The Cost Of A Gen Z Student Night Out

A recent Student Beans survey of over 1,000 16-18-year-olds found that 50% of students don’t plan to drink during freshers’ week and a further 70% would be open to a sober freshers’ week. 

While we’ve seen a general drop off in students enjoying a tipple over recent years, this suggests that the next influx of students is cutting back even more than initially thought. 

Research from the Youth Trends 2023 report claimed that as many as 40% of those aged 18-24 would consider giving up alcohol completely. 

These numbers would equate to 160,000 students spending freshers’ week sober. So, what exactly is leading to this sober trend?

There’s no denying that the cost of living crisis has impacted students, with 52% of students running out of money before term ends according to the Natwest Student Living Index (2024). Therefore, it’s likely that this has some bearing on students’ alcohol consumption in order to keep costs down when socialising.

To see if students are actually saving money on a night out by not drinking and exactly which university you should be heading to if the cost of a night out is a concern, we’ve compiled data to find the answers.

The average cost of a student night out

We know it’s important for students to save money wherever they can, but is a night out really possible on a student budget anymore? We looked at the cost of drinks, taxis, club entry and McDonald’s across the country and worked out what the average night out would cost.

When we worked out the average across the UK, we found that a night out would generally cost students £49.05. This is before including pre-drinks and that excessive Maccies order you know you won’t finish.

Have sober students got it right? 

So how about our sober friends? It’ll come as no surprise that staying sober on a night out will save you money. While you might still be paying for taxis, club entry and even a cheeky kebab at the end of the night, not drinking alcohol will generally save you money.

We found that sober students were saving £18.58 on average compared to their friends who were drinking. That’s not far off your weekly shop, so we can see why more and more students are sober-curious or even teetotal.

In fact, the SIBA Craft Beer Report 2023 found that 44% are motivated by the price when choosing a craft beer, which suggests even those who are drinking can be somewhat swayed by price.

When speaking to Rob Fink, CEO of alcohol-free craft beer company Big Drop, he largely agreed, saying that alcohol-free now tastes just as good as its alcoholic counterpart, it can be vegan-friendly, lower in calories and cheaper than an alcoholic beer which presents quite a compelling case to convince consumers to purchase if drinking alcohol isn’t their main reason to buy. 

Put simply, there seem to be many bonuses in putting aside an alcoholic drink in favour of something else, with some of the main reasons being cost, health and ethics.

The most expensive city for a student night out

Now, we get that not everyone wants to spend their freshers sober, so you might be wondering which cities to avoid when choosing a university. While London is an obvious winner here, we’ve chosen to exclude it from our results to give a clearer picture of the most expensive cities outside of the capital.

And the winner is… Liverpool. Shocking, right? With the average cost for 3 pints coming in at £40.50 and club entry at £13.50, your night out is likely to cost you just under £70 in Liverpool. The good news is that if you’re going out sober, you’ll only be spending £4.50 for three soft drinks. That’s quite a big difference.

The most expensive sober city for a student night out

So, which city in the UK is the most expensive for our teetotallers then? If you’re heading (or from) South Wales, then steer clear of Cardiff. A sober night out here will cost you £36.68, with three soft drinks costing you £5.61.

It’s not your lack of booze that will save you the most money in Cardiff though. In fact, if you’re heading out in Cardiff for the night, you’ll want to walk, as just a 10-minute drive will cost you £17.25. 

Find your nearest sober bar here.

The least expensive city for a student night out

If you’re heading up north for uni then you’re in luck as Preston has some of the best prices when it comes to a student night out. We’re talking just £9 for three pints and a total of £27.40 for your whole night out, including taxis, club entry, drinks and your Maccies on the way home. 

It’s good news for our sober students in Preston too as this city also comes in as the cheapest for a teetotal night out. With club entry at just £3 and cheap soft drinks too — only £3.93 for three soft drinks — the whole night will cost you just £22.33.

