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Cheapest cities in the Mundevo index (2026)

Every city in the catalog ranked by cost-of-living index. Lower = cheaper. Benchmarked against New York = 100.

Why this list matters

Cost-of-living index is the single most predictive metric for whether a salary stretches in a given city. Two cities can have identical median rents but very different food, transport, and leisure costs — the composite captures all six baskets at once.

Headline cheapness alone is not a relocation thesis; pair it with the quality-of-life and salary-band data per city before shortlisting.

How we ranked

Ranked ascending by composite cost-of-living index (housing + food + transport + utilities + healthcare + leisure baskets, normalized to NYC = 100). Rent index shown alongside as a separate signal.

#	City	Cost index	Rent index
1	AlexandriaEgypt	22	6
2	CairoEgypt	24	8
3	DelhiIndia	26	10
4	BangaloreIndia	28	22
5	MumbaiIndia	28	18
6	Buenos AiresArgentina	29	18
7	CordobaArgentina	30	10
8	MarrakechMorocco	31	12
9	CebuPhilippines	31	11
10	ArequipaPeru	32	10
11	AnkaraTurkey	32	12
12	BaliIndonesia	32	22
13	BogotaColombia	32	14
14	Kuala LumpurMalaysia	33	22
15	HanoiVietnam	33	14
16	CasablancaMorocco	34	14
17	ManilaPhilippines	34	15
18	MedellinColombia	35	25
19	JakartaIndonesia	35	16
20	Chiang MaiThailand	35	12
21	PenangMalaysia	35	11
22	Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam	36	28
23	LimaPeru	36	16
24	GuadalajaraMexico	36	18
25	Mexico CityMexico	38	28
26	BangkokThailand	38	28
27	IstanbulTurkey	38	20
28	JohannesburgSouth Africa	39	16
29	ValparaisoChile	40	16
30	BucharestRomania	40	16
31	Rio de JaneiroBrazil	41	22
32	São PauloBrazil	42	35
33	Cluj-NapocaRomania	42	18
34	Cape TownSouth Africa	42	24
35	BeijingChina	42	28
36	ShanghaiChina	44	32
37	DebrecenHungary	46	15
38	SantiagoChile	48	22
39	JeddahSaudi Arabia	48	24
40	KrakowPoland	50	29
41	RiyadhSaudi Arabia	52	30
42	BrnoCzech Republic	53	25
43	WarsawPoland	54	42
44	BudapestHungary	55	39
45	PortoPortugal	58	40
46	ValenciaSpain	58	38
47	ThessalonikiGreece	61	20
48	AthensGreece	62	42
49	TaipeiTaiwan	62	48
50	MadridSpain	65	42
51	BusanSouth Korea	65	18
52	PragueCzech Republic	66	48
53	FlorenceItaly	66	38
54	LisbonPortugal	67	51
55	MontrealCanada	68	60
56	BarcelonaSpain	70	50
57	OsakaJapan	70	50
58	TallinnEstonia	71	52
59	AntwerpBelgium	71	34
60	TorontoCanada	72	66
61	BrisbaneAustralia	72	62
62	Abu DhabiUnited Arab Emirates	72	54
63	BrusselsBelgium	74	40
64	WellingtonNew Zealand	74	44
65	BerlinGermany	75	55
66	SeoulSouth Korea	75	60
67	RomeItaly	75	52
68	HamburgGermany	75	60
69	MelbourneAustralia	75	68
70	AucklandNew Zealand	76	46
71	LyonFrance	77	55
72	AustinUnited States	78	75
73	ChicagoUnited States	78	70
74	SydneyAustralia	80	75
75	MilanItaly	80	65
76	VancouverCanada	80	78
77	TokyoJapan	82	55
78	MiamiUnited States	82	85
79	RotterdamNetherlands	82	63
80	ParisFrance	83	60
81	ViennaAustria	84	71
82	ManchesterUnited Kingdom	84	72
83	Los AngelesUnited States	84	75
84	FrankfurtGermany	85	70
85	GothenburgSweden	85	40
86	MunichGermany	88	75
87	Hong KongHong Kong	88	95
88	DubaiUnited Arab Emirates	90	85
89	EdinburghUnited Kingdom	90	78
90	SingaporeSingapore	92	80
91	SeattleUnited States	92	88
92	Tel AvivIsrael	92	88
93	SalzburgAustria	93	49
94	OsloNorway	95	85
95	CorkIreland	96	67
96	AmsterdamNetherlands	97	89
97	StockholmSweden	97	77
98	New YorkUnited States	100	100
99	CopenhagenDenmark	106	86
100	LondonUnited Kingdom	113	107
101	DublinIreland	113	110
102	San FranciscoUnited States	120	115
103	GenevaSwitzerland	129	90
104	ZurichSwitzerland	144	126

What this list doesn't tell you

The index doesn't capture macroeconomic context: Argentina's headline cheapness assumes you bring foreign currency, and Mexico City's cost has risen materially in expat-popular neighborhoods. Always check the per-city cost-breakdown before assuming the headline number applies to your situation.

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Want a different angle? Browse the full /best directory. Or run the numbers for your own city + lifestyle in the salary calculator.