Meridian Tools · Updated August 2026

Can I afford to live there?

Enter your monthly remote income and see, instantly, which of 189 cities you could live in comfortably — and how much you'd have left over each month. Based on live prices for rent, coworking, transit, and daily dining.

$
/ month

A $3,000/month income covers a comfortable life (essentials under half your income) in 97 cities, is doable in 71 more, and falls short in 21.

Chennai, India$400+$2,600Goa, India$419+$2,581Hyderabad, India$462+$2,538Hoi An, Vietnam$535+$2,465New Delhi, India$541+$2,459Kathmandu, Nepal$555+$2,445Havana, Cuba$556+$2,444Cairo, Egypt$578+$2,422Chiang Mai, Thailand$590+$2,410Tunis, Tunisia$593+$2,407Bangalore, India$623+$2,377Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia$625+$2,375Hanoi, Vietnam$655+$2,345Uruapan, Mexico$655+$2,345Dar es Salaam, Tanzania$660+$2,340Da Nang, Vietnam$661+$2,339Kampala, Uganda$674+$2,326La Paz, Bolivia$675+$2,325Cebu, Philippines$680+$2,320Morelia, Mexico$750+$2,250Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam$751+$2,249Penang, Malaysia$752+$2,248Asunción, Paraguay$754+$2,246Cusco, Peru$775+$2,225Essaouira, Morocco$780+$2,220Kigali, Rwanda$785+$2,215Bali, Indonesia$793+$2,207Amman, Jordan$819+$2,181Phnom Penh, Cambodia$820+$2,180Plovdiv, Bulgaria$830+$2,170Jakarta, Indonesia$832+$2,168Marrakech, Morocco$833+$2,167Lusaka, Zambia$845+$2,155Colombo, Sri Lanka$855+$2,145Mumbai, India$865+$2,135Tashkent, Uzbekistan$870+$2,130Phuket, Thailand$875+$2,125Cartagena, Colombia$880+$2,120Zanzibar, Tanzania$895+$2,105Florianopolis, Brazil$902+$2,098Manila, Philippines$942+$2,058Nairobi, Kenya$945+$2,055Maputo, Mozambique$975+$2,025Kyoto, Japan$985+$2,015Bogota, Colombia$990+$2,010Wroclaw, Poland$1,008+$1,992Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala$1,025+$1,975Tbilisi, Georgia$1,025+$1,975Koh Samui, Thailand$1,043+$1,957Mérida, Mexico$1,061+$1,939Lagos, Nigeria$1,063+$1,937Buenos Aires, Argentina$1,065+$1,935Almaty, Kazakhstan$1,067+$1,933Fukuoka, Japan$1,105+$1,895Thessaloniki, Greece$1,105+$1,895Sofia, Bulgaria$1,107+$1,893Osaka, Japan$1,128+$1,872Yerevan, Armenia$1,139+$1,861Quito, Ecuador$1,145+$1,855Tartu, Estonia$1,158+$1,842Busan, South Korea$1,159+$1,841Palermo, Italy$1,162+$1,838Shenzhen, China$1,174+$1,826Medellin, Colombia$1,178+$1,822Abidjan, Ivory Coast$1,183+$1,817Valparaiso, Chile$1,185+$1,815Bucharest, Romania$1,233+$1,767Sao Paulo, Brazil$1,269+$1,731Rio de Janeiro, Brazil$1,285+$1,715Santiago, Chile$1,290+$1,710Istanbul, Turkey$1,320+$1,680Budapest, Hungary$1,325+$1,675Taipei, Taiwan$1,332+$1,668Split, Croatia$1,337+$1,663Riga, Latvia$1,345+$1,655Johannesburg, South Africa$1,348+$1,652Florianópolis, Brazil$1,353+$1,647Bariloche, Argentina$1,360+$1,640Vilnius, Lithuania$1,363+$1,637Bangkok, Thailand$1,372+$1,628Zagreb, Croatia$1,375+$1,625Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic$1,377+$1,623Lima, Peru$1,387+$1,613San Miguel de Allende, Mexico$1,395+$1,605Tallinn, Estonia$1,396+$1,604Kraków, Poland$1,398+$1,602Adelaide, Australia$1,408+$1,592Guadalajara, Mexico$1,414+$1,586Mexico City, Mexico$1,425+$1,575Shanghai, China$1,425+$1,575Marseille, France$1,444+$1,556Tokyo, Japan$1,450+$1,550Granada, Spain$1,461+$1,539Brno, Czech Republic$1,479+$1,521Zapopan, Mexico$1,480+$1,520Windhoek, Namibia$1,481+$1,519Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain$1,495+$1,505Santa Teresa, Costa Rica$1,505+$1,495Athens, Greece$1,520+$1,480Beijing, China$1,530+$1,470San Jose, Costa Rica$1,545+$1,455Kingston, Canada$1,551+$1,449Bridgetown, Barbados$1,590+$1,410Cape Town, South Africa$1,595+$1,405Tenerife, Spain$1,615+$1,385Porto, Portugal$1,621+$1,379Bordeaux, France$1,642+$1,358Seville, Spain$1,643+$1,357Montevideo, Uruguay$1,672+$1,328Riyadh, Saudi Arabia$1,682+$1,318Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago$1,685+$1,315Málaga, Spain$1,690+$1,310Seoul, South Korea$1,690+$1,310Playa del Carmen, Mexico$1,690+$1,310San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina$1,690+$1,310Palma de Mallorca, Spain$1,735+$1,265Funchal, Portugal$1,746+$1,254Warsaw, Poland$1,754+$1,246Prague, Czech Republic$1,766+$1,234Madrid, Spain$1,808+$1,192

