Estonia, Latvia, & Finland—three neighboring countries on the Baltic Sea, yet their cost of living tells three different stories. Let’s break it down. 💸
🏠 Rent
Looking for an affordable place? 🇱🇻 Latvia has the best deal at €405/month for a one-bedroom in the city center—though wages are lower. 🇪🇪 Estonia follows at €603/month, with Tallinn attracting digital nomads & startups, driving rents up. 🇫🇮 Finland is the priciest at €784/month, with Helsinki often exceeding €1,000.
🛒 Groceries
Food prices vary significantly. 🇫🇮 Finland is the priciest at €330/month, followed by 🇪🇪 Estonia at €250/month. 🇱🇻 Latvia remains the most budget-friendly at €225/month.
🚇 Transport
A monthly transit pass costs €30 in both 🇱🇻 Latvia & 🇪🇪 Estonia, but Tallinn residents enjoy free public transport. 🇫🇮 Finland is by far the most expensive at €60/month.
💻 Internet
Need fast, affordable internet? 🇱🇻 Latvia wins at €17/month, followed by 🇫🇮 Finland at €22/month. 🇪🇪 Estonia is slightly pricier at €28/month.
🎓 University Tuition
Higher education isn’t free for international students. 🇫🇮 Finland is the most expensive at €1,167/month. 🇪🇪 Estonia follows at €382/month, though tuition fees vary by program, & some Master’s students may receive tuition waivers. 🇱🇻 Latvia remains the most budget-friendly at €333/month.
💡 Taxes
🇪🇪 Estonia has a 22% VAT, with a 9% reduced rate on books, medicine & accommodation. 🇱🇻 Latvia’s 21% VAT drops to 12% for food & medical supplies. 🇫🇮 Finland has the highest at 25.5%, with a 14% rate for food & transport.
💶 Net Salary
🇫🇮 Finland offers the highest salaries at €2,683/month, significantly ahead of 🇪🇪 Estonia at €1,498/month & 🇱🇻 Latvia at €1,140/month.
Tech-driven Estonia, budget-friendly Latvia, or high-income Finland? Let us know your pick! 🌍
The research is based on publicly available data.
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23 Comments
University is free for the Finns.
Again, stupid. Finns dont pay for university
I guess latvians didn't expect this in 1991. Even finns are now poor compared to soviet era. I wouldn't want to live in Latvia now.
The groceries are very expensive in Latvia! I think it’s not enough what it’s shown here.
😂😂😂 💩🐂
Calling BS on the cost of food for Finland.
Man, Latvia is that cheap???
There is no reference of the time span, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year?
I stayedat Finland for maybe about 2 weeks?How much money is that??
University is free at least in Estonia and Finland. At least some
Finland❤❤❤ i am from slovakia😅😊😊
Beats the USSA
Täällä on niin kallista 😅
Finland University is free I been there
Me from latvia
What internet?🇪🇪
My unlimited 5G(min/data/speed) mobile is 12€, a 1Gigabit symmetrical fiber connection is 55€.
Rent in Tallinn yes, outside often around 200 to 450 (1 to 3 "bedroom"), depending the lication you can rent a whole house for 400€(starting).
In Tallinn Trantsport is FREE!
(for people living there, also many other towns and some cities have the same thing, local transportation is free who are registred to live in that location)
Salary is smaller, only the rare few get that so called "average" wage, most get 800 to 1200 in Tallinn or even minimum wage (the outliers like the 100 000 a month salaries sque the numbers, that has been in media for many years here, the problematic wage statistics).
Food yeah if you live in Tallinn, in towns usually it is half of that per person or that sum is you buy premaid(expensive) food or just eat out often.
I also pay 250 a month due to my eating problem and i only can eat few and speciffic expensive foods due to medical reasons, others do not have this problem so mutch less on food than said here, more like 150 a month(includes some snacks and sweets, many also include their smokes in the food expences category).
Yes now we have 22% VAT (rose due to the Ukraine expences and support and the refugees, liderally total country pop rose 2% and gov. paid all their rent and food and medical, everything so first time over 100years the tax is over 20%)
I am living fine with my 650income, 200-350€ (summer-winter) for rent(65m2 large appartment 25min from Tallinn the capital), i eat out 2 to 3 times a week, 200+€ for medication, a 300/300home internet, digitalTV service, 2 mobile, rented server and still some money left over.
Life here is cheap if you just look around for a sec.
In south Estonia, if you are a Estonian and go live in a remote part, the local municipalies liderally give you a free rent appartments to live in as they need more people. These locations still have good internet, often around 400mbits (allmoast allways unlimited data and with speed warranty and co canselation fees).
So basicly the perfect cheapest places to live for young streamers/work over internet, some of my friends allready have moved to the countryside, NB Still has public trantsporst but often only few times a day, but still has home delivery even in middle of nowhere.
My ex rents a house(155m2), all expences included(has 15kw solar array) for 400€ a month, 18€ for a dedicated 5g home wireless(unlimited data, usual speed 300mbits, up to 520) and rest is for food(likes to eat healthy, ready made and out often so yeah around 200-300), she has over internet work with ok wage(sonplenty left over).
Bus stop is about 500m as the narest nabour, narest town is 7km, narest city is 20km.
Many more examples if anyone actually has an intrest.
🇫🇮 Rent is far higer. My dad moved away as the rent was too mutch over a thousand because the pesion in Finland is not enought to cover it.
He moved to Estonia for cheaper rent but now has the problem with the Finnish goverment and is unable to get medical help/service (Finnish work culture liderally Ki**ed him once allready, the doctors there were also incompetant and left surgical equipment in him, he had to have several more operations to get the items out and due to that had permanent damage but now he is even unable to get minimal service even to chek the vitals because he does not have a permanent residence in finlant even though he is a Finnish citicen still in the books there unable to get medical help here due to Finnish byrocracy).
Saddly the canser often comes back, lost a close family member this yean and one last year, close i mean liderally my 2cond mother and father, so canser is a serious thing but WTF 🇫🇮Finland ?!!
Netherlands right now. Rent 1200
Groceries at minimum of 400 for 1
Transport 60
Internet 50
University 500
Vat 22/9
Avery month salary 2400 euro
This is such a cap video
As a latvian i dont agree here avg sal we getting is 740 euro
Latvia wins
❤
See y’all are moving closer to basically being a United Country.
That’s what they want!!