Copenhagen vs The Hague for couples

Copenhagen, in Denmark, and The Hague, in the Netherlands, are about 673 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. Copenhagen leads on safety and internet speed; The Hague on cost and getting by in English.

See whether Copenhagen or The Hague ranks higher for you

12 questions, about 4 minutes, no account needed. Taking the quiz is free, and so is seeing your #1 city. Full results for both of you are a one-time US$12 (€12 in Europe).

Side by side

Factor	Copenhagen	The Hague
Country	Denmark	Netherlands
Size	Large: 1 to 5 million people	Mid-sized: 250,000 to 1 million people
Setting	Coastal	Coastal
Est. cost for a couple	€4,318 a month	€3,793 a month
Tax tier	High tax	High tax
Average temperature	10°C	11°C
Rainfall	645 mm a year	891 mm a year
Safety	75 / 100	72 / 100
Healthcare	80 / 100	80 / 100
Internet (median fixed)	~220 Mbps	~180 Mbps
Main languages	Danish, English	Dutch, English
English	Good English	English everywhere
Long-term residency	Possible, with conditions	Possible, with conditions
Self-funded income route	None tracked	None tracked
Visa-free short visits	93 of 198 passports	93 of 198 passports

Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.

Factor by factor

Cost of living

The Hague is cheaper: we estimate about €3,793 a month for a couple living centrally, against €4,318 in Copenhagen. That is €525 a month, or 12%, less.

Taxes

A tie: Denmark and the Netherlands both sit in our high tax tier.

Climate

The Hague is 1°C warmer on average over the year: 11°C against 10°C in Copenhagen. Copenhagen is drier, with about 645 mm of rain a year against 891 mm in The Hague (28% less).

Safety

Copenhagen is the safer pick: Denmark scores 75 out of 100 on safety, 3 points above the Netherlands (72).

Healthcare

Tied: Denmark and the Netherlands both score 80 out of 100 on healthcare.

Internet

Copenhagen has faster home internet: about 220 Mbps median fixed download against about 180 Mbps in The Hague.

Language

Main languages: Danish, English in Copenhagen; Dutch, English in The Hague. English goes further in The Hague (English everywhere) than in Copenhagen (good English).

Residency and visas

Both are rated possible, with conditions for long-term residency for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights in both. For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter Denmark visa-free and 93 can enter the Netherlands.

Which one fits a couple

If one of you puts safety (75 against 72 out of 100) and internet speed (220 Mbps against 180 Mbps) first, Copenhagen comes out ahead. If the other cares more about cost (€3,793 against €4,318 a month) and getting by in English (English everywhere against good English), The Hague does.

Climate can pull the two of you apart too: whoever minds rain will prefer Copenhagen (645 mm a year against 891 mm).

Size differs too: Copenhagen is a large city (1 to 5 million people) and The Hague a mid-sized one (250,000 to 1 million people).

OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Copenhagen, The Hague and 913 other cities for both of you at once.

Other comparisons

See every comparison