Dubrovnik vs Split for couples

Dubrovnik and Split are both in Croatia, about 166 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. Dubrovnik leads on cost.

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Side by side

FactorDubrovnikSplit
CountryCroatiaCroatia
SizeSmaller: under 250,000 peopleSmaller: under 250,000 people
SettingCoastalCoastal
Est. cost for a couple€2,440 a month€2,620 a month
Tax tierLow to medium taxLow to medium tax
Average temperature16°C17°C
Rainfall1,162 mm a year754 mm a year
Safety80 / 10080 / 100
Healthcare64 / 10064 / 100
Internet (median fixed)~70 Mbps~70 Mbps
Main languagesCroatian, EnglishCroatian, English
EnglishSome EnglishSome English
Long-term residencyPossible, with conditionsPossible, with conditions
Self-funded income routeFrom $4,215 a monthFrom $4,215 a month
Visa-free short visits93 of 198 passports93 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

Dubrovnik is cheaper: we estimate about €2,440 a month for a couple living centrally, against €2,620 in Split. That is €180 a month, or 7%, less.

Taxes

Same country, same tax: Croatia is in our low to medium tax tier.

Climate

Split is 1°C warmer on average over the year: 17°C against 16°C in Dubrovnik. Split is drier, with about 754 mm of rain a year against 1,162 mm in Dubrovnik (35% less).

Safety

Our safety score is country-level, so both cities get the same 80 out of 100.

Healthcare

Our healthcare score is country-level, so both cities get the same 64 out of 100.

Internet

Our broadband figure is country-level: about 70 Mbps median fixed download in both.

Language

Main languages in both: Croatian, English. English proficiency is rated the same in both: some English.

Residency and visas

Same country, same rules: long-term residency in Croatia is rated possible, with conditions, with a self-funded route from about $4,215 a month in income.

Which one fits a couple

On the factors we measure, Dubrovnik leads on cost (€2,440 against €2,620 a month), and Split leads on none of them. What our data does not cover can still tip it toward Split: jobs, family nearby, or simply which one each of you prefers after a visit.

Climate can pull the two of you apart too: whoever minds rain will prefer Split (754 mm a year against 1,162 mm).

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

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