How Many Hours Do You Have to Work to Buy the Same Grocery Basket in Europe? The 2026 Ranking
The same 18-item grocery basket costs €45.90 in Romania and €99 in Luxembourg. But where does it take the least working time to pay for it? We compared food prices with gross minimum wages in six European countries — and the cheapest supermarket basket does not produce the most affordable result.
By Immigrants.live Editorial Team
Published: November 2, 2026
Data reference: October–November 2026
A grocery basket can reveal more than a price tag
Imagine walking into a supermarket in Germany, France, Poland, Spain, Romania or Luxembourg and buying exactly the same selection of groceries.
You pay a different amount in every country. That part is obvious.
But there is another question that matters even more:
How many hours does a minimum-wage worker need to earn enough to buy that basket?
A €46 shopping basket may seem affordable. But if wages are low, it can represent a significant part of someone's working time. A much more expensive basket can actually require fewer hours of work in a country where wages are higher.
This is the difference between cheap food and affordable food.
Immigrants.live compared the price of an 18-item European grocery basket with national gross minimum wages to estimate how much working time it represents.
The results reveal a striking difference between the countries included in the comparison.
The results: How many hours does one grocery basket cost?
The following ranking compares six countries with published basket prices and national minimum-wage data.
Rank | Country | Basket price | Gross minimum wage per month | Work time required |
1 | Germany | €75.20 | €2,343 | 5.4 hours |
2 | Luxembourg | €99.00 | €2,771 | 6.2 hours |
3 | France | €87.40 | €1,867 | 7.1 hours |
4 | Spain | €63.00 | €1,425 | 7.7 hours |
4 | Poland | €49.60 | €1,119 | 7.7 hours |
6 | Romania | €45.90 | €825 | 9.6 hours |
The headline result: Germany ranks first in this comparison. A worker earning the national gross minimum wage would need an estimated 5.4 hours of standard working time to earn the equivalent of the basket price.
Romania has the lowest basket price among the six countries, but the same basket represents approximately 9.6 hours of gross minimum-wage work.
That is about 78% more working time than in Germany.
These are calculated benchmarks, not measurements of the actual hours worked by individual shoppers. The methodology is explained below.
The most surprising result: The cheapest basket does not mean the best affordability
Romania has the lowest basket price in the comparison: €45.90.
Luxembourg's basket costs more than twice as much, at €99.
Looking only at supermarket prices, Romania appears to be the clear winner.
But once minimum wages are taken into account, the picture changes.
A Romanian worker earning the national gross minimum wage needs approximately 9.6 hours of standard working time to earn the basket's price.
In Luxembourg, the equivalent is approximately 6.2 hours.
The difference shows why comparing grocery prices alone can be misleading.
A country can have relatively cheap products while its workers still need to devote more of their labour to buying them.
Germany: The strongest result in this comparison
Germany has the most favourable result among the six countries.
The basket costs €75.20, making it substantially more expensive than in Poland, Spain or Romania.
However, Germany's gross monthly minimum wage was €2,343 in the July 2026 Eurostat comparison.
When the basket price is compared with the gross hourly equivalent of that minimum wage, it represents approximately 5.4 hours of work.
This does not mean Germany has the cheapest food. It means that, in this particular comparison, its minimum-wage level provides stronger purchasing power for the selected basket.
Luxembourg: High prices, but a high wage floor
Luxembourg has the most expensive basket among the six countries: €99.
Yet its gross monthly minimum wage of €2,771 is also the highest in this group.
The result is approximately 6.2 hours of gross minimum-wage work.
This is a useful example of why the cost of living cannot be judged by prices alone.
A high-cost country can still offer stronger purchasing power than a country where supermarket prices are lower but wages are considerably smaller.
France: Expensive groceries, but a shorter working week
France is an interesting case because its basket costs €87.40, making it the second-most expensive in the comparison.
Its gross monthly minimum wage was €1,867 in July 2026.
However, France has a statutory standard working week of 35 hours for full-time employees. The calculation therefore uses that 35-hour reference rather than assuming a 40-hour week.
The resulting estimate is approximately 7.1 hours.
This is why working-time rules matter when comparing wages between countries. Looking only at monthly salary figures can hide important differences.
Spain and Poland: Almost identical results
Spain and Poland produce an especially interesting comparison.
The Spanish basket costs €63, while the Polish basket costs €49.60.
Poland's basket is considerably cheaper in absolute terms.
However, their gross minimum-wage levels also differ.
After adjusting the monthly minimum wages to a 40-hour reference week, the estimated time required is almost identical:
Spain: approximately 7.7 hours.
Poland: approximately 7.7 hours.
This is a good example of how a lower supermarket price does not automatically translate into a major affordability advantage.
For people considering moving between the two countries, the comparison also highlights why salaries and everyday costs should be considered together.
