Cost of living comparison

France

compared to

Finland

Helsinki vs. Paris Cost of Living Summary

Helsinki is 18.3% cheaper than Paris.

Restaurants: pay 3.3% less in Helsinki
Groceries: pay 19.0% less in Helsinki
Transportation: pay 0.4% more in Helsinki
Housing: pay 26.8% less in Helsinki
Childcare: pay 64.1% less in Helsinki
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.2% more in Helsinki
Clothing: pay 12.8% less in Helsinki

The cost of entertainment and sports and transportation in Helsinki are more expensive than in Paris. Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Helsinki.

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Helsinki vs. Paris Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Helsinki instead of Paris, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3% less for restaurants

	Paris	Helsinki
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.92 €15.95	$17.92 €15.95
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.44 €11.96	$13.44 €11.96
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.55 €4.05	$3.45 €3.07	-24.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.76 €2.46	$2.59 €2.30	-6.2%
Average			-3.3%

Paris vs. Helsinki - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.0% less for groceries

	Paris	Helsinki
Bread 1 loaf	$2.49 €2.21	$2.76 €2.45	+10.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$11.08 €9.87	$4.96 €4.41	-55.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.83 €5.19	$5.08 €4.52	-12.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.41 €3.93	$3.93 €3.50	-10.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.25 €5.56	$6.02 €5.36	-3.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.47 €1.31	$1.26 €1.12	-14.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 €0.90	$0.99 €0.88	-2.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 €1.17	$1.12 €1.00	-15.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.92 €1.71	$1.77 €1.58	-8.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 €0.79	$0.55 €0.49	-37.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.13 €1.01	$0.74 €0.66	-34.8%
Average			-19.0%

Paris vs. Helsinki - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.4% more for transportation

	Paris	Helsinki
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.46 €7.53	$8.89 €7.91	+5.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$101.67 €90.49	$81.74 €72.75	-19.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,599.83 €30,795.09	$36,622.07 €32,594.96	+5.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.60 €18.34	$26.34 €23.44	+27.8%
Average			+0.4%

Paris vs. Helsinki - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.8% less for housing

	Paris	Helsinki
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.90 €26.61	$24.77 €22.05	-17.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,564.13 €1,392.13	$1,207.26 €1,074.51	-22.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,192.71 €1,061.55	$904.00 €804.59	-24.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$188.92 €168.15	$104.89 €93.35	-44.5%
Average			-26.8%

Paris vs. Helsinki - Cost of housing

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pay 64.1% less for childcare

	Paris	Helsinki
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,800.03 €1,602.09	$476.51 €424.11	-73.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$26,004.30 €23,144.76	$12,685.20 €11,290.29	-51.2%
Average			-64.1%

Paris vs. Helsinki - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Paris	Helsinki
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.84 €6.98	$10.08 €8.97	+28.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.05 €4.50	$5.23 €4.65	+3.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.56 €12.96	$14.00 €12.46	-3.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.05 €34.75	$46.96 €41.80	+20.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.56 €12.96	$18.48 €16.44	+26.9%
Average			+17.2%

Paris vs. Helsinki - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.8% less for clothing

	Paris	Helsinki
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$110.29 €98.16	$92.46 €82.29	-16.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.46 €46.69	$43.55 €38.76	-17.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.77 €105.71	$104.85 €93.32	-11.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$158.84 €141.38	$149.45 €133.01	-5.9%
Average			-12.8%

Paris vs. Helsinki - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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