Comparison
Greece vs Portugal vs Spain
Cost, tax, residency, climate, healthcare, and safety for Greece, Portugal, and Spain, every figure linked to its source with a verified date and a confidence mark. Screening intelligence, not advice.
Every figure links to its source and shows a confidence mark and the date we last verified it. The neutral tags (lowest, sunniest, safest) just name which country leads a row on that number. We do not pick a winner for you. For a shortlist tuned to your own constraints, use the screener.
| Dimension | Greece | Portugal | Spain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living (price level index, EU27=100) | 87.4 verified Eurostat, price level index for actual individual consumption (tec00120, EU27=100) Verified 2026-06-24 | 86.6 lowest verified Eurostat, price level index for actual individual consumption (tec00120, EU27=100) Verified 2026-06-24 | 91.6 verified Eurostat, price level index for actual individual consumption (tec00120, EU27=100) Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Top income tax rate | 44 % lowest good PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Greece, taxes on personal income Verified 2026-06-24 | 48 % good PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Portugal, taxes on personal income Verified 2026-06-24 | 47 % good PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Spain, taxes on personal income Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Special tax regime for movers | Non-dom (Article 5A): 100,000 euros per year flat on all foreign income, up to 15 years, requires a 500,000 euro Greek investment. Foreign pensioners (Article 5B): 7 percent flat on foreign-source income, up to 15 years. good PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Greece, other tax credits and incentives Verified 2026-06-24 | IFICI (the NHR successor, from 2024): 20 percent flat on eligible Portuguese employment and professional income, plus exemptions on certain foreign income. The old NHR regime closed to new entrants at the end of 2023. good PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Portugal, significant developments Verified 2026-06-24 | Beckham regime (Article 93 LIRPF): 24 percent flat on Spanish employment income up to 600,000 euros (47 percent above), for the arrival year plus five years. good PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Spain, other issues Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Digital nomad visa, min net income | 3500 EUR/mo good Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum, digital nomad residence permit (Migration Code, Law 5038/2023) Verified 2026-06-24 | 3680 EUR/mo good Portugal D8 visa income floor: 4x the national minimum wage (920 euros/month in 2026), applied by AIMA Verified 2026-06-24 | 2763 EUR/mo lowest good Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs, telework (digital nomad) visa; floor is 200 percent of the SMI Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Golden visa / investor residency | Tiered since 31 Aug 2024: 800,000 euros in high-demand zones (Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, islands over 3,100 residents); 400,000 euros elsewhere; 250,000 euros only for converting a commercial building to residential or restoring a listed building. good Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum, investor residence permit (Golden Visa) Verified 2026-06-24 | Real estate and capital-transfer routes removed in October 2023 (Mais Habitacao, Law 56/2023). Remaining routes include 500,000 euros into qualifying Portuguese investment funds, 250,000 euros cultural support (200,000 in low-density areas), 500,000 euros scientific research, and job creation. good Portugal golden visa (ARI) after the 2023 Mais Habitacao reform Verified 2026-06-24 | Abolished on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025. Investor residence permits tied to real estate investment over 500,000 euros no longer exist. verified La Moncloa (Government of Spain press office), end of the golden visa Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Average July high | 34.3 °C low Athens climate normals, via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 | 27.9 °C low Lisbon climate normals (IPMA 1981-2010), via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 | 32.8 °C low Madrid climate normals (AEMET 1991-2020, Retiro), via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Average January high | 13.3 °C low Athens climate normals, via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 | 14.8 °C warmest low Lisbon climate normals (IPMA 1981-2010), via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 | 10 °C low Madrid climate normals (AEMET 1991-2020, Retiro), via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Annual sunshine | 2773 hours low Athens climate normals (Elliniko), via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 | 2874.9 hours sunniest low Lisbon climate normals, via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 | 2744 hours low Madrid climate normals (AEMET), via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Climate classification | Csa verified GloH2O Koppen-Geiger climate classification (Beck et al. 2023) Verified 2026-06-24 | Csa verified GloH2O Koppen-Geiger climate classification (Beck et al. 2023) Verified 2026-06-24 | Csa verified GloH2O Koppen-Geiger climate classification (Beck et al. 2023) Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Physicians per 1,000 people | 6.37 most good WHO Global Health Observatory, medical doctors per 10,000, via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 | 5.77 good WHO Global Health Observatory, medical doctors per 10,000, via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 | 4.48 good WHO Global Health Observatory, medical doctors per 10,000, via Wikipedia Verified 2026-06-24 |
| Global Peace Index (lower is safer) | 1.793 good Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Peace Index 2024 Verified 2026-06-24 | 1.372 safest good Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Peace Index 2024 Verified 2026-06-24 | 1.597 good Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Peace Index 2024 Verified 2026-06-24 |
Full cited pages: Greece · Portugal · Spain
Not sure which fits your situation?
The free screener takes your budget, climate, visa, and tax constraints and returns a cited, ranked shortlist across these countries, with every figure sourced and the same fence. It never tells you what to do; it shows how each country's published rules match what you entered.
Open the screener