Introduction Nursing students perform their clinical practice in different types of clinical settings. The clinical learning environment is important for students to be able to achieve desired learning outcomes. Knowledge is lacking about the learning environment in different clinical settings. Aim The aim was to compare the learning environment in different clinical settings from the perspective of the nursing students. Design A cross-sectional study with comparative design was conducted. Method Data was collected from 185 nursing students at three universities by means of a questionnaire involving the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher (CLES + T) evaluation scale. An open-ended question was added in order to ascertain reasons for dissatisfaction with the clinical placement. Results The nursing students' satisfaction with the placement did not differ between clinical settings. However, those with clinical placement in hospital departments agreed more strongly that sufficient meaningful learning situations occurred and that learning situations were multi-dimensional. Some students reported that the character of the clinical setting made it difficult to achieve the learning objectives. Conclusion In the planning of the clinical placement, attention must be paid to whether the setting offers the student a meaningful learning situation where the appropriate learning outcome may be achieved.