# Dorm or apartment at UT: which costs less?

**$5,739** more for the apartment

The dorm is cheaper. The apartment’s 12 payments cover the summer; the dorm rate covers fall and spring.

- Dorm, room and dining**$14,465**
- Apartment total**$20,204**
- Apartment rent, 12 payments**$16,200**
- Apartment utilities and fees**$624**
- Apartment food**$3,380How it’s calculated**

The dorm side is the room rate plus any other food you add. The apartment side is rent times the number of payments, plus utilities and fees for every payment, plus food.

A deposit you get back isn’t a cost, so it’s left out of both sides.

**Sources 4 sources**

- [UT Housing and Dining: dorm rates, 2026–27](https://housing.utexas.edu/housing/residence-halls/residence-hall-rates)
- [Field Guide apartment listings: West Campus rents for 2027–28](https://utaustin.guide/housing)
- [Austin Energy residential rates, with the EIA’s 2020 household energy survey](https://austinenergy.com/rates/residential-rates)
- [UT Housing and Dining: commuter meal plans](https://housing.utexas.edu/dining/meal-plans/commuter-meal-plans)

[Compare West Campus apartments](https://utaustin.guide/housing)[UT dorms and rates](https://utaustin.guide/research/texas/ut-austin-residence-halls)[Price a lease quote](https://utaustin.guide/tools/lease-cost)

By [Sulayman Bowles](https://sulayman-bowles.dev/about) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

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Source: https://utaustin.guide/tools/dorm-or-apartment · Checked 2026-11-12 · Field Guide: UT Austin