Counter 09 · Cost of Living
Verified 06 Aug 2026
Global Property Guide
GLRent and house price indices for 80+ countries
Global Property Guide tracks median asking rents and house price indices across more than 80 countries, compiled in-house from local listings and government sources rather than crowdsourced. It is a useful cross-check against crowdsourced cost trackers when you are weighing a longer-term move and want a landlord's-eye view of where rents are actually heading.
What is Global Property Guide?
Global Property Guide is a real estate data platform that tracks median asking rents, house price indices, and rental yields across more than 80 countries and 300+ cities. An in-house research team compiles the numbers from local listings and government sources rather than crowdsourced user reports. For a digital nomad or long-term expat weighing where to settle, it answers a narrower question than most cost-of-living trackers: where are rents headed, and what would it cost to buy a place instead of renting.
The nomad angle
Most nomad cost-of-living tools (Numbeo, Nomad List, Expatistan) rely on crowdsourced, self-reported numbers that swing with whoever last filled out the form. Global Property Guide pulls from national statistics offices and real estate portals instead, and it tracks a metric almost no nomad site includes: gross rental yield by city, useful if you're weighing buying a base instead of renting long-term. That makes it a good cross-check when a crowdsourced number looks suspiciously high or low.
Pricing and the honest caveat
The country and city pages, rent price trends, and house price rankings are free to browse. The deeper dataset, city-by-city detail across all 80+ countries with downloadable time series, sits behind a paid subscription, around $39 a month when we last checked, though tiers change so confirm the current figure on their subscribe page before you commit. Most casual nomads researching one or two destinations will never need to pay it. The other caveat: this is a real estate analytics tool built for investors and analysts, so the interface is not nomad-friendly. It has no WiFi scores, no coworking listings, no walkability, just rent and price data. Its numbers also lean on asking prices from listings rather than confirmed sale prices, so read them as a direction of travel, not a firm quote.
Who it actually suits
Skip it if you just want a quick "is this city cheap" gut check, since Numbeo or Expatistan will get you there faster and for free. Use it if you're seriously comparing rent trends or buy-versus-rent economics across a shortlist of countries before a longer-term move.
What works
- In-house research pulled from government and listing data, not crowdsourced guesses that swing with whoever last filled out a form
- Covers 80+ countries and 300+ cities, wider country coverage than most nomad-focused cost trackers
- Tracks rental yields by city, a metric relevant to nomads considering buying rather than renting long-term
- Free country and city pages give real rent and price trend data before you hit any paywall
What to watch
- Full city-level dataset and time series sit behind a paid subscription (around $39 a month when we last checked), overkill for a nomad researching one or two destinations
- Built for real estate investors, not travelers, so there's no WiFi, coworking, or livability data at all
- Price data is largely asking prices from listings rather than confirmed sale prices, so numbers are directional, not exact
Questions at the counter
What is Global Property Guide used for?
It's a real estate data platform that tracks median rents, house price indices, and rental yields across 80+ countries, used mainly to compare property markets and rent trends between countries and cities. Digital nomads use it as a cross-check against crowdsourced cost-of-living numbers when weighing a longer-term move or a potential property purchase.
Is Global Property Guide free?
The core country and city pages, including rent price trends and house price rankings, are free to browse. The full city-by-city dataset with downloadable time series requires a paid subscription, around $39 a month when we last checked, though you should confirm the current figure on their subscribe page.
Is Global Property Guide accurate for cost of living?
It's accurate for what it measures: rent and property price trends sourced from government statistics and real estate listings. But it isn't a general cost-of-living tool, it doesn't cover groceries, transport, or daily expenses the way Numbeo or Expatistan do, so pair it with a broader cost tracker for a full budget picture.
Global Property Guide vs Numbeo, which is better for nomads?
Numbeo is faster and free for a quick day-to-day cost snapshot across almost any city, backed by crowdsourced reports. Global Property Guide is narrower but more rigorous specifically on rent and property price trends, since its numbers come from institutional sources rather than user submissions, making it a better cross-check than a primary tool for most nomads.