What you'll really pay
The rent shown isn't what you actually pay out of pocket. Pick a residence and your situation: the tool estimates your housing benefit, your real monthly cost, and the gap versus a studio inside central Paris.
Your situation
The calculation runs locally in your browser. No data is sent anywhere or saved, as stated in our legal notice.
Your estimate
An equivalent studio in central Paris rents for €950 to €1,150 excluding bills.
≈ €6,500 gap per year
over ten months of occupancy, housing benefit deducted on both sides
How this figure is calculated
This is not the official CAF formula. We don't apply the official calculation, which depends on rent ceilings by zone, a flat charge allowance and coefficients revised yearly. The tool applies the APL ranges actually observed in Île-de-France to three income profiles.
In Île-de-France, APL runs from €80 to €320/month. The ranges used here:
- No income, not a scholarship recipient: €250 to €280
- Scholarship recipient (means-tested): €150 to €200 (APL and a scholarship can be combined)
- Working student, modest income: €80 to €150
- Unknown situation: the full range, €80 to €320
The open-market comparison uses the rent ranges gathered from operators and published on our arrondissement pages. The annual gap is calculated over ten months, the most common occupancy period for an academic year, with housing benefit deducted on both sides.
One point that works in our favour, and is worth stating plainly: open-market rents are almost always quoted excluding bills, while the residences shown here include water, electricity, heating and fibre internet. The real gap is therefore larger than what the tool displays.
Before committing, run the official simulation. This estimate isn't contractual and isn't a decision. Only CAF determines your actual entitlement, based on your exact situation and your town's zoning. The official simulator is free and non-binding: caf.fr. See also our student housing benefit guide.
What housing benefit doesn't cover
Your real monthly cost isn't your whole budget. Three extra items come up, and two forms of aid can absorb them.
The security deposit
One month's rent excluding bills at move-in, returned within two months after the move-out inspection.
Renter's insurance
Mandatory, about €6/month. Compare before accepting the one offered by the residence.
Transport
This is the item that varies most depending on which residence you choose: factor it into your comparison.
The guarantor
No personal guarantor? The free Visale guarantee is accepted by all nine residences.
Your application file
The documents to gather, and what a landlord isn't legally allowed to require.
What about CROUS?
If you're eligible, CROUS remains the best value on the market. The DSE application runs January to 31 May.
Frequently asked questions
Does this calculator replace the official CAF simulation?
No, and it doesn't claim to. It applies the actual APL ranges observed in Île-de-France to a given rent, to give you an order of magnitude. Your real entitlement depends on your exact situation, the zoning of your town, and the official scale in effect: only CAF can determine it, via the official simulator on caf.fr.
Is my data saved anywhere?
No. The calculation happens entirely in your browser, in JavaScript. Nothing you enter is sent to the site's publisher or to any third party, and nothing is saved. You can verify this: the page keeps working offline after it first loads.
Why is the result shown as a range?
Because a range is honest and a single number wouldn't be. APL depends on your income, your family situation and your town's zoning: without those details, only an order of magnitude is defensible. In Île-de-France, the benefit runs from €80 to €320 a month.
Are open-market rents really comparable?
Not directly, and this matters. Open-market rents are almost always quoted excluding bills, while the residence rents shown here include water, electricity, heating and fibre internet. At an equal quoted rent, a residence is therefore cheaper than it looks, and the real gap is larger than what the tool shows.
See the residences in detail
Prices by room type, commute to campus, energy ratings and neighbourhood.
Search by university or town