Ranked: Where Eating Out Costs the Most and Least

Where Does Eating Out Cost the Most?

The $20 that buys one inexpensive restaurant meal in the U.S. buys about three in Japan, nine in India, and 12 in Bangladesh. In eight European countries, led by Switzerland, it would not cover even one.

All 98 prices come from Numbeo, accessed on August 24, 2026.

The prices represent a meal at an inexpensive restaurant by local convention, so the ranking compares the lower-cost end of each country’s restaurant market rather than one identical dish priced 98 times.

Numbeo’s prices are crowdsourced from users reporting what they paid locally and converted to U.S. dollars at market exchange rates, rather than adjusted for purchasing power.

Switzerland Is the Most Expensive

At $31.20, Switzerland is a clear outlier, costing nearly a third more than second-place Norway at $23.60.

The table ranks all 98 countries and territories from most to least expensive, including the 38 the graphic leaves out.

Rank	Country	Meal at an Inexpensive Restaurant (USD)	Region
1	Switzerland	$31.20	Europe
2	Norway	$23.60	Europe
3	Denmark	$23.43	Europe
4	Belgium	$23.36	Europe
5	Netherlands	$23.36	Europe
6	Ireland	$23.35	Europe
7	United Kingdom	$21.82	Europe
8	Italy	$20.19	Europe
9	United States	$20.00	N. America
10	Austria	$18.68	Europe
11	Canada	$18.11	N. America
12	Australia	$17.91	Oceania
13	Greece	$17.52	Europe
14	Finland	$17.52	Europe
15	Germany	$17.52	Europe
16	Spain	$17.52	Europe
17	Estonia	$17.52	Europe
18	Cyprus	$17.52	Europe
19	Malta	$17.52	Europe
20	France	$17.52	Europe
21	Uruguay	$16.17	S. America
22	Sweden	$15.30	Europe
23	New Zealand	$14.93	Oceania
24	Argentina	$14.34	S. America
25	Lithuania	$14.01	Europe
26	Portugal	$14.01	Europe
27	Latvia	$14.01	Europe
28	Slovenia	$14.01	Europe
29	Croatia	$14.01	Europe
30	Puerto Rico	$13.50	N. America
31	Hungary	$12.88	Europe
32	Bulgaria	$11.94	Europe
33	Mexico	$11.83	N. America
34	Singapore	$11.82	Asia
35	Montenegro	$11.68	Europe
36	South Africa	$11.24	Africa
37	Romania	$11.11	Europe
38	Costa Rica	$10.98	N. America
39	Armenia	$10.98	Asia
40	Kazakhstan	$10.85	Asia
41	Poland	$10.83	Europe
42	Georgia	$10.56	Europe
43	Albania	$10.10	Europe
44	Belarus	$10.02	Europe
45	Venezuela	$10.00	S. America
46	Serbia	$9.96	Europe
47	Moldova	$9.88	Europe
48	Czech Republic	$9.69	Europe
49	Turkey	$9.36	Middle East
50	Slovakia	$9.34	Europe
51	United Arab Emirates	$9.26	Middle East
52	Azerbaijan	$8.82	Asia
53	Chile	$8.71	S. America
54	Dominican Republic	$8.52	N. America
55	Ukraine	$8.38	Europe
56	Hong Kong (China)	$8.29	Asia
57	Qatar	$8.24	Middle East
58	Colombia	$8.12	S. America
59	Panama	$8.06	N. America
60	Bosnia And Herzegovina	$7.77	Europe
61	Kuwait	$7.70	Middle East
62	North Macedonia	$7.60	Europe
63	South Korea	$7.21	Asia
64	Bahrain	$7.02	Middle East
65	Saudi Arabia	$6.65	Middle East
66	Mauritius	$6.44	Africa
67	Brazil	$6.42	S. America
68	Zimbabwe	$6.33	Africa
69	Japan	$6.29	Asia
70	Cuba	$6.00	N. America
71	Uzbekistan	$5.90	Asia
72	Kosovo	$5.84	Europe
73	Kyrgyzstan	$5.72	Asia
74	Jordan	$5.64	Middle East
75	Oman	$5.20	Middle East
76	Taiwan	$4.71	Asia
77	Iraq	$4.58	Middle East
78	Morocco	$4.33	Africa
79	Tunisia	$4.13	Africa
80	Philippines	$4.05	Asia
81	Egypt	$3.93	Africa
82	Kenya	$3.86	Africa
83	Malaysia	$3.71	Asia
84	Peru	$3.58	S. America
85	Ecuador	$3.50	S. America
86	Iran	$3.27	Middle East
87	Thailand	$3.06	Asia
88	China	$2.98	Asia
89	Sri Lanka	$2.88	Asia
90	Algeria	$2.72	Africa
91	Pakistan	$2.16	Asia
92	India	$2.09	Asia
93	Nepal	$1.96	Asia
94	Vietnam	$1.91	Asia
95	Nigeria	$1.85	Africa
96	Bolivia	$1.73	S. America
97	Indonesia	$1.70	Asia
98	Bangladesh	$1.63	Asia

