The cheapest countries in Europe in 2026

The cheapest country in Europe on everyday running costs is Belarus, where petrol costs $0.89 a litre and household electricity $0.088 per kWh. Next come Ukraine, Malta and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inside the EU, the cheapest member is Malta. If you are judging by food instead, the cheapest Big Mac in Europe is in Ukraine at $3.34, against $9.04 in Switzerland.

How the ranking works

Europe has more countries than any single price survey covers, so we lean on the two datasets that reach almost all of them. Petrol (gas) prices come from GlobalPetrolPrices, retrieved October 13, 2026, and household electricity prices from the same source. For each of the 38 countries with both, we divide its petrol price by the European median ($2.10 a litre) and its electricity price by the European median ($0.238 per kWh), then average the two. A score of 100 is a typical European country; below 100 is cheaper.

Our Europe here means the continent without the countries that straddle Asia, so Russia, Turkey and the Caucasus are not included. Ireland, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and Sweden have fuel prices but no electricity price in our data, so they are not ranked. Petrol and power are not a full cost of living. They leave out rent, restaurants and groceries. But both are things every visitor and resident pays, and both vary across Europe far more than people expect.

Every European country, cheapest first

Liechtenstein sits at the bottom with a score of 144, against 40 for Belarus. 7 of the 10 cheapest countries are outside the EU, which is the clearest pattern in the table: the Balkans and Europe's eastern edge regulate or subsidise energy more, and wages there are lower.

Cheapest in the EU

If you want to stay inside the European Union, the cheapest members on our index are Malta (67), Hungary (70) and Bulgaria (78). The most expensive is Germany at 143. Within the EU, the dearest petrol costs 1.9 times the cheapest, while the dearest household electricity costs 3.7 times the cheapest. So the spread is driven more by electricity than by fuel. Fuel duties are broadly harmonised across members, while power prices depend on each country's generation mix, network charges and how much tax is loaded on to household bills.

That is why a country can be cheap on one line and dear on the other. Albania and Norway have some of the cheapest household power in Europe but above-median petrol. The cheapest household electricity on the continent is in Ukraine at $0.085 per kWh; the most expensive is Italy at $0.415. Our electricity prices in Europe guide covers business rates and the reasons behind them.

The Big Mac test

Fuel and power tell you about energy policy. The Big Mac, a product made mostly from local labour and rent, tells you about everyday service prices. The Economist’s index covers 12 European entries in its July 1, 2026 survey, and treats the whole euro area as one price, so it cannot separate Portugal from Germany.

7 of the 12 European entries sell a cheaper Big Mac than the euro area's $7.08. The three dearest burgers are in Switzerland, Norway and the UK; the three highest scores on our energy index belong to Liechtenstein, Germany and Denmark. Norway shows why one measure is never enough: its household electricity ranks #10 of 38 in Europe (cheapest first), thanks largely to hydropower, while its petrol ranks #38 and its Big Mac #11 of 12. For the full picture of the cheapest burger country, see the Ukraine country page.

What it means for a road trip

A 70-litre road trip (about 1,000 km in a typical petrol car) costs $62 in fuel in Belarus and $218 in Norway. On a multi-country drive the practical tip is simple: fill up before crossing into a dearer neighbour. Our petrol prices in Europe guide lists every country in euros, and the world petrol table shows how Europe compares globally. If you are choosing between continents rather than countries, the cheapest countries to visit ranking puts Europe alongside Asia and Latin America.