Cheap Paris lodging for a month?

Hostels have limits as to how long you can stay and that limit is almost always one week. Parisian hostels also cost more than 15 Euro a night - even the ones on the far outlying districts while cheaper aren't 15 Euro a night (and you have to factor in how much you will need to spend on Metro or bus fare to get around if you are staying further out from wherever you need to be). Airbnb is not going to have more than a couple room shares for less than 450 Euro a month and they will be far outside of central Paris. Check with some of the local universities and see if they can direct you to a website where other students might be looking for a temporary roommate or advertise a room share sublet. If you can't increase your budget to something more manageable (think about where you would recommend a French student live for a month in Chicago on $20 USD a day), then I would suggest becoming a member of Couchsurfing and start looking for someone on there who might be willing to let you crash for free. They probably won't want you staying with them for an entire month, but at least you could save some of your 450 Euros to get yourself a better hostel bed or an Airbnb share for half the month.

OK, let's be frank. 450 euros is simply not enough. If that is all you have for a month's stay it is out of the question. I have stayed in some pretty dodgy places in Paris over the last many years but I wouldn't put my head down in a place that was only 15 euro a night. Yuck.

I think airbnb is a good option for you but 15 Euros will be pushing it, even for a couch. If you do find something for that price you could spend a week there and then move on to the next place? I really think you need to up your budget - Paris is one of the most expensive cities in the world and, even on the cheap, your budget won't even begin to cover what it will cost - with what you have planned to spend you have enough for about 10 days of lodging. Hostels in Europe aren't as cheap as you seem to think - you'll pay at least 35 - 40 Euros per night for a dorm bunk and it may not include breakfast although, in Paris, you can buy breakfast from any pastry or bread shop.
Good luck to you and let us know if you do find anything in your price range!

It appears you plan to be there over the winter holidays, which is usually considered high season for lodging purposes. I think you will need to increase your budget.

Thank you for the advice! My hope was 450 euro because that was the cost of lodging in madrid for a month at a really nice hostel, I didn't know it would be so much more expensive in Paris. I will be picking a new city to stay I think!

Shea, please share, which hostel in Madrid is only 450 euros a month.. I would love to know!