PhD Stipend vs Cost-of-Living Calculator
Find out whether a stipend actually covers the rent and the bills — the monthly surplus or shortfall, a coverage ratio, and your rent burden, from figures you enter.
Does the stipend cover the bills?
A coverage ratio above 100% means the stipend clears your costs; a rent burden much above 30% is a classic budget squeeze. These are your figures, not advice — stipends, taxes, and living costs vary widely by country and city.
Can you live on the stipend?
An offer letter quotes a stipend as one big annual number, which tells you almost nothing about month-to-month life. What matters is what lands in your account each month and what leaves it. This calculator does that arithmetic — net monthly income against real living costs — so you can see at a glance whether a funding package is survivable in the city where you’d actually be living.
It’s built for the decisions that come before you accept: comparing two offers, judging whether a second city is worth the higher rent, or working out how much a teaching or part-time top-up would need to plug a gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the stipend calculator work?
Enter your gross annual stipend, your monthly rent, and your other monthly expenses. The tool divides the stipend into a monthly figure, optionally subtracts a tax or withholding percentage, then compares what's left to your total living costs. You get the monthly surplus or shortfall, the same figure over a year, a coverage ratio, and your rent burden.
What counts as a good coverage ratio?
The coverage ratio is your net monthly stipend divided by your monthly costs, as a percentage. Anything above 100% means the stipend clears your bills with something to spare; below 100% means you're dipping into savings, debt, or extra work each month. A comfortable cushion sits well above 100% to absorb one-off costs and price rises.
Why does the rent burden matter?
Rent burden is the share of your net stipend that goes on rent. A widely used rule of thumb flags anything much above 30% as a strain — and PhD stipends in expensive cities often blow past it. Seeing the number makes it obvious when the location, not the stipend, is the real problem.
Should I use my gross or net stipend?
Enter the gross annual figure and use the tax field to approximate what's withheld, if anything. Some stipends are treated as tax-free scholarships, some as taxable income, and some sit in between depending on the country and how the funding is classified — so set the rate to match your own situation rather than assuming.
Does it account for cost-of-living differences between cities?
Only through the numbers you enter. There's no built-in city index — you supply your real rent and expenses, which already reflect where you live. To compare two offers in different cities, run the calculator twice with each city's stipend and local costs and compare the surplus and coverage ratio.
Educational estimate only — not financial advice. Stipends, tax treatment, and living costs vary widely by country, university, and city, and the tool works entirely from the figures you supply.