Question 1

What is the difference between "same net" and "same purchasing power"?

Accepted Answer

Same net is a question about tax scales: it is the gross that, at destination, leaves the same amount in the account after income tax and social contributions. Same purchasing power is a question about tax scales AND prices: it is the gross that leaves that net once restated at local price levels. The two answers differ as soon as prices differ, and on some corridors they diverge by tens of thousands of euros.

Question 2

How is the calculation done?

Accepted Answer

The starting net is computed on the official scale of your current jurisdiction. The gross at destination is then solved by reverse search on the destination scale until the net target is met. For purchasing power, the net target is first adjusted by the ratio of the two price indices, then solved the same way. No amount is typed by hand: these are the engines that already serve the net salary calculators.

Question 3

Where does the price index come from?

Accepted Answer

From two sources depending on the corridor, and the page names the one it uses. For jurisdictions covered by our own price survey, it is a rounded editorial benchmark on a Paris = 100 base, built from Numbeo readings and official statistics. Elsewhere it is derived from official household price levels (Eurostat, World Bank, and the BEA regional price parities), published on a New York base and restated against Paris.

Question 4

Why is purchasing power not computed on some pairs?

Accepted Answer

Either because no index covers both sides, or because both sides resolve to the same national figure served under two city names. In that second case, opposing them would assert a cost-of-living parity the data does not measure. The page then gives the net answer only, and says so.

Question 5

Do the amounts account for my household?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Five configurations are available, from single to married with three children, and both solves are redone on every change. Household splits and joint scales apply exactly as on the other calculators of the site. Special tax regimes are not applied.

Corridor	Starting net	Same net	Same purchasing power
France to Geneva	€52,707	€65,163	€93,945
France to Portugal	€52,707	€89,782	€57,720

What to earn abroad to live the same

Matching your net is not matching your life

Two corridors that diverge in opposite directions

Common questions

Also explore