Ferry or bridge, from Aarhus to Zealand
There are two routes east from Jutland, and neither operator compares them against the other. This page sets out the arithmetic, with every assumption shown.
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Molslinjen calls this crossing a shortcut: save 200 kilometres. Sund og Bælt publishes a toll. Neither puts the two routes side by side, and that is what we do on this page.
In short: the bridge wins on time, the ferry can win on money, and your destination decides which of the two matters.
First: how are you getting to Jutland?
Everything below assumes you have a car and are already in Jutland. Two things change that picture.
If you are driving from Britain, there is no ferry to Denmark. The last one, Harwich to Esbjerg, sailed for the final time on 29 September 2014 and nothing has replaced it. You cross to the Netherlands or Belgium instead and drive up: from the Hook of Holland it is about 855 km and 9 hrs 15 min to the Aarhus terminal, so the crossing on this page is the last hour and a half of a two-day drive.
If you are flying, the airport decides more than the bridge does. Copenhagen is on the wrong side of Zealand for this route, and Aarhus Airport is closer to Ebeltoft than to Aarhus. Both are covered further down.
The cost, with fuel counted
Most comparisons of these two routes stop at the ticket price. But on the ferry you drive 185 km less, and that fuel belongs in the calculation.
Aarhus to Copenhagen, added up
One car with up to nine people, free-flowing traffic. The same start and the same finish, with three ways of paying for it.
Over the Great Belt Bridge
- TollBizz or number plate, 2026
- DKK 205
- FuelAbout 310 km
- DKK 302
About 3 hrs 20 min, all of it drivingDKK 507
Ferry, Lavpris fare
- Ferry ticketCar and up to nine people
- DKK 249
- FuelAbout 125 km
- DKK 122
About 3 hrs 45 min, of which 90 min not drivingDKK 371
Ferry, Standard fare
- Ferry ticketRefundable, rebookable
- DKK 524
- FuelAbout 125 km
- DKK 122
Same journey, bought late or kept flexibleDKK 646
The assumptions behind these numbers
- Petrol at DKK 15 a litre. Danish pump prices in August 2026 ran between roughly DKK 14.90 and DKK 16.70 depending on chain and region.
- Consumption of 6.5 litres per 100 km. A diesel estate, a full car or a roof box pushes this up and widens the ferry's advantage; an electric car narrows it sharply.
- About 310 km over the bridge. About 20 km from central Aarhus to the terminal in Østhavnen, plus about 105 km from Odden to central Copenhagen.
- Molslinjen's published from-prices for 2026. Lavpris moves with demand and sells out; on a summer Saturday it may not exist at all.
- No account of wear, parking, or the value of your own time.
On money the answer depends on which ticket you get, not on which route you take. A Lavpris fare booked in advance comes out roughly DKK 136 below the bridge and takes 185 km of driving off the trip. A Standard fare bought the day before comes out about DKK 140 above it.
By destination on Zealand
Most people run the Copenhagen calculation. It is also the one where the ferry compares worst, because Odden lies 105 km northwest of the city. A different destination reverses the result.
By destination
Door to door from central Aarhus in free-flowing traffic.
| By destination | Ferry via Odden | Great Belt Bridge |
|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen | About 3 hrs 45 min | About 3 hrs 20 min |
| Roskilde | About 3 hrs 15 min | About 3 hrs 10 min |
| Kalundborg | About 3 hrs 25 min | About 3 hrs |
| Holbæk | About 3 hrs | About 3 hrs |
| Nykøbing Sjælland | About 2 hrs 40 min | About 3 hrs 25 min |
| Odsherred and the north coast | About 2 hrs 50 min | About 3 hrs 30 min |
| Helsingør | About 4 hrs 5 min | About 3 hrs 50 min |
What we would doOn time the ferry wins only within Odsherred itself. Nykøbing Sjælland and the north coast are about 40 min closer than over the bridge. Holbæk comes out level. For Kalundborg, Roskilde, Copenhagen and Helsingør the bridge is quicker, even though you drive further. Route 21 is the reason: it is not a motorway, so the kilometres from Odden cost more time than motorway kilometres.
All the driving times above come from a routing engine on OpenStreetMap data, measured on 1 September 2026 with no traffic. Friday afternoons on the E20 can add 30 min to any of them. For the ferry we add 15 min to the terminal, 30 min for check-in and the 90 min crossing to the drive from Odden. Those times assume you make the sailing you booked, which is the ferry’s real weakness.
When the ferry is the better choice
Take the ferry if
- You are going to northwest Zealand, where the ferry lands you almost on the doorstep
- You can book a Lavpris fare far enough ahead to get one
- You are towing something, and 310 km of motorway with a caravan is a different day from 125 km
- There are several of you: the fare covers the car and up to nine people, so a full car changes the per-head sum completely
- You want 90 min out of the driver's seat: coffee, a table and a walk on deck
Drive instead if
- Copenhagen or the airport is the destination and you are counting minutes
- You cannot say for certain when you will leave
- It is a summer Saturday and the cheap fares have gone
- You are driving electric, which cuts the fuel argument down to very little
- The last sailing has gone; the bridge does not close
Campers, caravans and trailers
Height decides where you end up. The lower car deck takes 4.60 m and the upper deck 2.10 m, so anything with a roof box, a bike rack on the roof or a raised roof is going below. Trailers are priced separately and by size: DKK 449 for one up to 3.0 m long, DKK 549 up to 5.0 m, DKK 649 up to 8.0 m and DKK 749 up to 10.0 m, on top of the vehicle fare.
On ticket price alone the bridge wins clearly. Against that, towing 310 km on the E20 is a very different day from towing 125 km. Fuel consumption with a caravan behind the car is also well above the 6.5 litres per 100 km used above. See vehicles.
The seasonal route from Ebeltoft
From April to October there is a second crossing to the same port: Ebeltoft to Odden, about 75 min. If you are coming from Djursland or the north of Jutland rather than from Aarhus itself, it can be the shorter drive at both ends. It closes for the winter, when Aarhus to Odden carries the whole route. See Ebeltoft to Odden.
Crossing without a car
The comparison does not apply: there is no pedestrian or cycle crossing of the Great Belt Bridge. The Kombardo Expressen coach drives aboard from Aarhus bus station and costs from DKK 109, and a bicycle travels free as a foot passenger. See foot passengers and by bike.
Questions people ask
Is the Aarhus to Odden ferry cheaper than the Great Belt Bridge?
On a Lavpris fare, yes, once you count fuel. The ferry ticket starts at DKK 249 for the car and up to nine people, and you drive about 185 km less. On a Standard fare at DKK 524 the bridge is cheaper.
Is the ferry faster to Copenhagen than driving over the bridge?
No. Aarhus to central Copenhagen is about 3 hrs 20 min over the bridge. By ferry it is about 3 hrs 45 min, because you add the drive to the terminal, the check-in window and the 110 km from Odden.
When is the ferry clearly the better choice?
When your destination is in northwest Zealand, when you have a Lavpris slot, when you are travelling with a caravan or trailer that makes long motorway driving tiring, or when you would rather not spend 3 hrs at the wheel.
Does the Great Belt Bridge get cheaper with a bizz?
From 1 January 2026 the express price applies automatically with a bizz or number plate payment, without a separate Storebælt agreement. That is DKK 205 for a car, against DKK 235 paying cash or by card.