes numerous concerts and cultural events with student discounts, as well as free club events for first-year students of Warsaw universities during the adaptation period (October).

Honorary Blood Donation in Saska Kępa (RCKiK)

By donating blood at the Regional Blood Donation and Blood Treatment Center in Warsaw at 63 Saska Street (Saska Kępa):

• You get 2 days off from classes at the university (the day of the dedication and the next day – a great way to extend the weekend).
• You gain a caloric equivalent in the form of 9 chocolates.
• You can deduct a blood donation from the tax base in the annual PIT-37 return (as a donation for public benefit purposes), which gives an additional tax refund when working on a mandate contract.

Free dental care at MUW clinics

The Medical University of Warsaw runs didactic clinics of dentistry at 6 Binieckiego Street (Ochota).

• Working principle: Preventive procedures, fillings, root canal treatment or oral hygiene are performed there free of charge (or for a symbolic payment of the cost of materials) by students of the last years of dentistry at the Medical University of Warsaw under the direct, rigorous supervision of professors and specialist doctors. This is full safety and savings of several hundred zlotys on visits to private dentists.

Warsaw Food Cooperatives (e.g. Dobrze’s Cooperative)

By joining Warsaw food cooperatives (e.g. in Śródmieście/Wola), you can buy organic, healthy food directly from Mazovian farmers bypassing the margins of supermarkets. In exchange for discounts on shopping (reaching 30-40%), the members of the cooperative undertake to work, for example, 3 hours a month when unloading goods or operating the cooperative’s store, which also teaches local entrepreneurship.

Thrift stores in Praga and Żoliborz – branded clothes for pennies

Warsaw has a well-developed market of second-hand clothing stores. Avoid expensive chain stores in shopping malls. Go to the thrift stores located along Grochowska and Targowa Streets (Prague) or Słowackiego Street (Żoliborz). On sale days (usually before a new delivery), you can buy excellent quality branded clothes (e.g. woolen coats, outdoor jackets) there for PLN 5-15 each.

Free psychological help at the University of Warsaw and WUT

Studying in Warsaw, especially during the exam session, can be a source of enormous stress. You don’t have to pay PLN 200 for a private visit to a therapist. Both the University of Warsaw (Academic Center for Psychological Support) and the Warsaw University of Technology offer their students completely free, anonymous psychological consultations and support in emotional crises conducted by qualified specialists on campuses.

Cost breakdown: How much does a thrifty student in Warsaw really spend?

The table below shows a comparison of the monthly budget of a student in Warsaw settled in the “Survival” model (maximum saving using the above tricks) and the “Comfort” model (standard commercial expenses).

John Paul II Scholarships m.st Warsaw – Forgotten Money from the City

Most students coming to the capital seek financial support only at their home universities (social and scientific scholarships). Few people know that the Office of m.st Warsaw runs an independent, extremely attractive scholarship program: John Paul II Scholarships of the m.st of Warsaw, managed by the John Paul II Thought Center (11 Foksal Street).

Award conditions:

This scholarship is not only for people who are religiously engaged – the criteria are purely substantive and social. To receive support (which in the academic year 2026/2027 is between PLN 500 and 1500 per month for the full 9 months of the academic year), you must meet two conditions:

• Study at a Warsaw university (state or private) and not exceed the income threshold per person in the family set by the city (currently this threshold is very favorable and amounts to about PLN 3000 net).
• Demonstrate social involvement, scientific, artistic or sporting successes (e.g. volunteering, publications, high grade point average). Applications are usually submitted by mid-October.

Student laundries in dormitories (Kopińska, Kickiego) vs. Expensive laundries

Renting cheap micro-rooms or apartments in old buildings (tenement houses in Praga-Północ or Grochów) is often associated with the lack of a washing machine in the premises. Using commercial laundries (e.g. the Speed Queen chain) is a huge cost – one laundry with drying is an expense of PLN 35-50.

Student washing machine hack:

If you have friends living in Warsaw’s Student Dormitories (e.g. WUT dormitories “Babilon” or “Sylabuz” at Kopińska Street in Ochota, or DS 3 UW at Kickiego Street in Praga-Południe), you can use the student laundries there.

• How does it work? Dormitories have professional industrial laundries, where the cost of one wash cycle (often with a professional detergent) is only PLN 5-8, and tumble drying is another PLN 3-5. All you have to do is ask a friend from the dormitory to book a washing machine in the internal system (e.g. Student Panel) and enter the laundry room together. On a monthly basis, you save over PLN 120 on the cleanliness of your clothes.

Cheap printing (Photocopying) – Faculty basements and free local government limits

Printing study materials, scripts or transitional works in commercial photocopying points in the vicinity of Krakowskie Przedmieście or Plac Politechniki costs about PLN 0.40 – 0.60 for one A4 page. With several hundred pages of materials per session, this gives a considerable amount.

