# Helsinki vs Tallinn

> On balanced weights, Helsinki comes out ahead: 53 against 47 out of 100, mostly on research output and long, healthy lives. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/helsinki-fi-vs-tallinn-ee/

Scores out of 100: Helsinki 53, Tallinn 47. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=helsinki-fi,tallinn-ee

## Line by line

| Line | Helsinki | Tallinn |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,532 take-home a month | €3,914 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | €2,683 a month (Rents of dwellings (Statistics Finland table 15fc); World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 23 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 23 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 5 h 49 min | 6 h 03 min |
| Sunshine | 1,890 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 1,923 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 143 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 153 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 5.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 4.0 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 1.0 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 1.5 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 82.3 years (World Development Indicators) | 79.3 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €58 a month (World Development Indicators) | €39 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 51 weeks (mother 40, father 11) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 86 weeks (mother 82, father 4) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.80 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.30 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 61 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 36 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 17 km (OurAirports airports) | 5 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 52 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 38 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 81 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 16 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 35 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 24 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 7.00 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.84 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 93 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 91 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 22.0 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 12.7 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 9.2 km, about 37 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 2.0 km, about 8 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 2 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 1 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 29.6 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 25.4 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 38 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 36 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 70 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 50 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 17.5 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 26.1 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.6 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.5 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 9.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 8.3 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 49.9 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 49.8 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 21.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 14.9 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 2.14 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.64 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.5 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | centre-right, 6.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 19 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 9 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 11 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 5 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 19 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 10 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 168 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 178 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 180 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 186 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 38 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 39 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 14 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Helsinki or Tallinn?

Everyday prices are lower in Estonia: 75.9 against 90.6 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Tallinn, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Helsinki and in Tallinn?

About €42,379 a year in Helsinki (Finland 2026 tax rules) and €46,963 in Tallinn (Estonia 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Helsinki or Tallinn?

Tallinn is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 10.2 °C against 9.3 °C in Helsinki (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Helsinki or Tallinn?

Tallinn has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 4.0 µg/m³ against 5.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2025).

### Can a citizen of Finland live and work in Tallinn without a visa?

Yes. EU and EEA free movement rules let citizens of Finland live and work in Estonia without a visa.

## Cite

Borgo, "Helsinki vs Tallinn", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/helsinki-fi-vs-tallinn-ee/, figures as of 2026-11-05.