The booziest (and least boozy) cities

Home to a decades-old music scene and some incredible bars and clubs, it’ll come as no surprise to most that Liverpool tops out the charts as the booziest city for students. With an average yearly spend of £639.64 on alcohol, it’s safe to say that Liverpool students enjoy their drink.

If you want to drink but not blow your entire student loan, then Leicester might be the place for you. Only spending an average of £172.80 a year on alcohol, Leicester clocks in as the city with the least alcohol consumption.

How to stay sober and still have fun on a night out

If you really don’t want to drink on a night out then we promise you you’re absolutely not alone. Whatever your reasoning, from not liking the taste to having a busy day the next day, we’ve spoken to the experts to help you stay sober while out and about.

Club Soda are the UK’s mindful drinking specialist and experts in alcohol and behaviour change. They’re also helping to bring no- and low-alcohol drinks to the mainstream with their tasting rooms in London. Here’s what the Club Soda CEO and founder, Laura Willoughby, had to say:

1. Never know what will be on offer or panic when you get to the bar?

“Every venue has an alcohol-free offering, even Vodka Revs, so do a daytime reccy and take some time to see what they have and speak to the bar staff about what they can make for you. So, when you go with friends you know what you will order.”

You can also find your nearest sober bar here.

2. Worried that everyone else will be drinking?

“There are more people out there not drinking or less fussed about drinking than you think, you will find them. Discover events where alcohol is not the focus and other activities are why people are there, it is where you will find people for whom drinking is not the core of their identity.”

Check out 10 fun alternatives to drinking you can do with your uni friends.

3. Worried you’ll give in to peer pressure when you’re out?

“Have something to look forward to when you are back home, or the following morning, so you feel like you have had a treat or a personal win that outweighs any awkwardness about not drinking. 

Start with alcohol-free drinks and by the time everyone else is on drink number two you will be glad you stuck with your choice and others won’t even notice what you are drinking.”

Advice for saving money on a student night out

From our data, we’ve spotted where the most serious savings can be made on your night out and are here to make sure you still have fun without blowing up your bank account.

1. Skip on the taxis. We know it feels bougie rolling up to the club in an Uber, but our data shows that the average cost of a 10-minute journey on a night out is over £10. Instead, why not get the bus or walk? Student cities are usually pretty well connected with public transport so make the most of it.

2. Eat at home. We know nothing hits quite like that McDonald’s or kebab after a night out but that’s another £7.11 you could save on average. Stock up on oven chips instead and debrief on the night while you wait for your late-night treat.

3. Go sober for the night. While this might seem scary to some, we promise you’ll still have a great night with your mates. And you’ll feel even better the next day when you’ve spent far less on booze than you normally would. The average cost for three pints is £23.75 vs. just £5.18 for three soft drinks. You do the maths.

4. Set a budget. You can work out how much you have to spend on a weekly basis and therefore how much you can allocate for a night out. To stop yourself from overspending, why not draw out the cash for the night or create a spending pot in your bank account to pay for the night?

5. Look for offers and freebies. Happy hour is your best friend as a student. Check your locals to find out if they offer 2-for-1 drinks at certain times and check whether you can get into a venue cheaper or for free by going earlier or later. You could also keep an eye on the local bars’ social media accounts for special deals.

Want more info on being sober at uni? Check out our research on navigating uni as a non-drinker.

Methodology:

Student Beans surveyed 1,158 16-18-year-olds in August 2024 asking respondents if they plan to drink at university. To calculate how many first-year students are not drinking, we have taken the most recent estimated admissions data from UCAS and calculated 50% of first-year students who are not going to drink.

To find out the average cost of a student night out, we collated and analysed the recent data from multiple sources. We used Student Crowd’s top 20 universities in 2023 and worked out the average cost of entry tickets from each city using Fatsoma, the average cost of local taxis doing a 5km (10 mins) drive from BetterTaxi and the average cost of a pint, soft drinks and McMeal from Numbeo.

To find out which universities have the highest and lowest alcohol consumption, we gathered the monthly alcohol spending data from Natwest Student Living Index and calculated what the yearly spend looks like for each city.