The 38 countries omitted from the graphic, priced between $12.88 and $6.33, are mostly in Eastern Europe and Latin America. The global median of $9.35 falls between Turkey and Slovakia.

Several wealthy economies also fall in this middle range, including Singapore at $11.82, Hong Kong at $8.29, and South Korea at $7.21. Every Gulf state does as well, from the UAE at $9.26 to Saudi Arabia at $6.65.

Europe Dominates the Most Expensive Countries

Seventeen of the 20 most expensive countries are European; the exceptions are the United States, Canada, and Australia. Behind Switzerland, the Nordic and Benelux countries bunch tightly: Norway at $23.60, Denmark at $23.43, Belgium and the Netherlands at $23.36, and Ireland at $23.35 span just 25 cents.

Currency conversion helps explain two visible clusters. Eight countries at $17.52, including France, Germany, and Spain, and five at $14.01, including Portugal and Croatia, are eurozone members reporting round local prices of €15 and €12.

Europe is far from uniform, however. Hungary sits at $12.88 and Bulgaria at $11.94, while the continent’s spread runs more than fivefold from Switzerland to Kosovo at $5.84.

The U.S. Ranks Ninth

The U.S. ranks ninth at $20.00, making it the only non-European country in the top 10. Italy sits just above it at $20.19.

Austria ranks 10th at $18.68, followed by Canada at $18.11, about 10% cheaper than the U.S.

Japan Is the Cheapest G7 Country

Japan ranks 69th of 98 at $6.29, below the global median and far cheaper than any other G7 economy. The next-cheapest members, France and Germany, cost nearly three times as much.

The low price does not signal a thin restaurant sector: Japan ranks third worldwide with 351 Michelin-starred restaurants, behind only France and Italy.

Japan also undercuts Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Among its high-income neighbors, only Taiwan, at $4.71, is cheaper. Japan’s placement reflects what a visitor holding dollars would pay, not what the meal represents to a household earning yen.

Asia and Africa Have the Cheapest Meals

Indonesia at $1.70 and Bolivia at $1.73 sit just above Bangladesh at the bottom. Eleven of the 20 cheapest countries are in Asia and five are in Africa, where Nigeria is the cheapest entry at $1.85.

South Asia clusters near the bottom, with Nepal at $1.96, India at $2.09, and Pakistan at $2.16. China comes in at $2.98.

Six of the world’s 10 most populous countries rank among the 20 cheapest, meaning some of the lowest restaurant prices in the dataset apply to countries containing a substantial share of the world’s population.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed this visualization, check out The World’s Best Cities for Food on the Voronoi app.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-most-and-least-expensive-countries-to-eat-out/