Long-Stay Daily Budget Estimator

How this estimate is built

Each city is anchored to a real central one-bedroom rent for 2026, then food, workspace, transport and the rest are stacked on top — not backed out of a blended average. The comfortable tier reflects a private central flat; lean assumes a cheaper area or a longer lease with lighter spending, and elevated a central-plus apartment with more eating out and a dedicated desk. Every line shows both a monthly and a per-night figure so you can sanity-check it against a real listing. Rents come from cross-referenced Numbeo-based data; nothing is invented on the spot.

Why rent is the number that moves everything

Rent is the biggest and most variable line in any long stay. The single most effective saving is avoiding the tourist core: a central one-bedroom in Lisbon or Mexico City can cost 30 to 50% more than the same flat a fifteen-minute walk out. Monthly rentals also beat nightly rates heavily — most hosts discount hard past 28 nights, which is exactly why "slowmading" in one city for a few months costs far less per week than hopping every fortnight.

The costs this tool leaves out on purpose

Flights between bases, visa fees, the "new-city tax" of overspending your first month, and tax residency once you pass roughly 183 days in one country are all real and all excluded here, because they depend on your route and your passport rather than the city. Budget a separate runway for them. Health cover and connectivity are the two you can fix in advance and forget.

If a city keeps winning

When the same place keeps coming out affordable across several trips, that is usually the signal to stop counting nights and look at a proper base. Spain's digital nomad and non-lucrative visas are two of the most accessible routes for exactly that move.