We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Anticipate Your Next Destination’s Expenses With Numbeo

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

    Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

    When you’re traveling to a different country (or even a different city!) it’s easy to be blindsided by steep prices!

    That’s why it’s helpful to look at a cost of living calculator, rather than just the currency conversion rate when you travel.  Things like restaurant and transportation prices vary depending on the place you’re visiting.  That’s where Numbeo comes in!

    Use a Cost of Living Calculator to Research Prices for Restaurants, Groceries, and Transportation at Your Destination, So You’ll Know What to Expect When You Arrive

    I’ll show you how to use Numbeo.  And tell you why it can be helpful when planning your next trip!

    Use Numbeo to Estimate the Cost of Your Next Vacation!

    Link:   Numbeo

    Numbeo will help you get an idea of the prices for everyday expenses in other parts of the world.  It’s a website that crowd-sources information, so if you have knowledge of the prices in a certain city, you can add your 2 cents! 😉

    There are multiple ways to search locations on the website homepage.  If you know what you’re looking for, type in the city or country in the “Select Location” box.  Or, you can select a country from the drop-down menu on the left.

    All the Tools You Need Are Featured on the Front Page

    You can also browse locations with the interactive map.

    You can check things like traffic, crime rate, and the pollution of each city.

    If You’re Asthmatic or Have Other Breathing Problems, It Might Be a Good Idea to Check Your Destination for Pollution Data

    Million Mile Secrets team member Scott said he remembers Krakow, Poland, to be noticeably more polluted than Warsaw.  And that’s reflected in Numbeo’s data.

    This Cost of Living Calculator Helps You Budget for Your Trip

    You can use Numbeo to help you find areas that are cost-effective.

    For example, Million Mile Secrets team member Joseph recently traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa, and says he has never experienced such low prices!  The currency conversion rate was 13:1.  But prices on many items, like eggs and bread, were even cheaper than what he experienced in the Philippines, where the currency conversion rate is 50:1!

    When you want to visit another country, you can search it on Numbeo to view the local prices of things like restaurants, produce, etc.

    View All the Most Common Purchases in a Glance

    You can even compare your destination with any other city in the world.  But by default, all cities are compared to New York City.  The value for New York City is 100.  So for example:

    Here are some ways you can use Numbeo to help budget for your next trip!

    1.   Compare Your Destination to Your Home City

    To help you better understand what you’ll be spending on your trip, you can compare your destination with your home city.

    The website gives you prices in your home currency, as well as in your destination’s currency.  And shows how much you should expect to pay during your visit!

    Helsinki Will Be More Expensive Than What I’m Used to Paying for Most Things
    Note:   These prices likely do NOT include tips.  Read the tipping customs of the country you’re going to so you’ll have a full picture of what you will be paying!

    2.   Compare Multiple Destinations

    Just because countries use the same currency doesn’t mean everything will be priced the same!  If you’re looking for a cheap vacation, you can use the “Compare” tool to examine multiple cities and decide which best fits your budget.

    For example, typing “Barcelona” into the “Compare Helsinki With” box, shows even though these 2 cities both use the Euro, the cost of living is much different!

    Ouch! Helsinki Is CONSIDERABLY More Expensive Than Barcelona

    Use Numbeo Data to Help Relocate

    Numbeo is helpful to folks who are looking to move to another city or country.  The website is full of tools and calculators to help you make educated decisions.
    Numbeo Can Help Folks Planning Extended Travel

    For example, if you’re interested in moving to Helsinki, here’s what to do!

    Step 1.   Click “Cost of Living Calculator“

    In the “Cost of Living“ drop-down menu you’ll find a “Cost of Living Calculator“.  Just enter your current city and your desired city into Numbeo.  Then enter how much money you usually spend each month.

    Step 1 – Enter Your Information Into Numbeo

    Step 2.   Click “Calculate“

    Press the “Calculate” button at the bottom of the screen.  Numbeo will then show how much purchasing power you’ll have in Helsinki with the same flow of income.  Pretty handy!

    Step 2 – Press “Calculate” and Let Numbeo Do the Hard Work for You!
    Note:   Wherever you decide to go, make sure you bring along a credit card that has NO foreign transaction fees, like The Business Platinum® Card from American Express, Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, or Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard!

    Are There Other Sites Similar to Numbeo?

    There are other websites that offer similar information Numbeo provides.  And depending on your situation, they could be better or worse.

    1.   Expatistan

    Expatistan shows the cost of living in countries around the world, but it’s more geared towards folks who want to relocate.  It has information like:

    2.   Eardex

    Eardex is more customizable than Numbeo.  You can create a cart of goods to see how much a shopping trip would cost you.  And you can save your preferred currencies and units of measurement for when you revisit the site.

    I like how Eardex displays information.  But I find their data is not as complete as Numbeo.

    Eardex Has No Data Points for Fuel Prices in Helsinki

    Bottom Line

    Numbeo is an effective tool to help you decide on the perfect destination for your preferences and budget.

    You can quickly view the prices of things like groceries, transportation, and rent in nearly any country.  And you can compare destinations with your home city, so you can more easily decide if visiting a country is in your price range!

    Do you use Numbeo as part of your travel preparation?

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)