Report: The cost of running a household in Europe

There are a whole range of different factors that can influence how much it costs to run a household. From the cost of your rent or mortgage to everyday costs like gas and electricity, it can really add up - and of course, it will vary enormously depending on where you live.

At Ubuy UK, we have created a ranking of the most affordable countries to run a home - as well as finding out where the five most expensive countries are.

Methodology

We compared 37 different countries in Europe, based on countries with data available, using statistics from Numbeo, The Global Economy, GlobalPetrolPrices, Country Economy, and Europa. We scored each country out of 100 in the following categories.

Countries were rated out of 100 for utilities costs, based on electricity, gas and internet prices.

Apartment rent prices were the next category, taking into account the cost of rent in and outside of city centres, as well as the difference between 1 and 3 bedroom apartments.

We also considered property prices, based on the price per square metre to buy an apartment in or outside of the city centre, as well as the percentage by which mortgages have increased in the past 20 years.

The last two categories were furniture and household maintenance costs compared to the worldwide average, and the cost of food compared to the worldwide average.

Each country’s overall score for costs was created by working out the average score across the five categories.

We then ranked each country according to its average monthly salary.

We compared the costs score to each country’s average monthly salary score to create an overall ranking - the countries that emerged highest in the ranking combined lower costs with a higher salary.

Country	Utilities Score	Rent Price Score	Property Price Score	Furniture Score	thFood Price Score	Total Costs Score	Costs Rank	Salary Rank	Overall Ranking
Lithuania	70	79	54	68	75	69	9	21	15
Bulgaria	92	90	62	91	84	84	3	29	16
Estonia	56	80	49	54	66	61	10	22	16
Poland	64	73	42	77	90	69	16	16	16
United Kingdom	42	39	36	47	70	47	26	6	16
United States	57	9	45	50	64	45	29	3	16
Finland	61	67	51	38	52	54	21	12	16.5
Serbia	83	85	46	78	78	74	7	27	17
Sweden	65	66	47	25	48	50	24	10	17
Denmark	50	50	48	14	46	42	25	9	17
Netherlands	52	31	44	41	67	47	30	4	17
Bosnia and Herzegovina	87	100	61	92	84	85	1	34	17.5
North Macedonia	86	98	60	100	96	88	2	33	17.5
Moldova	84	84	38	94	100	80	5	30	17.5
Croatia	79	78	53	64	68	68	11	24	17.5
Czech Republic	52	71	44	61	73	60	17	18	17.5
Belgium	45	64	56	39	58	52	15	20	17.5
Spain	71	61	59	48	65	61	22	13	17.5
Germany	31	59	45	40	58	47	27	8	17.5
Latvia	59	90	60	61	68	68	13	23	18

Lithuania

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Lithuania emerged as the most affordable country to run a household in, thanks to the combination of lower costs and the average salary. Lithuania has the eleventh cheapest cost on average to rent an apartment in a city centre area for a month, at €630.64. It also has the eleventh cheapest natural gas price, at €0.07 per kW, and the fourth lowest monthly cost for internet at €13.88. The average monthly salary here is €1,459.49, which ranks 21st from the top.

Bulgaria

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Next up, Bulgaria had the second lowest monthly cost for average total basic utilities, taking into account electricity, heating, cooling, water and garbage for a 85m2 apartment - the cost worked out at €106.44. Bulgaria also had the fourth cheapest rent for a 1 bedroom city centre apartment, at €415.26. However, this country also had the seventh lowest average salary at €954.77.

Poland

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Our research showed that Poland had the fourth lowest cost for food compared to the international average, costing 16% less. This country was the twelfth cheapest place to buy a 1 bedroom city centre apartment, at an average cost of €3,596.21 per square metre. It also had the fifteenth cheapest rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in the city centre costing €560.20 a month. The average salary in Poland is €1,286.26 a month, ranking 22nd from the top.

Estonia

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Estonia is the eleventh cheapest country to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in the city centre, with an average cost of €604.11. It also has the tenth cheapest natural gas per kW at €0.064. Other costs are higher in Estonia, like buying a 1 bedroom city apartment - this country has the sixteenth highest price at $3307.06 per square metre. However, this is balanced somewhat by the average monthly salary, which is €1,743.14, the sixteenth highest figure in the list.

