Netherlands vs Denmark for English-Taught Bachelor's Degrees

Tuition: you pay in the Netherlands, you study free in Denmark

The biggest financial difference between these two countries sits right at the start. Dutch public universities charge EU, EEA, Swiss and Surinamese students the statutory tuition fee, set by the government at €2,601 for 2025-26 and rising to €2,694 for 2026-27 . Every research university and university of applied sciences in the country charges the same amount for a first bachelor's degree.

Denmark removes tuition entirely for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. You pay 0 DKK at all eight public research universities for a bachelor's or master's, on the same terms as a Danish student, according to Study in Denmark . Only students from outside the EU/EEA pay tuition there, and those fees run into the thousands of euros a year. If your only goal is the lowest possible tuition bill, Denmark wins outright.

Admission: numerus fixus vs a two-quota system

The Netherlands runs open admission for most bachelor's programs: if you meet the diploma and language requirements, you get a place. A group of high-demand programs, including medicine, dentistry, and several business and psychology degrees, apply numerus fixus instead. These programs cap the number of seats and select applicants through the university's own decentralized selection process, weighing grades, a motivation letter, and sometimes an interview or written test. There is no lottery anymore.

Denmark uses a national quota system for its bachelor's programs. Quota 1 admits students purely on grade point average from secondary school. Quota 2 looks past grades to motivation letters, relevant work experience, and sometimes an entrance test or interview, giving space to applicants whose profile fits a specific program even if their grades alone would not qualify them. Competitive programs, such as medicine or law, lean harder on quota 2 criteria.

Program availability and language

Both countries run large English-taught bachelor's catalogs, spanning business, engineering, IT, social sciences and the arts. Dutch universities of applied sciences add a strong practical, internship-heavy track alongside the research universities, giving you a choice between academic and applied routes in the same subject. Danish universities lean more academic across the board, with fewer applied-science alternatives.

Language requirements look similar on paper: both countries ask for IELTS or TOEFL scores for English-taught programs, typically around IELTS 6.5. Neither country requires you to know Dutch or Danish to study an English-taught bachelor's, though picking up basic language skills helps with part-time work and daily life in both places.

Housing: book early in both countries

Student housing runs tight in both countries, and it's the practical problem that catches new arrivals off guard more than tuition or admission ever does. Dutch cities, Amsterdam especially, have run a housing shortage for years, so most universities point new students toward organizations such as DUWO or Kences for a room and recommend registering the moment you accept your offer. Danish cities face the same squeeze, particularly Copenhagen, where waiting lists for student halls (kollegier) run long enough that many first-year students start out in short-term or temporary rooms before finding something stable. In both countries, apply for housing as early as your university allows rather than waiting until closer to the semester start.

Living costs: Dutch vs Danish cities

Amsterdam is the most expensive city to live in for the Netherlands, with student rent commonly running €650 to €1,200 a month depending on the room type and neighborhood. Rotterdam and other secondary Dutch cities cost noticeably less for rent and daily spending than Amsterdam.

Copenhagen is Denmark's most expensive city, matching or exceeding Amsterdam once you add rent, transport and food together. Aarhus and Odense cost less across the board, so choosing a Danish university outside the capital stretches a student budget further, the same way choosing Rotterdam over Amsterdam does in the Netherlands.

Application deadlines: apply earlier for the Netherlands

Dutch numerus fixus programs close on 15 January through Studielink, well before most students start thinking about applications elsewhere. Regular, non-capped Dutch bachelor's programs stay open until 1 May. Miss the January date for a numerus fixus program and you lose your shot at that intake entirely, so mark it early if medicine, dentistry or a similar capped program is your target.

Denmark runs a later, two-track calendar through optagelse.dk. Quota 2 applications, along with any application based on a non-Danish secondary qualification, close on 15 March. Quota 1 applications from Danish upper-secondary graduates close on 5 July. As an international applicant, your relevant deadline is almost always the March one.

Quick comparison

Which country fits you

Pick the Netherlands if you want the applied-science track alongside academic degrees, or if a specific numerus fixus program, medicine for example, is your target and you accept paying a modest tuition fee for it. Pick Denmark if tuition cost matters most, or if you prefer an admission process built around a broader profile rather than grades alone. Either country gives you a low-cost, English-taught route into a European bachelor's degree compared with fully international-fee destinations such as the UK.