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How Much Does It Cost to Study in Croatia? Tuition and Living Costs

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Croatia is one of the few countries where EU citizens can study for free at a public university, but only in Croatian. Everyone else pays, and fees differ widely by institution and language. This guide uses the 2026/27 fees in our catalogue of 648 programmes, which come from the institutions and from the national application portal.

EU citizens at public universities

The Higher Education Act (Official Gazette 119/2022, article 79) says that Croatian citizens and citizens of other EU member states who study full-time at a public institution have their tuition fully subsidised by the state. It applies to bachelor's, master's and integrated programmes, and a student may change programme once without losing the subsidy. In later years the subsidy depends on the credits you earn, so check your faculty's rules on progression.

In our catalogue, public programmes cost EU students €0 in a typical case. The upper end of the range, €16,000 a year, belongs to a German-taught medicine programme in Osijek, which charges everyone. Programmes taught in a foreign language often charge EU students as well; see bachelor's degrees in English in Croatia.

The law names EU citizens only. Citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland should ask the institution whether the EU rule applies to them.

Non-EU students at public universities

Each faculty sets its own fee for non-EU citizens in a decision published on its website. In our data, public programmes cost non-EU students from €375 to €16,000 a year, typically €1,116. Not every faculty publishes a figure, so a missing price does not mean a programme is free. Study in Croatia gives wider ranges for degree programmes: from about €1,100 to €10,400 a year in the humanities and social sciences, €1,000 to €6,000 in natural and technical sciences and €10,000 to €12,000 in medicine.

Private institutions

Private universities set their own fees for everyone. In our catalogue they run from €0 to €9,000 a year for EU students, typically €4,500, and from €0 to €9,200 for non-EU students, typically €4,500. The lowest figures come from private institutions that waive fees for some places or groups of students, so check the conditions.

Medicine and other costly degrees

English-taught medicine costs €12,000 a year at the three medical schools that teach it, and the fee is the same for EU and non-EU students. Dentistry in English costs €10,000 to €12,000 a year, pharmacy €10,000 and veterinary medicine €10,500, all at public faculties. See studying medicine in English in Croatia.

Check the unit before you compare prices. Fees are quoted per year, per semester or per credit: the German-taught medicine programme in Osijek is priced at €8,000 a semester, and the University of Rijeka prices its English-taught medicine at €200 per ECTS credit, which makes €12,000 a year.

Costs on top of tuition

Living costs

Study in Croatia estimates average living expenses at €500 to €800 a month, depending on the city and the type of housing. Public dormitories are the cheapest option, at roughly €40 to €150 a month, but they are not available to every student; see student housing in Croatia. Students entitled to subsidised meals pay low prices in student canteens with the iksica card.

Where to look next

Official sources

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.