Compare Cost of Living & Taxes Across Countries (2026)

Country	Cities	Cost of LivingCoL	Rent	Purchasing PowerPP
🇺🇸 United States	74	73.4	42.7	147.2
🇩🇪 Germany	31	68.8	22.9	147.5
🇨🇦 Canada	27	61.3	29	127.5
🇮🇳 India	26	19.8	5.4	80.9
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	25	69	32.6	130.3
🇮🇹 Italy	21	62.3	21.4	90.4
🇷🇺 Russia	18	37.5	12.6	65.2
🇨🇳 China	13	32.6	12	110.2
🇪🇸 Spain	12	52.7	24.7	102.5
🇧🇷 Brazil	12	35	10.6	48.8
🇷🇴 Romania	11	40.8	11.9	82.4
🇫🇷 France	10	70	22.9	123.3
🇳🇱 Netherlands	9	74	38.5	140.9
🇵🇱 Poland	9	47.3	18	109.5
🇨🇭 Switzerland	7	112.8	51.8	175.5
🇦🇺 Australia	7	72.6	39.9	137.3
🇲🇽 Mexico	7	44.5	18.3	52.4
🇹🇷 Turkey	7	39.9	13	74.8
🇮🇱 Israel	6	83.5	29.6	132.1
🇦🇹 Austria	6	71.2	25.3	122.8
🇸🇪 Sweden	5	68.5	25	139.9
🇫🇮 Finland	5	69.8	23	123.5
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	5	52.5	35.7	109.9
🇨🇿 Czechia	5	51	18.9	102.5
🇵🇹 Portugal	5	48.7	27	72.6
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	5	41.2	11.8	86.8
🇹🇭 Thailand	5	37.4	15.3	42
🇵🇭 Philippines	5	33.9	12.3	35.7
🇲🇦 Morocco	5	33.6	10.1	49.6
🇺🇦 Ukraine	5	29.7	8.9	54.9
🇳🇴 Norway	4	89.1	32.3	136.7
🇩🇰 Denmark	4	79.5	28.3	160.7
🇮🇪 Ireland	4	71	46.8	119.7
🇧🇪 Belgium	4	69	26.1	131.4
🇨🇾 Cyprus	4	57.1	25.9	94.8
🇹🇼 Taiwan	4	48.6	13.9	90.3
🇭🇺 Hungary	4	46.9	14.1	78.7
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	4	45.8	16.2	127
🇿🇦 South Africa	4	38.6	14.1	105
🇨🇴 Colombia	4	34.7	11.9	42.3
🇮🇩 Indonesia	4	29	14.5	31.6
🇵🇰 Pakistan	4	21.7	4.1	30
🇳🇿 New Zealand	3	61.1	27.5	124.6
🇭🇷 Croatia	3	54.2	19.4	87.7
🇬🇷 Greece	3	54.8	15.3	65.3
🇷🇸 Serbia	3	43.3	13.3	69.9
🇲🇾 Malaysia	3	35.6	9.8	83.2
🇪🇨 Ecuador	3	33.5	10	50.8
🇻🇳 Vietnam	3	27.8	10.9	43.2
🇪🇬 Egypt	3	19.6	3.7	21.9
🇪🇪 Estonia	2	59.9	16.2	102.7
🇲🇹 Malta	2	62.6	36.1	78.1
🇸🇰 Slovakia	2	52.9	21.4	81
🇯🇵 Japan	2	48.5	20.3	126.7
🇱🇹 Lithuania	2	51.6	15.4	97.7
🇦🇷 Argentina	2	48.5	14.2	42.5
🇦🇱 countries.Albania	2	45.3	13.7	55.9
🇲🇪 Montenegro	2	45.4	17.1	67.6
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	2	35.3	14.3	61.7
🇬🇪 Georgia	2	34	12.8	49.2
🇮🇶 Iraq	2	34.8	9.9	50.6
🇹🇳 Tunisia	2	31.5	6	38.8
🇧🇩 countries.Bangladesh	2	24.5	3.4	39.3

Lower cost of living / rent = cheaper. Higher purchasing power = your salary goes further.

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Understanding Country Cost of Living Comparisons

Why Compare Cost of Living Between Countries

City-level comparisons show you what life costs in a specific place, but they miss the bigger picture. Comparing countries reveals national trends in taxation, purchasing power, and everyday expenses that affect every city within those borders. If you are considering a move abroad, a country-level view helps you shortlist destinations before diving into individual cities.

This tool averages cost of living, rent, groceries, restaurant prices, and purchasing power across all cities in each country. Once you narrow your options, use the salary comparison calculator or the cost of living calculator for a city-specific breakdown.

What Factors Are Included in the Comparison

Each country is scored on five indices: the overall cost of living index covers everyday expenses such as transport, utilities, clothing, and leisure. The rent index tracks apartment prices in city centres and suburbs. Groceries and restaurant indices measure food costs at supermarkets and dining out respectively.

The purchasing power index shows how far a local salary stretches after accounting for both income and prices. All five indices use New York City as a baseline of 100 — a score below 100 means cheaper than NYC, while above 100 means more expensive.

How Country Averages Are Calculated

Country scores are the arithmetic mean of every city we track within that country. Data comes from Numbeo, the largest crowd-sourced price database in the world, combined with official government tax brackets coded into our salary calculator. Countries with fewer than two cities are excluded to avoid skewed averages.

All figures are updated for 2026 and expressed relative to NYC = 100. Because each country contains cities at different price levels, always check the city-level comparison for the specific places you are considering.

How to Use Country Data to Plan a Move

Start by scanning the country table below for destinations with a favourable balance of cost of living and purchasing power. Then click through to a detailed country-versus-country page — for example, Germany vs Spain or United States vs United Kingdom — to see tax comparisons, city-pair breakdowns, and sample salary calculations.

Once you have two or three candidate countries, enter your actual salary in our calculator to see your net take-home pay after local taxes. That final figure — not the headline cost index — tells you whether a move makes financial sense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which country has the lowest cost of living in Europe in 2026?

Based on averaged city data for 2026, Romania, Poland, and Hungary consistently show the lowest cost of living indices in Europe. Romania scores well below 40 on the overall index (NYC = 100), making it one of the most affordable EU countries for rent, groceries, and daily expenses.

How do you compare salaries and taxes across different countries?

We calculate net take-home pay using official income tax brackets for each country, then compare it against local prices. This means you see not just whether a country is cheaper, but whether your salary actually goes further after taxes. Try the salary comparison calculator for your exact numbers.

What does the purchasing power index mean?

The purchasing power index measures how much you can buy with a typical local salary. It combines average net income with local prices. A score of 100 matches New York City; above 100 means your salary stretches further than in NYC, below 100 means it stretches less.

How often is the country comparison data updated?

Cost of living indices are sourced from Numbeo and refreshed regularly throughout the year. Tax calculations use official government brackets updated for 2026. We recalculate country averages whenever the underlying city data changes, so figures stay current.