Sources and method
Which universities and why
Version 1 covers the 10 public contact universities with the largest 2024 headcount enrolment in the Department of Higher Education and Training's HEMIS data (PowerHEDA): TUT, NWU, UJ, UP, UKZN, Wits, UFS, CPUT, SU and DUT. UNISA is left out because it is a distance-learning university and has no residence or commuting costs to compare. Some of the NWU and UP headcounts include distance students. The order is about size only. It is not a ranking. NMU, WSU, UCT and UWC are planned next. Source: HEDA / DHET HEMIS data: PowerHEDA – Student headcount by institution (2024) · checked 25 October 2026
How we collect figures
- We read each figure in the university's own fee booklet or page, or in NSFAS documents, and type it in by hand. We don't copy whole tables.
- Each figure has a source link and the date we checked it.
- Labels: official Published by the university or NSFAS; est. Our estimate (method in the note); NSFAS ref NSFAS allowance used as a reference amount, not a measured cost; secondary Third-party page quoting the university; unverified We could not load the official page; figure seen only in a search index of it.
- Where a figure isn't published or we couldn't read it, the site says so. It never fills the gap with a guess.
- Fees are 2026 fees. Universities usually publish 2027 fees between November and January, and we will update the site then.