Showing the 120 most affordable of 189. Narrow with the filters above.

Reference · August 2026

The salary you need to live comfortably

Monthly take-home income at which core essentials stay under half your budget, for the 20 most affordable cities. Free to cite with a link to Meridian.

CityEssentials/moComfortable salary
Chennai, India$400$800Goa, India$419$838Hyderabad, India$462$924Hoi An, Vietnam$535$1,070New Delhi, India$541$1,082Kathmandu, Nepal$555$1,110Havana, Cuba$556$1,112Cairo, Egypt$578$1,156Chiang Mai, Thailand$590$1,180Tunis, Tunisia$593$1,186Bangalore, India$623$1,246Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia$625$1,250Hanoi, Vietnam$655$1,310Uruapan, Mexico$655$1,310Dar es Salaam, Tanzania$660$1,320Da Nang, Vietnam$661$1,322Kampala, Uganda$674$1,348La Paz, Bolivia$675$1,350Cebu, Philippines$680$1,360Morelia, Mexico$750$1,500

How it works

For each city we sum four location-driven monthly costs in USD — a 1-bedroom apartment in the city center, a coworking membership, a monthly transit pass, and one casual restaurant meal per day. We compare that basket to the income you enter. A city is comfortable when essentials are ≤ 50% of your income, doable at 50–100%, and out of reach above 100%. This is a defined basket, not total cost of living — groceries, utilities, and healthcare are excluded so every figure traces to a named price. Data is AI-sourced and refreshed continuously (August 2026).

Frequently asked questions

How much money do I need to live as a digital nomad?

It depends heavily on the city. To live comfortably (with your core monthly essentials — rent, coworking, transit, and daily dining — under half your income), you need about $800/month in the cheapest city we track (Chennai) and $2,960/month in the median city. Enter your income above to see all 189 cities.

Can I live in Chennai on a remote salary?

Yes — Chennai, India is the most affordable city in our index. Core monthly essentials run about $400, so even a $800/month remote income leaves you living comfortably with room to save.

What counts as a comfortable salary in this calculator?

We call a city "comfortable" when its four core monthly essentials — a 1-bedroom rent, a coworking membership, a transit pass, and one casual meal out per day — add up to 50% or less of your take-home income. "Doable" means essentials are 50–100% of income. "Out of reach" means they exceed your income before groceries, utilities, or savings.

How accurate is the cost data?

Prices are AI-retrieved from live web sources and refreshed continuously — this snapshot is from August 2026. Figures are typical market rates for a defined basket, not total cost of living. Verify major numbers before committing to a move.

Get notified when costs shift

We track prices across 200+ cities. Get the quarterly rundown of where it got cheaper — and pricier — to live.

Go deeper on any city

See the full cost breakdown, compare two cities side by side, or read the 2026 Nomad Essentials Index behind these numbers.

Compare cities →Read the Cost Index