Where to print the cheapest in Warsaw?

• Faculty photocopying cellars: Avoid photocopying on the main streets. The cheapest points are located in the basements of faculty buildings (e.g. the iconic photocopier in the basement of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw at Lipowa Street or in the MIMUW building on Banacha Street). Prices per page start from PLN 0.15 – 0.22.
• Free pools from the Student Government: Many faculty student self-governments (e.g. at the Warsaw University of Technology) have dedicated student rooms equipped with printers. As a student of a given faculty, you are often entitled to print a certain number of pages (e.g. 50-100 pages per semester) completely free of charge – paper and toner are financed by local government contributions. All you have to do is come with your own flash drive and show your ID.

MUW Institute of Dentistry (6 Binieckiego Street) – Instructions for enrolling in free treatment

The free dentist at MUW, which was signaled earlier, is one of the best health lifehacks in Warsaw, but it requires going through a specific registration procedure, which is not written about in official guides.

How to sign up for free dental treatment step by step?

• Track semester cycles: Registration for free treatment starts twice a year – at the beginning of October (winter semester) and at the beginning of March (summer semester), when dental students start clinical classes.
• Phone/online registration: You must call directly to the registration of the Institute of Dentistry of the Medical University of Warsaw (Binieckiego 6, Ochota) on the designated days of patient recruitment or report in person. Information on the recruitment of student patients is published on Facebook groups such as “Patients of Dentistry MUM“.
• Time and patience: The procedure is performed by a student of the fourth or fifth year of dentistry in the presence of a medical assistant (doctor). Treatments usually take longer than in a private office (because each step is controlled and evaluated by a professor), but they are performed with the utmost care, using modern composites and completely free of charge (also root canal treatment under a microscope, which privately costs over PLN 1000).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How to get a Varsovian Card to pay less for ZTM tickets in Warsaw?

As a student, you can apply for a discounted Warsaw Card, provided that you settle your personal income tax (PIT) at one of Warsaw’s tax offices, indicating Warsaw as your place of residence (even if you do not have a permanent residence here). If you work on a contract of mandate in Warsaw, tax settlement in the capital is very simple, and the Varsovian Card allows you to buy an even cheaper 90-day ZTM ticket (for PLN 110 instead of the standard PLN 140 for students without a Warsaw Card).

Do Warsaw’s city drinking fountains operate all year round?

Free city drinking fountains (the so-called “Grube Kaśki”) and water springs located on the streets of Warsaw operate seasonally – usually from May to the end of September (in spring and summer). In winter, they are taken out of use due to the risk of freezing of water supply systems. However, drinking water sources located inside university buildings (e.g. in the WUT Main Building or in the building of the MIMUW faculty) are open and available to students throughout the academic year.

How to sign up for the Library on Koszykowa Street to get a free code for Legimi?

Signing up for the Library on Koszykowa Street is completely free of charge and only requires you to appear in person at the registration department with a valid identity document (e.g. ID card) and a student ID. After creating a reader’s account, codes for the Legimi or Empik Go platforms are issued on designated days at the beginning of each month – the number of codes is limited, so it is worth going to the library or logging in to their online system on the day of the start of code distribution.

Where in Warsaw can you do sports for free outside of AZS?

Warsaw has an excellent infrastructure of free outdoor sports facilities. In city parks (e.g. in Pole Mokotowskie, in Reagan Park? No, Regana Park is in Gdańsk – in Warsaw, in Skaryszewski Park or Praga Park) there are free outdoor gyms and professional paths to calisthenics (street workout). In addition, there are free, publicly accessible beach volleyball courts on the Vistula River (at Poniatówka Beach), and in winter the city organizes free skating rinks (e.g. on the Old Town Square – you only pay for renting skates if you don’t have your own).

Is food from Warsaw eateries (foodsharing) safe?

Yes, the principle of foodsharing in Warsaw is based on mutual trust and strict regulations. Only fresh, intact food that has not exceeded its expiry date may be brought to the canteen (e.g. located at Wilcza Street in Śródmieście or on the campus of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Ursynów). It is forbidden to leave raw meat, eggs or dishes containing unpasteurized milk. The products are regularly inspected by volunteers taking care of the point.

Studying in Warsaw in the 2026/2027 academic year doesn’t have to mean constant austerity if you learn to use the capital’s resources wisely. Using 20 of the described tricks – from a quarterly ZTM ticket, through cheap lunches in milk bars such as Prasowy, to free coworking zones in the reading room of the National Library and free codes for Legimi – allows you to save over PLN 2000 per month compared to the commercial cost of living.

The key to success is planning, knowledge of the local geography of Warsaw and full use of the privileges resulting from having a student ID.