France vs Netherlands

France

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (URSSAF micro-social, impots.gouv.fr barème, Service-Public) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Method

Best eligible scheme at €60,000 turnover, single (1 part) = micro-entrepreneur (micro-BNC, scheme fr-micro-bnc): micro-social 25.6% = 15,360; CFP 0.2% = 120; income tax on 66% of turnover (34% allowance) = 39,600 → 11%/30% bands = 4,984. Levies 20,464 → 34.1%. The versement libératoire (28% flat) is blocked at €60k by the RFR cap; a SASU all-dividend chain runs ≈43.7%.

Netherlands

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (Belastingdienst — box 1 rates, heffingskortingen, zelfstandigenaftrek, mkb-winstvrijstelling, Zvw contribution; Wet IB 2001; Staatscourant 2025, 40022 for the health premium) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Method

Best eligible scheme = nl-eenmanszaak (eenmanszaak, box 1) at €60,000 revenue with 10% deductible expenses (net profit €54,000), steady state, hours criterion met. Zelfstandigenaftrek €1,200 → €52,800; MKB-winstvrijstelling 12.7% × 52,800 = €6,705.60 → taxable income (= verzamelinkomen) €46,094.40. Box 1 before credits: 35.75% × €38,883 = €13,900.67 + 37.56% × €7,211.40 = €2,708.60 → €16,609.27 (35.75% = 8.10% income tax + 27.65% premies volksverzekeringen AOW/Anw/Wlz). Algemene heffingskorting 3,115 − 6.398% × (46,094.40 − 29,736) = €2,068.39; arbeidskorting on arbeidsinkomen €54,000 (profit before both deductions) 5,685 − 6.51% × (54,000 − 45,592) = €5,137.64; income tax and premies after credits €9,403.25. Zvw contribution 4.85% × €46,094.40 = €2,235.58. Compulsory health insurance at the 2026 average nominal premium 12 × €157 = €1,884. Levies €13,522.82 of €60,000 = 22.54%. The company route (nl-bv-dga) is not cheaper at this size: the director's salary is the whole €54,000 profit (below the €58,000 gebruikelijk loon), taxed in box 1 without ondernemersaftrek or MKB-winstvrijstelling, so levies are €17,381.39 (29.0%).

Notes

The figure is a steady state for a resident below AOW age: single, no children, no other income. Three things drive it: (1) the two non-refundable tax credits remove €7,206 of the €16,609 box-1 tax; (2) profit passes through the Zvw contribution (4.85%, €2,236) in addition to tax and premies; (3) the compulsory health premium is a flat €1,884, 3.1 points of the 22.5%. Variants at the same profile: in the first (up to three) years as an entrepreneur the startersaftrek of €2,123 lowers levies to €12,618.23 (21.0%) (nl-eenmanszaak-starter, not used here because it is time-limited and depends on the person's entrepreneur history); an owner who does not meet the 1,225-hour criterion pays €14,034.14 (23.4%); the BV with the owner as DGA pays €17,381.39 (29.0%) and, if the Belastingdienst insisted on the full €58,000 gebruikelijk loon, €19,594.11 (32.7%) (the BV only starts to win from a profit of about €95,000, before its running costs). The 30%-ruling scheme (nl-30-percent-ruling) is for employees recruited from abroad and is not open to a freelancer; an employee on a €60,000 wage with the ruling pays €11,740.87 (19.6%). The figure excludes the mandatory eigen risico (€385 on care used), the zorgtoeslag (an income-dependent allowance, which can offset part of the premium at low incomes), municipal taxes and VAT (a pass-through; the KOR exempts turnover up to €20,000 only). The self-employed pay no unemployment, disability or sickness premium and have no compulsory pension, so the figure buys less social cover than an employee's. From 2027 the zelfstandigenaftrek is scheduled to fall to €900 (wetten.overheid.nl, version of 2027-01-01).

