What a room in a flatshare costs, city by city

What the data says in 2026

In the United Kingdom a room in a flatshare costs £761 a month on average according to SpareRoom (2026-Q2), a year-on-year change of +0.5%. London (£979) is the most expensive city we track and Lincoln (£510) the most affordable.

The reading is the same across every market: the supply of rooms is growing and prices are flat. The problem is no longer finding a room, it's getting the person you share it with right.

How these prices are calculated

Each country has a single public, citable source: idealista's room index for Spain and Portugal, LocService for France, the Moses Mendelssohn Institut for Germany, SpareRoom for the UK and the US, Daft.ie for Ireland and HousingAnywhere for the Netherlands. The period is shown next to each figure.

These are asking prices — what the listings ask for — not what people end up paying. Use them to know what budget to plan for, not to negotiate. They're updated when the source publishes a new period, and no city goes up without a verified figure.

Price is half the decision. The other half, who you'll share a kitchen and a bathroom with, doesn't show up in any table: that's what the test and the guide on how to choose a flatmate are for.