What exactly is in the grocery basket?
The comparison is based on an 18-item basket assembled by Euronews Business using prices from Numbeo's grocery database in October 2026.
It includes everyday supermarket categories such as milk, bread, rice, cheese, chicken, beef, fruit, vegetables, eggs, lettuce and bottled water. The list also includes wine and beer.
The calculation counts each listed item once rather than weighting products according to household consumption. Cigarettes are excluded.
The average basket price across the EU in this comparison was €69.84.
This is not an official EU household shopping basket, nor does it represent a complete weekly or monthly food budget. It is a fixed-price comparison designed to show differences between countries.
That distinction matters: a family buying larger quantities or choosing a different selection of products will have a different bill.
How we calculated the working hours
To make the comparison understandable, we used two sets of published data:
1. Grocery prices
Euronews Business published the price of the 18-item basket using October 2026 Numbeo data.
2. Minimum wages
The minimum-wage figures are based on the Eurostat data applicable on July 1, 2026. These are national gross minimum wages, before income tax and employee social contributions.
We then calculated the gross hourly equivalent of the minimum wage and divided the basket price by that hourly amount.
For the model, a 40-hour reference week is used for Poland, Spain, Romania and Luxembourg. France is calculated using its 35-hour statutory working week. Germany uses the 38.8-hour weekly conversion factor specified in Eurostat's minimum-wage methodology.
The basic formula is:
Basket price ÷ gross minimum-wage hourly equivalent = estimated working hours
For example, the German result is calculated using the €75.20 basket price and a gross minimum-wage equivalent derived from the €2,343 monthly figure and Eurostat's 38.8-hour weekly conversion factor.
The results are rounded to one decimal place.
Important limitations
This is a gross-pay comparison, not a net-income calculation.
Income tax and employee social contributions reduce the amount a worker actually receives. Therefore, the number of hours needed to buy the basket using take-home pay would be higher.
The calculation also does not account for household size, tax credits, benefits, employer supplements, overtime, individual working arrangements or differences between cities and supermarkets.
The ranking should be understood as a transparent comparison model, not a precise measurement of every worker's personal purchasing power.
Why this matters for people thinking about moving abroad
People often compare countries using average salaries, rent or supermarket prices.
But none of these figures tells the whole story on its own.
A higher salary can disappear quickly when rent, utilities, food and transport are expensive. A country with cheaper groceries may still leave minimum-wage workers with less money after essential expenses.
For someone considering relocation, the better question is not simply:
How much does food cost there?
It is:
How much of my income — and how much of my working time — will ordinary life consume?
This is one of the most important calculations to make before choosing a country.
Our related guide, How Much Money Do You Really Need to Move Abroad in 2027?, looks at the money needed to cover the first 90 days after moving.
Together, the two comparisons offer a more realistic picture of the financial side of starting over.
The bottom line: Cheap is not always affordable
The same grocery basket can have a very different price tag across Europe.
But the more revealing difference is how much working time it represents.
Germany has the strongest result in this six-country comparison, while Romania has the weakest — despite having the cheapest basket.
The lesson is simple:
A low price tells you what something costs. Your wage tells you what it really takes to afford it.
And when it comes to choosing where to live, that difference can matter more than the price tag in the supermarket.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country has the most affordable grocery basket in this comparison?
Germany has the strongest result when the basket price is compared with the gross minimum-wage hourly equivalent. The basket represents approximately 5.4 hours of work.
Which country has the cheapest grocery basket?
Romania has the lowest nominal basket price among the six countries, at €45.90. However, it takes approximately 9.6 gross minimum-wage hours to earn that amount.
How much does the same grocery basket cost in Poland?
The 18-item basket costs €49.60 in Poland. Compared with the July 2026 gross minimum wage and a 40-hour reference week, it represents approximately 7.7 hours of work.
Why is Luxembourg more affordable than Romania in this ranking?
Luxembourg's basket costs more than twice as much, but its gross minimum wage is also substantially higher. The wage-to-price comparison produces a lower number of working hours.
Are these figures based on net or gross salaries?
They are based on gross minimum wages before taxes and employee social contributions. A comparison based on take-home pay would show a higher number of hours.
Does this ranking cover all European countries?
No. It covers six countries for which the cited published basket prices could be matched with national minimum-wage data in this comparison. It should not be interpreted as a complete European ranking.
Is this the amount of time every worker must work to buy groceries?
No. It is a model using the national gross minimum wage. Actual purchasing power varies with net pay, occupation, hours worked, household circumstances and local prices.
Editorial note: Figures are based on the latest published reference data available for this comparison as of November 2, 2026. Basket prices are crowdsourced market-price estimates, not official national price statistics. Minimum-wage rates and exchange rates can change. The article is intended for general information and does not constitute financial, legal or employment advice.
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