France

France-Visas — official visa wizard (no dedicated remote-work/digital-nomad visa; self-employment via Passeport Talent / profession libérale) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jul 14, 2026

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Notes

France has no dedicated digital-nomad or remote-work visa. The long-stay visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur) forbids any professional activity, so it does not fit an actively-earning remote worker. Non-EU self-employed freelancers use the 'entrepreneur/profession libérale' long-stay visa or the Passeport Talent (for qualifying founders/investors/highly-skilled). EU/EEA/Swiss citizens work and freelance freely with no permit. Classified 'long-stay-path'.

Netherlands

IND — Residence permit self-employed person ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jul 1, 2026

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Notes

The Netherlands has no dedicated digital-nomad or remote-work visa: none of the 18 work-permit pages on the IND site is one, and the government's guidance on foreign self-employed people lists only the self-employed permit, the start-up permit and the orientation year. The nearest general route is the self-employed permit, open to every nationality but built for a business that is new to the Netherlands: it needs 30 points in each of three RVO-assessed parts (personal experience, business plan, added value), Trade Register registration, gross profit of 1,766.77 EUR a month (1 July to 31 December 2026), and for a freelancer commissions in the Netherlands, so a laptop freelancer with only foreign clients does not fit. Other realistic ways in need a Dutch counterpart: a highly skilled migrant permit (recognised sponsor, 5,942 EUR a month at age 30 or over in 2026), a Blue Card (any Dutch employer, 5,942 EUR), or, for recent graduates, a one-year orientation permit that allows freelancing. US citizens can use the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty route with a minimum capital of 4,500 EUR; EU citizens need no permit; Ukrainians under temporary protection (to 4 March 2028) work in employment without a work permit but need a TWV to be self-employed. Classified 'long-stay-path' (a renewable residence permit that exists but needs a Dutch-market business or a Dutch employer); 'freelance-permit' is arguable because a general self-employment permit exists.

France

INSEE — La consommation des ménages en 2024 (Insee Première 2056, dépense de consommation finale par fonction COICOP) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Dec 31, 2024

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Method

INSEE national-accounts household final consumption by COICOP, 2024. Functions sum to €1,543.8B on-territory; subtract housing rentals (actual €77.0B + imputed €220.7B = €297.7B) → €1,246.1B non-rent. Per-capita on the household basis (to match peers): ÷ 31.377M households (Jan 2024) ÷ avg size 2.14 ÷ 12 = €1,546/capita/mo (2024). CPI-uplift mid-2024→mid-2026 ×1.030 = €1,593/mo. ×1.1399 USD/EUR = $1,816/mo. Per-capita basis to match Czechia/Spain/Austria; a lone single-person household spends materially more.

Netherlands

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) — Budgetonderzoek (Household Budget Survey) 2020: average spending of one-person households (StatLine 85419NED) and its structure by spending category (StatLine 85420NED) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Dec 31, 2025

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Method

One-person households spent €23,600 a year in Statistics Netherlands' 2020 Household Budget Survey (Budgetonderzoek; StatLine 85419NED, 'all spending' for 'Type: Eenpersoonshuishouden', rounded by CBS to €100), i.e. €1,966.67 a month. The 2020 wave is the newest published (the next survey is planned for 2026, with results expected at the end of 2027), so the amount is lifted to 2025 prices with the Dutch HICP from the 2020 to the 2025 annual average (106.96 → 135.86, ×1.2702; Eurostat prc_hicp_aind, all items, 2015=100): €2,498.05 a month. Rent is removed: in StatLine 85420NED actual rentals are 18.3% and the imputed rent of owner-occupiers 13.2% of one-person households' spending in 2020, which leaves 68.5%: €1,711.16 × 1.1215 USD/EUR (ECB, 2026-10-20) = $1,919. The 16 remaining lines (CBS spending categories, with housing split into energy, water and services, and maintenance) are summed in cost-breakdown.

