Cost of living comparison
See what your move changes.
Build a like-for-like monthly budget for two cities. Keep the household and lifestyle constant, then inspect the cost difference, spending-equivalent income and categories driving the change.
Your resultLondon Amsterdam
Amsterdam is 14% less expensive than London.
$580 less per month for a one-person household with a balanced lifestyle.
Cost breakdown
Where the monthly budget changes
LondonAmsterdam
Housing
$2,300
$1,950
−$350Groceries
$520
$480
−$40Dining out
$200
$180
−$20Transport
$220
$120
−$100Home utilities
$230
$200
−$30Internet & mobile
$90
$80
−$10Insurance & protection
$20
$20
SameHealthcare
$100
$90
−$10Medicines & pharmacy
$30
$30
SamePersonal care
$30
$30
SameClothing & footwear
$40
$30
−$10Household goods
$20
$20
SameHousehold services
$30
$30
SameFitness & wellness
$80
$80
SameEntertainment & subscriptions
$50
$50
SameLeisure
$70
$70
SameReading the result
Three numbers to use first.
Treat the estimate as a planning range. Start with the total, then look at income and the category breakdown.
01
Monthly budget
See the recurring amount your household may spend in each city under the same assumptions.
02
Salary target
Translate your current take-home pay into an equivalent amount for the destination.
03
Category pressure
Find whether housing, groceries or another expense is creating most of the difference.
Example comparisons
Open a city pair directly.
These examples are a starting point. Search any of the 250 cities in the workspace above to build the comparison that fits your move.
01AmsterdamtoAustinAustin is 8% lower02AmsterdamtoBerlinBerlin is 19% lower03AmsterdamtoDubaiDubai is 13% higher04AmsterdamtoLondonLondon is 17% higher05AmsterdamtoLos AngelesLos Angeles is 21% higher06AmsterdamtoMelbourneMelbourne is 2% lower
Browse all 120 indexed comparisons
07AmsterdamtoNew YorkNew York is 47% higher08AmsterdamtoParisParis is 9% higher09AmsterdamtoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 49% higher10AmsterdamtoSingaporeSingapore is 16% higher11AmsterdamtoSydneySydney is 13% higher12AmsterdamtoTokyoTokyo is 14% lower13AmsterdamtoTorontoToronto is 5% higher14AmsterdamtoVancouverVancouver is 12% higher15AmsterdamtoZurichZurich is 40% higher16AustintoBerlinBerlin is 12% lower17AustintoDubaiDubai is 23% higher18AustintoLondonLondon is 27% higher19AustintoLos AngelesLos Angeles is 31% higher20AustintoMelbourneMelbourne is 6% higher21AustintoNew YorkNew York is 60% higher22AustintoParisParis is 19% higher23AustintoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 62% higher24AustintoSingaporeSingapore is 26% higher25AustintoSydneySydney is 23% higher26AustintoTokyoTokyo is 6% lower27AustintoTorontoToronto is 14% higher28AustintoVancouverVancouver is 22% higher29AustintoZurichZurich is 52% higher30BerlintoDubaiDubai is 39% higher31BerlintoLondonLondon is 44% higher32BerlintoLos AngelesLos Angeles is 49% higher33BerlintoMelbourneMelbourne is 20% higher34BerlintoNew YorkNew York is 81% higher35BerlintoParisParis is 35% higher36BerlintoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 83% higher37BerlintoSingaporeSingapore is 43% higher38BerlintoSydneySydney is 39% higher39BerlintoTokyoTokyo is 6% higher40BerlintoTorontoToronto is 29% higher41BerlintoVancouverVancouver is 38% higher42BerlintoZurichZurich is 72% higher43DubaitoLondonLondon is 4% higher44DubaitoLos AngelesLos Angeles is 7% higher45DubaitoMelbourneMelbourne is 13% lower46DubaitoNew YorkNew York is 31% higher47DubaitoParisParis is 3% lower48DubaitoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 32% higher49DubaitoSingaporeSingapore is 3% higher50DubaitoSydneySydney is 0% lower51DubaitoTokyoTokyo is 24% lower52DubaitoTorontoToronto is 7% lower53DubaitoVancouverVancouver is 1% lower54DubaitoZurichZurich is 24% higher55LondontoLos AngelesLos Angeles is 4% higher56LondontoMelbourneMelbourne is 17% lower57LondontoNew YorkNew York is 26% higher58LondontoParisParis is 7% lower59LondontoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 28% higher60LondontoSingaporeSingapore is 1% lower61LondontoSydneySydney is 4% lower62LondontoTokyoTokyo is 26% lower63LondontoTorontoToronto is 10% lower64LondontoVancouverVancouver is 4% lower65LondontoZurichZurich is 20% higher66Los AngelestoMelbourneMelbourne is 19% lower67Los AngelestoNew YorkNew York is 22% higher68Los AngelestoParisParis is 10% lower69Los AngelestoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 23% higher70Los AngelestoSingaporeSingapore is 4% lower71Los AngelestoSydneySydney is 7% lower72Los AngelestoTokyoTokyo is 29% lower73Los AngelestoTorontoToronto is 13% lower74Los