What Is a Good Rental Yield? Gross vs Net Yields in 43 European Cities (2026)
We calculated gross and estimated net rental yields for 43 European cities. The median is 4.5% gross and 3.2% net, and only three cities still clear 4% after costs.
A rental yield tells you how much rent a property earns each year as a percentage of what it cost. It is the quickest way to compare a flat in Lisbon with one in Berlin, but the number most listings quote, the gross yield, flatters almost every market. We calculated gross and estimated net yields for all 43 European cities in the SQMData dataset to show what a "good" yield actually looks like in 2026.
Key findings
- The median gross rental yield across 43 European cities is 4.5%. After buying and running costs, the median estimated net yield falls to 3.2%.
- 14 cities reach a gross yield of 5% or more. Only Larnaca (6.0%) reaches 6%.
- Only 3 cities keep an estimated net yield above 4%: Larnaca (4.3%), Chisinau (4.1%) and Tallinn (4.1%).
- The most expensive markets earn the least: Monaco (2.4%), Zurich (3.0%), Paris (3.1%) and Geneva (3.2%) sit at the bottom.
- Buying costs move the result as much as rents do. Malaga drops from 5.3% gross to 3.5% net because Spanish purchase taxes and fees typically add 8–14% to the price; Tallinn keeps more of its yield because buying costs in Estonia are only 0.5–2%.
Gross vs net rental yield: the two formulas
Gross rental yield = annual rent ÷ purchase price × 100
A €200,000 apartment let for €900 a month brings in €10,800 a year, a gross yield of 5.4%.
Net rental yield = (annual rent − running costs) ÷ (purchase price + buying costs) × 100
Running costs are everything the landlord pays out of the rent: property tax, building charges, insurance, maintenance, letting or management fees and empty months between tenants. Buying costs are the one-off taxes and fees paid on purchase: transfer tax, notary, land registry and agent fees. With 25% of the rent going on running costs and buying costs of 8%, the same apartment returns €8,100 on €216,000, a net yield of 3.75%.
The gap between the two is usually 1–2 percentage points, which is why a gross yield that looks healthy in an advert can turn into a mediocre return. Income tax on rent comes on top and depends on your tax residence, so we leave it out of the comparison below.
So what is a good rental yield?
There is no single threshold, because yields are tied to how expensive and how liquid a market is. Using the spread of our 43 cities as a benchmark:
| Gross yield | What it means in Europe in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Above 5.1% | Top quarter of the cities we track: strong cash flow, usually in Central-Eastern Europe, Cyprus and parts of Southern Europe |
| 4.5–5.1% | Above the median: a solid buy-to-let return |
| 3.8–4.5% | Below the median: typical of large Western European cities |
| Below 3.8% | Bottom quarter: you are mainly betting on capital growth, not rent |
As a rule of thumb, a gross yield of 5% or more is good in Europe today, and anything that still clears 4% after costs is strong. Below 4% gross, the rent will rarely cover the running costs plus a mortgage, so the investment case rests on prices continuing to rise.
Gross and net rental yields in 43 European cities
Sorted by gross yield. Buying costs are the typical total for a resale apartment bought by a private buyer, from our country buying guides; the estimated net yield uses their midpoint and assumes running costs of 25% of the rent.