Notes

2020 was the pandemic year: restaurants and hotels fell from 5.4% of one-person households' spending in 2015 to 3.7%, and package holidays from 1.2% to 0.3%, and the price uplift does not correct that pattern, so the figure is more likely low than high. One-person households include pensioners; for singles below pension age CBS shows €24,300 a year for men and €22,500 for women (2020, all spending), which at the same shares and uplift would be about $1,976 and $1,830 a month. CBS counts consumption taxes (motor vehicle tax, water-board levy: 1.2%) and charitable giving (0.4%) as spending and both are kept. CBS has no line for the compulsory basic health insurance premium: its only insurance line for illness is supplementary cover, 0.5% of spending, so the premium is not in this figure. The Rijksoverheid's page on health-insurance costs gives the average premium people pay their insurer in 2026 as €1,884 a year (about $176 a month at 1.1215) and the compulsory annual deductible as €385. A uniform HICP uplift is crude: applying the Dutch HICP of each spending category instead (food ×1.31, housing ×1.36, alcohol and tobacco ×1.50, communication ×0.91) gives $1,900, 1% lower. Eurostat's HBS 2020 for the Netherlands (hbs_exp_t134: PPS 22,033 a year for one adult) is the same CBS survey, but its structure (hbs_str_t224) puts miscellaneous goods and services at 147 per mille against 6.6% in CBS's table, which points to a health-insurance premium in Eurostat's transmission that CBS's table leaves out; the Malta route (PPS to euro at the survey's own ratio) would therefore mix two scopes and was not used. CBS's euro figures need no conversion.

France

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (crim_off_cat, ICCS0101, unit P_HTHAB) ↗

Open data

Data as of

Dec 31, 2024

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Notes

Police-recorded intentional homicide, 2024 (value 1.28; 2023 was 1.30). Dataset last updated by Eurostat 2026-04-29; cross-checked against decoding the full crim_off_cat matrix. Moderate by European standards — above the safest EU states (Austria 0.85) but well below the global average.

Netherlands

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS0101, per 100k) ↗

Open data

Data as of

Dec 31, 2024

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Notes

2024: 120 homicides, 0.67 per 100,000 (Eurostat, updated 2026-04-29). With about 17.9 million residents each case moves the rate by about 0.006, so the series is steady: 2019 0.72 (125 cases), 2020 0.70 (121), 2021 0.72 (126), 2022 0.81 (143), 2023 0.70 (125); it was 0.92 (158) in 2017 and 0.64 (108) in 2016. Cross-check with Statistics Netherlands (CBS StatLine 84726NED, deaths from murder and manslaughter, ICD-10 X85-Y09, by date of death, victims who were residents and non-residents): the Eurostat counts equal the CBS counts for every year from 2013 to 2023, and for 2024 Eurostat holds the first CBS release (120: 76 men and 44 women), while the table CBS updated on 2026-10-21 shows 122 (77 men, 45 women; 6.8 per million = 0.68 per 100,000) after the 2024 figures became final in February 2026. The two-case gap is a revision, not a different definition, and moves the rate by 0.01. CBS's provisional 2025 count is 103 (5.7 per million), not yet in Eurostat. About 12.5% of the 2024 victims were not registered residents (CBS custom table of 28 August 2025). Eurostat's metadata states that the Netherlands counts intentional homicide at the 'process' stage, a different stage from its other offences. Eurostat has no 2010 to 2012 values for the Netherlands and shows 150 and 154 for 2008 and 2009 against CBS's 176 and 175.

France

Curated from French mutuelle comparateur data (goodassur 48,082-quote July 2026 dataset; Selectra tariff study) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jul 1, 2026

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Method

France has universal public health cover (Assurance Maladie, ~70% reimbursement) topped up by a COMPLEMENTARY private 'mutuelle santé' — supplementary, not full-replacement. Mutuelle pricing is age-banded, not health-rated. Market data (goodassur, 48,082 individual quotes, July 2026): age 25–34 avg €68.98/mo, 35–44 avg €90.68/mo; a mid-market intermediate plan for a healthy 35-year-old ≈ €60/mo = €720/yr → $821/yr at 1.1399. Range ≈ €35/mo ($479/yr) to ≈ €90/mo ($1,231/yr).

Notes

A supplementary top-up on the mandatory public system, not a full private replacement policy (like Austria's Sonderklasse). ~95%+ of residents carry a mutuelle; employees usually get a subsidised group contract (employer pays ≥50%), so this individually-purchased premium is the situation of a freelancer/self-employed person. Mid-market monthly range ≈ €50–70.

