How much does vanlife cost?

One of the most common questions we get asked is how much vanlife actually costs. We have been living and travelling full time in our Peugeot Boxer since January 2022, and after years of tracking our spending across the UK and Europe we have a pretty clear picture of where the money goes each month.

The honest answer is that it depends. It depends on where you travel, how often you move, whether you wildcamp or use paid sites, and what kind of lifestyle you want on the road. But we can share our real figures and help you work out what it might cost for you.

Use our free vanlife budget calculator to build your own personalised monthly estimate. It is pre filled with our real costs as a couple with two dogs, and you can adjust everything to match your situation.

What we actually spend

As a couple with two dogs, our monthly spending typically falls between £1,400 and £1,700 depending on the month. That covers everything from diesel and insurance to groceries, eating out, campsites, internet, subscriptions, and the dogs. Some months are cheaper when we stay put in one spot. Others are more expensive when we are covering big distances or booking ferries.

The biggest single cost is food. Between groceries and eating out we spend around £600 a month for the two of us. That might sound a lot, but we enjoy eating well and we are not shy about a coffee stop or a meal out when we find somewhere good. If you are disciplined about cooking every meal in the van, you could bring that down significantly.

Vehicle costs

Running a large campervan is not cheap, but the costs are predictable once you know what to expect. Our insurance works out at around £50 a month for a fully comprehensive campervan policy. Road tax is £30 a month, MOT around £4 when you spread the annual cost, and breakdown cover with European recovery comes to about £17 a month. On top of that we put aside £75 a month for repairs and maintenance, because older vans will always need something eventually.

Living on the road

Diesel is usually our second biggest expense after food. We budget around £200 a month but this varies hugely depending on how much we are driving. Months where we stay in one region cost far less than months where we are covering hundreds of miles.

Campsites and parking average around £75 a month for us, but we wildcamp a lot and use European Aires and designated motorhome areas when we are on the continent. If you are planning to use paid campsites most nights in the UK during peak season, you will want to budget considerably more than that.

Ferries, tolls, vignettes, and tunnels add up when you are travelling through Europe. We budget around £100 a month for travel costs, though some months we spend nothing and others we spend much more if we are booking a channel crossing or driving through toll heavy countries like France or Italy.

Staying connected

We both work from the road so connectivity is not optional for us. We spend around £175 a month across phone contracts, a separate mobile data SIM, and Starlink. That is more than most people would need. If you are not working remotely, a single phone contract with EU roaming would cover you for well under £30 a month. We have written about our internet setup in detail if you want to see the full breakdown.

The costs people forget

Subscriptions creep up on you. Between streaming services, cloud storage, apps, and various memberships, we spend around £100 a month on subscriptions alone. It is worth auditing what you actually use and cutting anything you do not.

Pets are another cost that adds up. Between food, vet bills, and flea and worm treatments for the girls, we budget around £110 a month. If you are travelling with dogs in Europe, factor in pet passport costs and the occasional unexpected vet visit as well.

Laundry, gas for cooking, and water refills are all small individual costs but they add up over a year. We spend around £30 a month between the three of them.

Is it cheaper than renting?

In most cases, yes. The biggest saving is eliminating rent or mortgage payments entirely. On top of that you are no longer paying council tax, water rates, electricity, or gas bills, all of which have risen sharply in the UK in recent years. Those household costs alone can easily exceed £500 a month before you have even bought food or put fuel in the car.

That said, vanlife is not free. And if you factor in the upfront cost of buying and converting a van, which can easily run to well over £50,000 for a professional conversion, the financial picture is more nuanced than it first appears. For us personally, the trade off has been worth it many times over, but it is not a decision to take lightly.

Work out your own costs

Everyone's vanlife budget will look different. The figures above are based on our lifestyle as a couple with two dogs who both work from the road and travel between the UK and Europe. Your numbers might be higher or lower depending on your circumstances.

Try our free vanlife budget calculator to build a personalised monthly estimate. Every figure can be adjusted, you can toggle items on and off, and add your own custom costs. It is the quickest way to get a realistic picture of what vanlife would cost for you.