Gdańsk vs Prague for couples

Gdańsk, in Poland, and Prague, in Czechia, are about 555 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. Gdańsk leads on cost and internet speed; Prague on healthcare.

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Side by side

FactorGdańskPrague
CountryPolandCzechia
SizeMid-sized: 250,000 to 1 million peopleLarge: 1 to 5 million people
SettingCoastalInland
Est. cost for a couple€2,623 a month€2,921 a month
Tax tierLow to medium taxLow to medium tax
Average temperature10°C11°C
Rainfall628 mm a year500 mm a year
Safety72 / 10074 / 100
Healthcare62 / 10070 / 100
Internet (median fixed)~140 Mbps~90 Mbps
Main languagesPolishCzech
EnglishSome EnglishSome English
Long-term residencyPossible, with conditionsPossible, with conditions
Self-funded income routeFrom $2,409 a monthFrom $940 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

Gdańsk is cheaper: we estimate about €2,623 a month for a couple living centrally, against €2,921 in Prague. That is €298 a month, or 10%, less.

Taxes

A tie: Poland and Czechia both sit in our low to medium tax tier.

Climate

Prague is 1°C warmer on average over the year: 11°C against 10°C in Gdańsk. Prague is drier, with about 500 mm of rain a year against 628 mm in Gdańsk (20% less).

Safety

Close: Poland scores 72 out of 100 on safety and Czechia 74.

Healthcare

Prague has the stronger healthcare: Czechia scores 70 out of 100 on healthcare, 8 points above Poland (62).

Internet

Gdańsk has faster home internet: about 140 Mbps median fixed download against about 90 Mbps in Prague.

Language

Main languages: Polish in Gdańsk; Czech in Prague. English proficiency is rated the same in both: some English.

Residency and visas

Both are rated possible, with conditions for long-term residency for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. The cheapest self-funded income route we track starts at about $2,409 a month in Poland and $940 in Czechia. 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 Poland visa-free and 93 can enter Czechia.

Which one fits a couple

If one of you puts cost (€2,623 against €2,921 a month) and internet speed (140 Mbps against 90 Mbps) first, Gdańsk comes out ahead. If the other cares more about healthcare (70 against 62 out of 100), Prague does.

Size differs too: Gdańsk is a mid-sized city (250,000 to 1 million people) and Prague a large one (1 to 5 million people). Gdańsk is coastal; Prague is inland.

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

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