Cost of Living · NL vs PL
🇳🇱 Amsterdam vs 🇵🇱 Warsaw: what everyday life costs
Monthly essentials: $2,019 in Netherlands vs $1,153 in Poland — 43% cheaper.
- Essentials, Netherlands
- $2,019/mo
- Essentials, Poland
- $1,153/mo
- Difference
- -43%
- 1-bed city rent, Poland
- $756/mo
Biggest differences
Much cheaper in Poland
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -47%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -47%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -47%
Closest to Netherlands prices
- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -17%
- Running shoes (brand): -17%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -17%
The full basket (32 items)
| Item | Netherlands | Poland | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $1,433 | $756 (2,843 PLN) | -47% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $1,146 | $605 (2,274 PLN) | -47% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $2,620 | $1,382 (5,198 PLN) | -47% |
| Food out | |||
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $15.38 | $9.31 (35 PLN) | -39% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $64.10 | $38.78 (146 PLN) | -39% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $9.54 | $6.04 (23 PLN) | -37% |
| Groceries | |||
| Milk, 1L | $0.98 | $0.68 (3 PLN) | -31% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.85 | $1.98 (7 PLN) | -31% |
| Eggs, dozen | $3.03 | $2.10 (8 PLN) | -31% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $8.92 | $6.19 (23 PLN) | -31% |
| White rice, 1kg | $3.57 | $2.48 (9 PLN) | -31% |
| Apples, 1kg | $4.28 | $2.97 (11 PLN) | -31% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $10.71 | $7.43 (28 PLN) | -31% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.78 | $1.24 (5 PLN) | -30% |
| Drinks | |||
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $5.13 | $3.10 (12 PLN) | -40% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $7.56 | $6.29 (24 PLN) | -17% |
| Cappuccino | $4.27 | $2.59 (10 PLN) | -39% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $2.05 | $1.42 (5 PLN) | -31% |
| Transport | |||
| Public transport, monthly pass | $56.36 | $35.69 (134 PLN) | -37% |
| Public transport, one-way | $2.38 | $1.51 (6 PLN) | -37% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $3.42 | $2.07 (8 PLN) | -39% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.54 | $0.93 (4 PLN) | -40% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.90 | $0.75 (3 PLN) | -17% |
| Utilities & comms | |||
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $173 | $110 (413 PLN) | -37% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $60.69 | $38.43 (145 PLN) | -37% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $39.02 | $24.71 (93 PLN) | -37% |
| Lifestyle | |||
| Gym membership, month | $42.74 | $25.85 (97 PLN) | -40% |
| Cinema seat | $11.97 | $7.24 (27 PLN) | -40% |
| Men's haircut | $25.64 | $15.51 (58 PLN) | -40% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $51.95 | $43.27 (163 PLN) | -17% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $85.01 | $70.81 (266 PLN) | -17% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $214 | $129 (486 PLN) | -40% |
Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the interactive tool.
Beyond prices
What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about 1,101 km apart as the crow flies.
| Measure | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 🇵🇱 Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $4,367 | $1,809 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $1,341 | $682 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 30.7% | 37.7% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $807 | $326 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.9 | 4.0 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Amsterdam and Warsaw. | 71 | 73 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | very strong | strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.5 (low) | 2.6 (low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 9 | 14 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 9.1 | 15.4 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 82 | 78.4 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 97% | 88.6% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 201.5 | 244.2 |
Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?
Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.
🇳🇱 Netherlands
8.3 pts
22.4% of your income vs 30.7% of a local wage
🇵🇱 Poland
26.3 pts
11.4% of your income vs 37.7% of a local wage
Worked at $6,000/month. Run it on your own income
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Frequently asked questions
- How much cheaper is Poland than Netherlands?
- A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,153 in Poland versus $2,019 in Netherlands — 43% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- What does a beer cost in Poland?
- A domestic draught pint is roughly $3.10 in Poland (≈ 11.66 PLN), versus about $5.13 in Netherlands.
- How much is rent in Poland compared to Netherlands?
- A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $756/month in Poland versus $1,433/month in Netherlands (-47%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- How are these prices estimated?
- Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.