Bus and train: what to pay with and what it costs

There are three options, and the difference is not convenience — it is what each one demands from you.

an anonymous card cannot be blocked — lose it and the money on it goes with it

This is the only option that works without MitID, without a Danish bank and without an address. You buy it with cash — at kiosks, at sales points and at the 7-Eleven in DSB stations.

But to check in, the card must hold a minimum balance, and it is higher than you would expect. The smallest top-up is 100 kr., the maximum balance is 2,200 kr., and only whole kroner.

The card is issued set to “Lokal” and “Voksen”. You can only change that at a sales point, not yourself.

• Local journeyat least 70 kr. for an adult, 35 kr. for a child
• Between parts of the country600 kr. adult, 300 kr. child — Zealand ↔ Funen ↔ Jutland
• Where it does not workon Bornholm and in Sweden

The rules for children are the same across Denmark, and they are more generous than people assume. One adult with a ticket takes two children under 12 free of charge.

A child aged 12–15 needs their own børnebillet — roughly half price — even when travelling with an adult. But they too may bring one child under 12 free. From 16 it is the adult fare.

To give a child their own profile in the app, an adult creates it from their own account. After that the child can also check in companions.

• Under 12free, two per adult
• 12–15 years oldbørnebillet, roughly half price
• Across the Øresundonly two children under 7 travel free
• Pramfree on the bus, train, metro and light rail

you need something proving the child’s age — otherwise the inspector charges the adult fare

Prices went up on 18 January 2026. Below: Copenhagen and Zealand, adult fare.

Do the maths: a 30-day pendlerkort pays for itself from about 13 working days a month — that is, if you travel there and back more than 26 times. If you work a full week, the pass is almost always cheaper.

For 2 zones specifically: the pass costs 530 kr., while there and back per journey costs 44 kr. Over 21 working days that is 924 kr. The difference is about 394 kr. a month.

• 2 zonespass 530 kr. · journey 22 kr. · worth it from 13 days
• 3 zonespass 710 kr. · journey 28 kr. · worth it from 13 days
• 4 zonespass 865 kr. · journey 38 kr. · worth it from 12 days
• Metroadd 70 kr. per 30 days on top of the pass
• Single ticket2 zones — 24 kr., 3 zones — 30 kr., 4 zones — 40 kr.
• Children 0–15the pass is half the adult price

there is also Pendler20 — 20 days within 60. But it only pays off if you use 17 of the 20

Tidsrabat — 20 % off peak. It is applied automatically when you pay per journey: weekdays from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 18:00 to 07:00, plus all of Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. The trap: it counts the scheduled departure time, not the actual one. A train timetabled for 10:58 gives you no discount even if it left at 11:03.

There is no volume discount in Copenhagen at all. Chat groups keep promising it, but on Zealand it is zero at every tier. It exists only in Jutland and Funen — and in your first month you are on tier zero anyway.

For pensioners it starts at 67, not 65. There is no “65+ ticket”; the official name is “67+”. DSB gives up to 50 % on Orange tickets and up to 30 % on ordinary ones, and a Pensionistkort on Zealand up to 70 %. But a Pensionistkort is not valid on weekdays between 07:00 and 09:00.

For pupils and students there is Ungdomskort. For a pupil in an ungdomsuddannelse it is 453 kr. per 30 days, for others 718 kr. You must apply at least 14 days in advance. You need a CPR, MitID and Digital Post — an exemption from Digital Post does not count here.

bikes travel free on the S-tog at all times; on regional trains free on weekdays 09–15 and 18–06 and all weekend

There is a rule written for exactly this, and almost nobody knows about it. Schools, institutions and organisations may buy special passes or print-at-home tickets — and the official wording names refugees among those they are meant for.

That is either free travel in 2–8 zones for up to 14 days, or a pass for 30–60 days.

But a private individual cannot buy it. It requires a business agreement with the operator, made by a kommune, a school, an institution or an organisation. So ask your sagsbehandler at the kommune or the organisation helping you — not the kiosk.

One more thing if you work: an Erhvervskort through your employer is deducted from your gross pay and can save up to half the cost. But it only pays off if your commute is under 24 km each way — otherwise you lose more in befordringsfradrag than you gain.