Netherlands

Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit (NZa) — Informatiekaart Zorgverzekeringen 2026 (published 15 December 2025): average premium of the 59 basic-insurance policies offered for 2026 ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Method

The NZa's average of the nominal premiums of all 59 basic-insurance (basisverzekering) policies offered for 2026 (37 natura and 22 combination policies; no restitution policy since 2025): EUR 158.39 a month = EUR 1,900.68 a year = $2,132 at 1 EUR = 1.1215 USD (ECB reference rate of 2026-10-20). The premiums were announced by every insurer by 12 November 2025 and apply from 1 January 2026, so this is a realised market figure, not an estimate; it is an unweighted mean over policies, not over insured people. It is not a sample of three quotes: every adult pays the same community-rated premium for a given policy, whatever their age or health, so no age or health adjustment applies to a healthy 35-year-old.

Notes

The Netherlands is the closest analogue to Switzerland in this dataset: the basic insurance (basisverzekering, Zorgverzekeringswet) is a legal duty for everyone who lives in the country or works there under Dutch wage tax (Rijksoverheid: take it out within 4 months), it is sold by private insurers who by law must accept everyone, whatever their age or health, and may not ask a higher premium for it (Rijksoverheid), and it is already counted inside the freelancer tax burden. It is a bill, not a choice. It buys more than the criterion asks for: the basic package has no benefit ceiling, where the criterion assumes about $100k. It differs from the criterion's 'small deductible' in one way: a compulsory deductible (eigen risico) of EUR 385 in 2026 (about $432), which covers much hospital and specialist care and some medicines but not GP, maternity or district-nursing care (Vektis glossary); a voluntary deductible of EUR 100 to 500 more lowers the premium (Rijksoverheid). For 2027 the cabinet's September 2026 budget plans EUR 400. Other whole-market figures for 2026: the VWS budget estimated the average nominal premium at EUR 1,908 a year (EUR 159 a month; an estimate made in September 2025, Kamerstuk 36800-XVI nr. 2, table 17); Rijksoverheid states EUR 1,884 a year (EUR 157 a month) as the average premium people pay in 2026, without giving its basis; Vektis (the healthcare data centre of the insurers, not a public body) reports EUR 1,879 a year per premium-paying insured adult over 18, weighted by enrolment and before collective and voluntary-deductible discounts, which is about $2,107. The NZa puts the spread between the dearest and the cheapest policy at EUR 42.10 a month, so a cheaper choice exists. Because the figure here is the unweighted mean of all policies on offer, it sits slightly above what insured people pay on average. Not in this premium: the income-related Zvw contribution, collected through the employer or the tax authority, which in 2026 is a 6.10% employer levy on wages and 4.85% on the income of the self-employed up to EUR 79,409 (Belastingdienst); and optional supplementary insurance (aanvullende verzekering; 163 products in 2026, priced freely by each insurer, which may refuse applicants), for which the NZa information card gives no average premium, so no figure is stated here. For 2027 VWS expects the average premium to rise by EUR 12.50 a month to about EUR 169 a month (Rijksoverheid, 15 September 2026); insurers announce their 2027 premiums by 12 November 2026, so this value is due for re-reading then. The tax schemes use the Rijksoverheid's average of EUR 1,884 a year (EUR 157 a month, the 'geraamde gemiddelde nominale premie' in the Regeling vaststelling standaardpremie 2026); the NZa figure here is an unweighted mean of the policies on offer and is EUR 17 a year higher.

France

impots.gouv.fr — Plus-values sur cessions d'actifs numériques (cryptomonnaies); AMF/MiCA CASP regime ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Notes

Legal and regulated. Capital gains on digital assets for private/occasional investors are taxed at the flat PFU — 31.4% from 1 Jan 2026 (12.8% income tax + 18.6% social levies; the social part rose from 17.2% when the 2026 Social Security law lifted CSG on capital income 9.2%→10.6%), with the option to elect the progressive scale instead (since 2023). Total annual disposals ≤ €305 are exempt. Crypto-asset service providers authorise as CASPs under the EU MiCA regulation (the former AMF 'PSAN' regime from the 2019 PACTE law), with the AMF as competent authority.

