CheckCostOfLiving

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Rankings

Best Cities Overall

Balanced metros across affordability, tax, visa, safety, and jobs.

#1

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

$1,050/mo · Score 82

#2

Bangkok, Thailand

$1,200/mo · Score 80

#3

Bucharest, Romania

$1,200/mo · Score 80

#4

Budapest, Hungary

$1,350/mo · Score 80

#5

Chiang Mai, Thailand

$900/mo · Score 80

#6

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

$950/mo · Score 80

#7

Taipei, Taiwan

$1,600/mo · Score 80

#8

Prague, Czech Republic

$1,600/mo · Score 79

#9

Warsaw, Poland

$1,500/mo · Score 79

#10

Abu Dhabi, UAE

$2,300/mo · Score 78

#11

Bali (Denpasar), Indonesia

$1,100/mo · Score 78

#12

Dubai, UAE

$2,500/mo · Score 78

#13

Porto, Portugal

$1,450/mo · Score 78

#14

Bogotá, Colombia

$1,100/mo · Score 77

#15

Istanbul, Turkey

$1,100/mo · Score 77

#16

Lisbon, Portugal

$1,650/mo · Score 77

#17

Medellín, Colombia

$1,050/mo · Score 77

#18

Mexico City, Mexico

$1,400/mo · Score 77

#19

Santiago, Chile

$1,300/mo · Score 77

#20

Buenos Aires, Argentina

$900/mo · Score 76

#21

Marrakech, Morocco

$850/mo · Score 76

#22

Cape Town, South Africa

$1,100/mo · Score 75

#23

Madrid, Spain

$2,050/mo · Score 75

#24

São Paulo, Brazil

$1,200/mo · Score 75

#25

Valencia, Spain

$1,750/mo · Score 75

#26

Athens, Greece

$1,550/mo · Score 74

#27

Dubrovnik, Croatia

$1,700/mo · Score 74

#28

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

$1,600/mo · Score 74

#29

Barcelona, Spain

$2,200/mo · Score 73

#30

Seoul, South Korea

$2,200/mo · Score 72

#31

Berlin, Germany

$2,300/mo · Score 71

#32

Milan, Italy

$2,400/mo · Score 70

#33

Montreal, Canada

$2,200/mo · Score 70

#34

Tokyo, Japan

$2,600/mo · Score 70

#35

Rome, Italy

$2,100/mo · Score 69

#36

Amsterdam, Netherlands

$2,800/mo · Score 68

#37

Singapore, Singapore

$3,800/mo · Score 68

#38

Auckland, New Zealand

$2,600/mo · Score 67

#39

Austin, United States

$2,600/mo · Score 66

#40

Toronto, Canada

$2,800/mo · Score 66

#41

Denver, United States

$2,700/mo · Score 65

#42

Dublin, Ireland

$3,200/mo · Score 65

#43

Melbourne, Australia

$2,900/mo · Score 64

#44

Vancouver, Canada

$2,900/mo · Score 64

#45

Sydney, Australia

$3,200/mo · Score 63

#46

Paris, France

$2,900/mo · Score 62

#47

London, United Kingdom

$3,500/mo · Score 61

#48

Miami, United States

$3,100/mo · Score 60

#49

New York, United States

$4,200/mo · Score 59

#50

San Francisco, United States

$4,500/mo · Score 58

Best overall cities: composite cost of living comparison

Single-factor lists mislead. Our overall score blends affordability, tax, visa, safety, and employment — then invites a personalized cost of living comparison via city calculators. This is the anchor page for users who want balance, not only the cheapest cities to live or the most costly city in the world extremes.

How to personalize with our calculator stack

Start here for breadth, then run the cost of living calculator on finalists. Treat it as a living expenses calculator, cost of living estimator, and price of living comparison toolkit in one — including informal cost of life comparison searches.

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