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Cost of living

Most affordable countries to live well in

Low cost of living without giving up safety, healthcare or a working internet connection.

Numbeo Cost of Living Index, filtered on Global Peace Index standing2026 mid-year

Cheap is easy to find. Cheap, safe and stable is the combination worth moving for, and it is a much shorter list. For scale, Sri Lanka scores 31.3 on this same index.

  1. 1st place

    Indonesia

    24.7

    Cost of living index (New York = 100)

    Remote worker KITAS makes it one of the easiest to move to legally

  2. 2nd place

    Vietnam

    26.9

    Cost of living index (New York = 100)

    Strong expat infrastructure in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City

  3. 3rd place

    Philippines

    29.1

    Cost of living index (New York = 100)

    English speaking, and rated the friendliest country in Asia for newcomers

The rest of the top 10

Ranked list, positions 4 to 10
RankCountryCost of living index (New York = 100)
4th place
MalaysiaEnglish widely used, and the closest option to Sri Lanka
34.0
5th place
North MacedoniaCheapest country in Europe on this index
34.6
6th place
GeorgiaOne year visa-free stay for many nationalities
34.9
7th place
Colombia
35.6
8th place
ThailandSixth best healthcare in the world on the Numbeo index
36.8
9th place
Turkey
40.2
10th place
MexicoRated the easiest country in the world to settle into
44.4

Source

Numbeo Cost of Living Index, filtered on Global Peace Index standing

2026 mid-year

See the full published list

This is information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules and figures change without notice. Confirm anything you plan to act on with the official authority for that country, and check your own position with the eligibility checker.

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All rankings

Most expensive countries to live in

The ten highest costs of living, and what a salary there actually has to cover.

  1. 1Bermuda135.8
  2. 2Cayman Islands119.9
  3. 3Switzerland109.8
  4. 4Solomon Islands104.1
  5. 5Turkmenistan101.6
  6. 6Bahamas101.3
  7. 7Iceland97.6
  8. 8Jersey91.1
  9. 9Singapore90.8
  10. 10Israel89.6
Top 10 countries2026 mid-year

Cheapest cities for students

Rent, transport and food for one student, per month, tuition excluded.

  1. 1Kuala LumpurUSD 450 to 600
  2. 2WarsawUSD 550 to 700
  3. 3BudapestUSD 600 to 750
  4. 4TaipeiUSD 600 to 800
  5. 5KrakowUSD 600 to 750
  6. 6IstanbulUSD 600 to 800
  7. 7Mexico CityUSD 650 to 850
  8. 8PragueUSD 700 to 900
  9. 9LisbonUSD 800 to 1,000
  10. 10BerlinUSD 950 to 1,200
Top 10 citiesVerified August 2026

Highest rent cities

What a one-bedroom flat in the city centre actually costs, per month.

  1. 1New York CityUSD 4,358
  2. 2San FranciscoUSD 3,798
  3. 3BrooklynUSD 3,733
  4. 4Jersey CityUSD 3,440
  5. 5BostonUSD 3,401
  6. 6San DiegoUSD 3,373
  7. 7San JoseUSD 3,172
  8. 8ZurichUSD 3,120
  9. 9George TownUSD 3,060
  10. 10LondonUSD 3,039
Top 10 cities2026 mid-year