United Kingdom

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The United Kingdom has an average monthly salary of €3,298.48, which helps mitigate some of the country’s higher costs - this is the sixth highest figure in the list. The UK has the fourth highest average total cost for utilities (electricity, heating, cooling, water and garbage) at €288.38 and is also the eighth most expensive place to rent a 1 bedroom city centre flat, at an average price of €1,241.82 a month.

United States

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Like the United Kingdom, the United States has higher costs to run a household but also a higher salary than many of the other countries in our list. The average salary in the US is €4,180.93, the third highest salary in our ranking. Costs to run a household here include 18% higher food costs than the international average, and the third highest price to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in a city centre area at €1406.24.

Finland

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Finland ranks just below the US. This country has the fifth lowest cost of combined utilities per month, at €124.30 on average, and the eleventh cheapest electricity at €0.16. The salary in Finland is the twelfth highest in our ranking, at €2,673.93 - but food is 33% more expensive than the international average here.

Serbia

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Serbia had the seventh cheapest electricity at €0.12 per kW, and the third cheapest natural gas, at €0.04 per kW. This country was the ninth cheapest place to buy a city centre apartment with 1 bedroom, at an average cost of €2,952.61 per square metre. In this country, the average monthly salary is €994.05, which is the ninth lowest in our list.

Sweden

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Sweden has food costs that are 38% higher than the international average, but other costs are lower. For example, renting a 1 bedroom apartment in a city centre area would be €831.92 on average, which is the sixteenth highest in the list, and unlike the most expensive countries, below the 1K mark. The average monthly salary is €2,719.06, the tenth highest in our ranking.

Netherlands

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The Netherlands has the sixth highest monthly salary at €3,298.48. However, it also has the fifth most expensive rent at €1,397.83 a month for a 1 bedroom city centre apartment. The Netherlands also has the eleventh highest combined monthly cost for utilities on average, working out at €189.43.

Denmark

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Ranking the same as the Netherlands overall, Denmark has the ninth highest cost to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in a city centre area, at €1,037.87. It’s also 40% more expensive than the international average to buy food here, another factor that makes running a household more costly. On the other hand, Denmark has the fourth highest average salary, at €3,426.73 a month.

The bottom 5 least affordable countries

Country	Utilities Score	Rent Price Score	Property Price Score	Furniture Score	Food Price Score	Total Score	Costs Rank	Salary Rank	Overall Ranking
Portugal	66	58	51	50	64	58	19	26	22.5
Canada	74	36	31	18	37	39	32	11	21.5
Estonia	56	80	49	54	66	61	10	22	16
Austria	37	59	43	34	55	46	28	14	21
Greece	70	85	56	61	58	66	14	28	21
Ireland	41	13	49	34	47	37	33	7	20
Hungary	89	86	42	75	77	74	8	32	20

The least affordable country to run a household in is Portugal. The average monthly salary is €1,057.60, ranking 27th from the top, but it is the eleventh most expensive place to rent a 1 bedroom city centre apartment at €937.34 a month.

Only just behind Portugal is Canada, with the eighth highest cost to rent a 1 bedroom flat in the city centre at €1,254.22.

Austria is the third most expensive place to buy a 1 bedroom city centre apartment, at €6,431.28 per square metre.

Drawing with Austria, it’s Greece, which has the eighth lowest average salary at €967.26 a month.

The fifth least affordable country to run a household in is Hungary. Hungary has the fourth lowest salary in our ranking, at €775.34.

Finally, Ireland also landed in fifth place with the fourth highest rent for a 1 bedroom city centre apartment at €1,600.80.

Conclusion

We hope this overview of which countries are the most affordable and expensive places to run a household gives an interesting insight into just how much these costs vary around the world. As you can see, the affordability of these countries changes when the average local salary is taken into account. So while some of these countries might seem vastly more expensive, it may be more affordable to live there than it seems, when you consider how much higher the salaries are.