How to Live on €1000/month in Europe
Updated October 2026 · first published March 2026
Whether €1,000 a month is enough depends less on you than on the country. The same money buys half as much again or more in the Balkans as at the EU average, and far less in the Nordics and Switzerland.
How far €1,000 goes
The middle column shows what €1,000 spent in each country buys at EU-average prices, using Eurostat's 2025 price level for everything households spend on, rent included.
| Country | €1,000 there buys what this buys at EU-average prices | Prices against the EU average |
|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia | €1,825 | 45% below |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | €1,689 | 41% below |
| Turkey | €1,678 | 40% below |
| Bulgaria | €1,600 | 38% below |
| Romania | €1,536 | 35% below |
| Montenegro | €1,513 | 34% below |
| Serbia | €1,471 | 32% below |
| Albania | €1,377 | 27% below |
| Poland | €1,364 | 27% below |
| Hungary | €1,290 | 22% below |
And at the other end:
| Country | €1,000 there buys what this buys at EU-average prices | Prices against the EU average |
|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | €760 | 32% above |
| Ireland | €734 | 36% above |
| Denmark | €716 | 40% above |
| Switzerland | €584 | 71% above |
| Iceland | €576 | 74% above |
These are national averages; capitals cost more. The cheapest countries in 2026 breaks them down by housing, eating out and food.
Where the money goes
Rent decides whether €1,000 works. In the cheapest countries, housing and utilities cost between a third and 70% less than the EU average, while food costs only a little less, and in Albania and Croatia a little more. So a budget that works in Sofia or Belgrade is mostly a cheap flat, not cheap groceries.
A sensible split is to keep rent and utilities under half of the €1,000, food around a quarter, and the rest for transport, phone and everything else. Sharing a flat is the quickest way to get rent under half.
Tips
- Share a flat. A room in a shared flat costs far less than a studio.
- Live outside the centre. One stop further out on the metro or tram often costs much less.
- Cook at home most days, and shop at markets and discount supermarkets.
- Get a monthly transport pass, or walk and cycle.
- Get a local SIM card where roaming costs extra. EU and EEA SIM cards roam at home prices inside the EU and EEA, but not in Switzerland, Turkey or the Balkan countries outside the EU, and SIMs from elsewhere roam at a price everywhere.
- Compare utility providers where you can choose your own.
Where the numbers come from
Eurostat, prc_ppp_ind_1: price level indices for household final consumption, EU27 = 100, 2025. More in About the data.
What changed since March
The first version gave monthly budgets for five cities without saying where they came from. This version shows how far the same money goes in each country, from Eurostat's price levels.