| # | City | Price per m² | Rent per m² / month | Gross yield | Buying costs | Est. net yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larnaca (Cyprus) | €2,600 | €13 | 6.0% | 2–6% | 4.3% |
| 2 | Chisinau (Moldova) | €1,500 | €7 | 5.6% | 1–3% | 4.1% |
| 3 | Tallinn (Estonia) | €2,600 | €12 | 5.5% | 0.5–2% | 4.1% |
| 4 | Sofia (Bulgaria) | €1,800 | €8 | 5.3% | 3–7% | 3.8% |
| 5 | Budapest (Hungary) | €3,200 | €14 | 5.3% | 4–6% | 3.8% |
| 6 | Malaga (Spain) | €3,200 | €14 | 5.3% | 8–14% | 3.5% |
| 7 | Bucharest (Romania) | €2,100 | €9 | 5.1% | 1.5–4% | 3.8% |
| 8 | Warsaw (Poland) | €3,500 | €15 | 5.1% | 3–6% | 3.7% |
| 9 | Limassol (Cyprus) | €4,700 | €20 | 5.1% | 2–6% | 3.7% |
| 10 | Lisbon (Portugal) | €4,200 | €18 | 5.1% | 7–10% | 3.6% |
| 11 | Valencia (Spain) | €2,800 | €12 | 5.1% | 8–14% | 3.5% |
| 12 | Belgrade (Serbia) | €2,400 | €10 | 5.0% | 3–6% | 3.6% |
| 13 | Krakow (Poland) | €3,100 | €13 | 5.0% | 3–6% | 3.6% |
| 14 | Dublin (Ireland) | €5,800 | €24 | 5.0% | 2–3% | 3.6% |
| 15 | Vilnius (Lithuania) | €2,700 | €11 | 4.9% | 1–3% | 3.6% |
| 16 | Riga (Latvia) | €2,500 | €10 | 4.8% | 2–4% | 3.5% |
| 17 | Bratislava (Slovakia) | €3,600 | €14 | 4.7% | 1–3% | 3.4% |
| 18 | Athens (Greece) | €2,800 | €11 | 4.7% | 7–10% | 3.3% |
| 19 | Zagreb (Croatia) | €2,900 | €11 | 4.6% | 5–8% | 3.2% |
| 20 | Porto (Portugal) | €3,400 | €13 | 4.6% | 7–10% | 3.2% |
| 21 | Prague (Czech Republic) | €4,800 | €18 | 4.5% | 1–3% | 3.3% |
| 22 | Brussels (Belgium) | €4,500 | €17 | 4.5% | 4–15% | 3.1% |
| 23 | Ljubljana (Slovenia) | €3,800 | €14 | 4.4% | 2–5% | 3.2% |
| 24 | Thessaloniki (Greece) | €2,200 | €8 | 4.4% | 7–10% | 3.0% |
| 25 | Madrid (Spain) | €4,900 | €18 | 4.4% | 8–14% | 3.0% |
| 26 | Rome (Italy) | €5,200 | €19 | 4.4% | 5–12% | 3.0% |
| 27 | Barcelona (Spain) | €5,500 | €20 | 4.4% | 8–14% | 2.9% |
| 28 | Helsinki (Finland) | €6,200 | €22 | 4.3% | 1.5–2.5% | 3.1% |
| 29 | Milan (Italy) | €6,500 | €22 | 4.1% | 5–12% | 2.8% |
| 30 | Copenhagen (Denmark) | €7,200 | €24 | 4.0% | 1–3% | 2.9% |
| 31 | Lyon (France) | €5,100 | €17 | 4.0% | 7–9% | 2.8% |
| 32 | Oslo (Norway) | €8,900 | €28 | 3.8% | 0.5–3% | 2.8% |
| 33 | London (United Kingdom) | €11,200 | €35 | 3.8% | 5–15% | 2.6% |
| 34 | Hamburg (Germany) | €6,100 | €19 | 3.7% | 6–12% | 2.6% |
| 35 | Amsterdam (Netherlands) | €8,500 | €26 | 3.7% | 3–11% | 2.6% |
| 36 | Berlin (Germany) | €5,900 | €18 | 3.7% | 6–12% | 2.5% |
| 37 | Munich (Germany) | €8,200 | €24 | 3.5% | 6–12% | 2.4% |
| 38 | Stockholm (Sweden) | €7,800 | €22 | 3.4% | 0–2% | 2.5% |
| 39 | Geneva (Switzerland) | €14,200 | €38 | 3.2% | 1–5% | 2.3% |
| 40 | Vienna (Austria) | €6,800 | €18 | 3.2% | 8–11% | 2.2% |
| 41 | Paris (France) | €12,500 | €32 | 3.1% | 7–9% | 2.1% |
| 42 | Zurich (Switzerland) | €15,800 | €40 | 3.0% | 1–5% | 2.2% |
| 43 | Monaco (Monaco) | €48,000 | €95 | 2.4% | 6–10% | 1.6% |
Prices and rents are average asking levels per square meter for each city (SQMData, 2026). Net yields are estimates for comparison only.
