Cost of Living: Funchal vs Salzburg (2026)

Portugal vs Austria — relocation comparison

Your passport:

Livability Score

Funchal

Salzburg

$1,568/mo

Rent

1BR centre

$1,537/mo

−$7k/yr

Take-home savings

At each city's local median pay

−$2k/yr

5 yr

PR path

5 yr

—

Tax breaks

Open incentive regimes for newcomers

Zuzugsfreibetrag (Researcher Relocation Allowance), Flat-Rate Foreign Income Tax (Zuzugsbegünstigung)

Freelance setup

Trabalhador Independente

VAT-free under €15k
21.4% social
€900/yr accountant

WiseStripe

EPU

VAT-free under €42k
27% social
€1400/yr accountant

WiseStripe

Sourced from Numbeo · Updated May 2026

TL;DRFunchal has milder winters (55°F vs 28°F lows). Both cities will charge you about the same to exist.

Funchal and Salzburg are almost suspiciously well-matched. Flip a coin.

How the livability score breaks down

Funchal

Salzburg

13.8/25

💰 Affordability

14.1/25

14.3/15

🔒 Violent Crime

14.1/15

8/10

🛡️ Perceived Safety

8/10

5.3/15

⚡ Internet

5.3/15

12.1/15

🗳️ Democracy

12.4/15

8.7/10

🗣️ English

8.9/10

9.5/10

☀️ Climate

9.6/10

7.6/10

📊 Stability

7.1/10

7.5/10

🚗 Road Safety

9.1/10

8.5/10

🕊️ Geopolitical Safety

8.8/10

Verdict delivered. Your move.

Heads

🇦🇹 Salzburg

Full profile, in case the coin says so.

Tails

🇵🇹 Funchal

Full profile, in case it says otherwise.

Plot twist

Lisbon vs Funchal

Someone else's dilemma, equally unsolvable.

Household

Funchal

Metric

Salzburg

✓$487/mo

🛒

Living costs (no rent)

lower is better

$978/mo

✓$7,039

🧳

Cost to land

lower is better

$7,943

85 / 100

🛡️

Settler safety

higher is better

88 / 100

✓0.7 / 100k

🔒

Homicides

lower is better

0.9 / 100k

7.2 / 100k

🚗

Road deaths

lower is better

4.6 / 100k✓

80 / 100

🚨

Safety Index

higher is better

80 / 100

75°F

☀️

Summer high

personal taste

75°F

55°F

❄️

Winter low

personal taste

28°F

✓4.9 μg/m³

🌬️

Air quality (PM2.5)

lower is better

8.6 μg/m³

84 / 100

🏥

Healthcare

higher is better

84 / 100

8.1 / 10

🗳️

Democracy

higher is better

8.3 / 10

✓6.7 / 9

🤝

Migrant acceptance

higher is better

6.1 / 9

✓67 / 100

🏳️‍🌈

Rainbow Index

higher is better

50 / 100

72/100

🗣️

Street English

higher is better

74/100

$52k

💼

GDP per capita (PPP)

higher is better

$74k✓

✓2.4% · Boringly steady

📈

Inflation

lower is better

2.9% · Boringly steady

96/100

🗽

Freedom House

higher is better

93/100

A median Software Engineer in Funchal takes home $2,624/mo under Standard employee. In Salzburg: $3,597/mo under Standard employee.

$973/mo more in Salzburg

Each city pays its own median — Software Engineer gross via Levels.fyi / Eurostat. Moving changes your salary too; that's the point.

$50k

💰

Gross income

$81k

−$13k

🏛️

Income tax

Standard employee

−$23k

−$6k

🛡️

Social contributions

−$15k

$31k/yr

$3k/mo

💵

Take-home pay

$43k/yr✓

$4k/mo

−$39k

🏠

Cost of living

−$45k

−$7k/yr

🐖

Annual savings

−$2k/yr✓

Swap the local medians for your actual number

Sources: Numbeo · UNODC · Ookla · WHO · EIU · Gallup · World Bank · Freedom House · Updated May 2026

💰

Cost of Living

Salzburg

$32/mo cheaper on rent alone

Sun

How much sky you actually get

45% clear

Win

Spr

Sum

Fall

Sky clear

avg daytime

37% clear

Win

Spr

Sum

Fall

10.0h

Shortest day

Dec

8.5h

14.3h

Longest day

Jun

15.9h

Sun clocks out early in Salzburg's winter. Plan accordingly.

Source: WeatherSpark (clear-sky share of daytime hours)

Settler Essentials

Democracy trend

declining ↓

Inflation trend

stable →

Moderate

🇺🇸 Your visa

Moderate

Easy

EU visa

Easy

Complex

RU visa

Moderate

UA visa

Moderate

✅ Partner can work immediately

Spouse works

✅ Partner can work immediately

Recognized (2+ yr)

união de facto

Partner pathway

Not recognized

eingetragene Partnerschaft

€920/mo

Retiree visa

—

Visa stamps:Easy <90 daysModerate 3–6 moComplex 6+ mo

Sources: EIU · Freedom House · Startup Genome · official immigration portals

Reproductive Rights

Because your body shouldn't need a visa too

On request

Abortion access

On request

10 wk

Gestational limit

14 wk

On request up to 10 weeks since 2007 referendum. Mandatory 3-day reflection period.

Legal within first trimester. Counseling required.

Source: Center for Reproductive Rights

LGBTQ+ Rights

Can you hold hands without doing a risk assessment first

Legal

Marriage

Legal

Joint adoption

Adoption

Joint adoption

Yes

Job protection

Yes

Hate crime law

Yes

Funchal vs Salzburg — Common Questions

Is Funchal cheaper than Salzburg?▾

Salzburg is cheaper. A 1-bedroom apartment in city centre costs around $1537/month there vs $1568/month in the other city (Numbeo data).

Which is safer, Funchal or Salzburg?▾

Funchal is statistically safer based on UNODC homicide data. Funchal has a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 and Salzburg has 0.88 per 100,000.

Should I move to Funchal or Salzburg?▾

Funchal and Salzburg are almost suspiciously well-matched. Flip a coin. See the full comparison above for rent, safety, internet speed, climate, and democracy scores to decide which city fits your priorities.

Is it easier to get residency in Funchal or Salzburg?▾

Funchal: Portugal Digital Nomad Visa (moderate requirements, 2 years (renewable for 3-year periods)). Salzburg: EU Blue Card (Austria) (complex process, Up to 4 years). See each city's profile page for full requirements.

What's the cost of rent in Funchal vs Salzburg?▾

A 1-bedroom in the centre: $1537/month in Salzburg, $1568/month in Funchal (Numbeo). That's 2% cheaper rent in Salzburg.