AngelestoVancouverVancouver is 7% lower75Los AngelestoZurichZurich is 15% higher76MelbournetoNew YorkNew York is 51% higher77MelbournetoParisParis is 12% higher78MelbournetoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 53% higher79MelbournetoSingaporeSingapore is 19% higher80MelbournetoSydneySydney is 16% higher81MelbournetoTokyoTokyo is 12% lower82MelbournetoTorontoToronto is 8% higher83MelbournetoVancouverVancouver is 15% higher84MelbournetoZurichZurich is 43% higher85New YorktoParisParis is 26% lower86New YorktoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 1% higher87New YorktoSingaporeSingapore is 21% lower88New YorktoSydneySydney is 23% lower89New YorktoTokyoTokyo is 41% lower90New YorktoTorontoToronto is 29% lower91New YorktoVancouverVancouver is 24% lower92New YorktoZurichZurich is 5% lower93ParistoSan FranciscoSan Francisco is 36% higher94ParistoSingaporeSingapore is 6% higher95ParistoSydneySydney is 3% higher96ParistoTokyoTokyo is 21% lower97ParistoTorontoToronto is 4% lower98ParistoVancouverVancouver is 3% higher99ParistoZurichZurich is 28% higher100San FranciscotoSingaporeSingapore is 22% lower101San FranciscotoSydneySydney is 24% lower102San FranciscotoTokyoTokyo is 42% lower103San FranciscotoTorontoToronto is 29% lower104San FranciscotoVancouverVancouver is 25% lower105San FranciscotoZurichZurich is 6% lower106SingaporetoSydneySydney is 3% lower107SingaporetoTokyoTokyo is 26% lower108SingaporetoTorontoToronto is 10% lower109SingaporetoVancouverVancouver is 4% lower110SingaporetoZurichZurich is 20% higher111SydneytoTokyoTokyo is 24% lower112SydneytoTorontoToronto is 7% lower113SydneytoVancouverVancouver is 1% lower114SydneytoZurichZurich is 24% higher115TokyotoTorontoToronto is 22% higher116TokyotoVancouverVancouver is 30% higher117TokyotoZurichZurich is 62% higher118TorontotoVancouverVancouver is 7% higher119TorontotoZurichZurich is 33% higher120VancouvertoZurichZurich is 24% higher
Before you decide
Check what an estimate cannot know.
A useful estimate narrows the decision. These three inputs still need evidence from your actual move.
Neighborhood
Price the home size, area and commute you would actually choose.
Local take-home pay
Convert gross offers after tax, pension, benefits and any recurring deductions.
Move-in cash
Keep deposits, visas, shipping and temporary accommodation outside the monthly estimate.
What a useful result needs
A headline percentage is the beginning, not the conclusion.
A reliable household comparison requires comparable items, useful category weights and an honest geographic label. The percentage becomes useful when you can see which assumptions created it.
01
Basket
Comparable items and quantities
Changing home size, commute or household at the same time as the city makes the result impossible to interpret.
02
Weights
Your expensive categories matter most
A large rent difference should influence the result more than a small change in coffee or cinema prices.
03
Geography
City, metro and country are not synonyms
Use the narrowest reliable geography and disclose any fallback rather than silently mixing levels.
04
Uncertainty
Close scores are not decisive rankings
Category coverage, observation age, exchange rates and neighborhood choice may outweigh a few index points.
Interpret the math
Why the reverse percentage is different
If a comparable basket is 100 in the current city and 120 in the destination, both statements below are correct. The result changes because the starting value, or denominator, changes.
Same values · different baseDirection-specific difference(destination ÷ current − 1) × 100
Comparison FAQ
Questions that change the answer
Use these checks when a result looks surprising or when two cities appear unusually close.
What should a city cost comparison include?
At minimum: comparable housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare and personal spending for the same household. Taxes, childcare and one-time moving costs should be either included explicitly or clearly excluded.
Why can the percentage change when I swap cities?
Percentages use the starting city as the denominator. If one basket costs 100 and another costs 120, the second is 20% higher than the first, while the first is about 16.7% lower than the second.
Should I compare city or metro data?
Use the geography that matches the decision and label it. Metro data may be suitable for a regional move, but it should not be described as a particular neighborhood price.
Are taxes part of cost of living?
We keep taxes separate from the living-cost basket. Taxes determine how gross salary becomes take-home pay and require household- and jurisdiction-specific rules.