What the table shows
Cheap markets yield more. Every city with a gross yield above 5% has an average price below €6,000 per m², and most cost €3,500 per m² or less. Rents do not fall as fast as prices from west to east, so the rent-to-price ratio is higher where property is cheap. Larnaca, Chisinau, Tallinn, Sofia and Budapest top the list.
Prime cities are capital-growth plays. In Monaco, Zurich, Paris, Geneva and Vienna, a buyer earns 3.2% gross or less. Investors there are paying for stability and long-term appreciation rather than rental income.
Transaction costs separate similar-looking markets. Malaga and Budapest both show about 5.3% gross, but Malaga ends up at 3.5% net against Budapest's 3.8%, because buying in Spain typically costs 8–14% of the price against 4–6% in Hungary. In Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic or Slovakia buying costs are typically 3% or less, so most of the gross-to-net gap comes from running costs. Check the full breakdown for any country in our guides, for example Spain property taxes and buying costs or Portugal property taxes and buying costs.
Capitals are not always the weakest yields. Dublin (5.0%), Warsaw (5.1%) and Lisbon (5.1%) all beat the median despite being among the busiest markets in their regions, because rents there are high relative to prices.
How to estimate the net yield for a real listing
- Divide the expected annual rent by the asking price to get the gross yield.
- Add the buying costs for that country to the price. Our country guides list them line by line.
- Subtract realistic running costs from the rent. 20–30% is a reasonable starting assumption for a long-term let; short-term lets cost more to run.
- Divide what is left by the total purchase cost.
Our rental yield calculator does this for you and prefills average prices and rents for each city. To see the cities ranked by gross yield alone, use the best rental yields in Europe ranking.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good rental yield in Europe?
A gross rental yield of 5% or more is good by European standards in 2026; the median across the 43 cities we track is 4.5%. After buying and running costs, a net yield above 4% is strong, and only 3 of the 43 cities reach that on average.
What is the difference between gross and net rental yield?
Gross yield compares the annual rent with the purchase price only. Net yield subtracts running costs such as property tax, maintenance, insurance, management and vacancy from the rent, and adds buying costs such as transfer tax and notary fees to the price. Net yields in our data are 0.8 to 1.8 percentage points lower than gross yields.
Which European city has the highest rental yield?
Larnaca in Cyprus, with an average gross yield of 6.0%, followed by Chisinau (5.6%), Tallinn (5.5%) and Sofia (5.3%).
Why are rental yields so low in cities like Paris, Zurich and Monaco?
Property prices in these cities are several times higher than elsewhere in Europe, while rents are only somewhat higher. Buyers accept low yields because they expect steady prices and long-term capital growth.
Do rental yields include tax?
No. Neither the gross nor the net yields above include income tax on rental profits, which depends on the country of the property and on your own tax residence. Each of our country tax guides explains how rental income of non-residents is taxed.
Methodology. Average asking prices and rents per square meter for 43 cities come from the SQMData dataset (2026). Gross yield = 12 × monthly rent per m² ÷ price per m². Estimated net yield = 75% of the annual rent ÷ (price × (1 + buying costs)), using the midpoint of the typical total buying costs for a resale apartment in each country from our country buying guides (reviewed October 2026). The 25% running-cost allowance covers property tax, insurance, maintenance, management and vacancy; actual costs vary by building, contract and tax status. This article is general information, not investment or tax advice.