M2 metroorBus 5C?

The short answer

For one traveler they cost the same. That does not change up to 8 travelers.

The M2 metro is quicker: 13 min against 38 min. The Bus 5C varies between 35 and 38 minutes.

M2 metro: Runs all night. Bus 5C: Runs all night.

Priced against each other

Whole-party totals · adult fares

What each costs for the whole party, in DKK. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
Travelers	M2 metro	Bus 5C	Difference
1	DKK 30	DKK 30	same
2	DKK 60	DKK 60	same
3	DKK 90	DKK 90	same
4	DKK 120	DKK 120	same
5	DKK 150	DKK 150	same
6	DKK 180	DKK 180	same
7	DKK 210	DKK 210	same
8	DKK 240	DKK 240	same

Side by side

Where each one leaves you

metro · Copenhagen Metro (Metroselskabet), on a DOT ticketM2 metro

From: The metro station at the end of Terminal 3, above ground
To: Kongens Nytorv in 13 minutes (change for M3 and M4) and Nørreport in 15, via Christianshavn
Luggage: Driverless trains with open floors; busy at peak.
Runs: All night
Journey: 13 min

Three zones, not four. Zone 4 to zone 1 is a three-zone ticket at kr. 30 under DOT's ring-zone rule; the metro's own page says you pay for a maximum of three zones. The four-zone ticket at kr. 40 is valid and wasteful.

It runs every night of the week: every 8 minutes after Friday and Saturday, every 20 after Sunday to Thursday, between 01:00 and 07:00. Every 2 minutes in the peaks and 3 the rest of the day.

Journey times are Rejseplanen's: 13 minutes to Kongens Nytorv and 15 to Nørreport. Metroselskabet says "14 minutes to the centre" without naming a station; the airport says 15 to Nørreport.

This ticket does not cross the bridge. For Malmö you need an Øresund ticket from the airport, and a different train.

M2 metro: price for every party size →

Metroselskabet's M2 page

bus · Movia, on a DOT ticketBus 5C

From: The 5C stop "Københavns Lufthavn" on Ellehammersvej, the road in front of the terminals
To: Hovedbanegården (Tivoli) in 35 minutes and Rådhuspladsen in 38, down Amagerbrogade and over Langebro
Luggage: An articulated city bus; standing room and no racks.
Runs: All night
Journey: 35–38 min

Three times the metro's journey for the same price. It earns its place for the night and for addresses along Amagerbrogade, Sundbyvester Plads and Amagerbro.

DOT's night table: "Sundbyvester Plads – Lufthavnen: Hver time alle ugens dage" — the airport leg is hourly all night, every night. The half-hourly night frequency applies only to the inner section.

Journey time is Rejseplanen's for a mid-morning run; DOT publishes frequency but not duration, and Movia does not publish one either.

Bus 5C: price for every party size →

DOT's night-bus table

This compares two of 5 options. See all of them ranked for your party size →

M2 metroorBus 5C?

Priced against each other

Side by side

The other comparisons at Airport, Kastrup