Netherlands

Uitvoeringswet verordening cryptoactiva (Wet van 11 december 2024, Stb. 2024, 415; in force 4 February 2025 under Stb. 2025, 22) and Uitvoeringsbesluit MiCA en TFR (Stb. 2024, 404) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jun 30, 2025

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Notes

Legal and licensed under the EU's MiCA regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114). The Uitvoeringswet verordening cryptoactiva (Act of 11 December 2024, Stb. 2024, 415) amends the Financial Supervision Act (Wft) and the Economic Offences Act to implement MiCA; it entered into force on 4 February 2025 (Stb. 2025, 22: the day after the Staatsblad of 3 February 2025). The Uitvoeringsbesluit MiCA en TFR (Stb. 2024, 404) designates the competent authorities: the AFM for crypto-asset service providers and for offers of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced and e-money tokens, and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) for asset-referenced and e-money tokens (titles III and IV of MiCA) and the prudential side (the AFM states that DNB assesses the prudential requirements of service-provider applications). The Netherlands used MiCA's option to shorten the transitional period for providers already registered with DNB under the anti-money-laundering rules (exchange and custodian-wallet providers): MiCA allows up to 18 months, but article I of the Uitvoeringsbesluit sets the end at 30 June 2025 (six months); the AFM confirms the regime ended on 30 June 2025, so since 1 July 2025 every provider needs an AFM (or other EU) authorisation or notification. The law regulates providers, issuers and advertising; it contains no restriction on individuals holding or trading crypto-assets, and the AFM says that crypto-assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum themselves are not under its supervision. For tax, the Belastingdienst puts a private person's crypto-assets in box 3 (valued at 1 January); from 1 January 2026 crypto service providers report customer and transaction data to the tax authority (DAC8). DNB's own MiCAR page returned HTTP 403 to automated access and was not read; the DNB role is taken from the Staatsblad and the AFM.

France

Service-Public / economie.gouv.fr — Paiement en espèces (plafond); Code monétaire et financier art. D112-3 ↗

Official source

Data as of

Sep 1, 2015

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Method

Composite: France uses the euro, fully convertible, with EU free movement of capital and NO exchange/capital controls. The main constraint is a cash-payment cap — a French tax resident may pay at most €1,000 in cash to a professional (since Sept 2015; non-resident tourists up to €15,000); cash between private individuals is unlimited (written proof required above €1,500). The EU Anti-Money-Laundering Regulation adds an EU-wide €10,000 cash cap from 2027. Non-resident banking is available with standard KYC. These are ordinary AML measures, not capital controls → 'low'.

Netherlands

Composite — euro-area free movement of capital + Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme (Wwft), article 1f (ban on cash payments of EUR 3,000 or more for goods; Wet plan van aanpak witwassen, Stb. 2025, 262) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Method

Composite, each input read at its source on 2026-10-21. The Netherlands is a euro-area member of the EU, so capital moves freely under EU law and no currency or capital controls apply. The restrictions on personal money flows found: (1) Cash payments. The proposed ban on cash payments of EUR 3,000 or more was enacted, not dropped: the Wet plan van aanpak witwassen (Act of 11 June 2025, Stb. 2025, 262) inserted article 1f into the Wwft, in force since 1 January 2026 (Stb. 2025, 362). It forbids professional buyers and sellers of goods, art dealers and pawnshops (art. 1a(4)(i), (k) and (n)), in or from the Netherlands, to make or accept a cash payment for goods of EUR 3,000 or more, in one operation or several that appear linked; EUR 2,999.99 and below remains lawful. It covers goods only and not services, and the Belastingdienst and Rijksoverheid state that it does not apply to private persons dealing with one another (for example on Marktplaats), so there is no legal cap on cash between individuals. The same Act removed the former EUR 10,000 cash trigger for customer due diligence and reporting by goods traders, because the ban replaced it. The general Wwft due-diligence threshold for an incidental transaction is EUR 15,000 (art. 3(5)(b)). Article IIA of the Act, a duty on creditors to accept cash from consumers up to EUR 3,000, is not yet in force (Stb. 2025, 362). (2) The EU anti-money-laundering regulation, article 80 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, caps cash payments to persons trading in goods or providing services at EUR 10,000 from 10 July 2027, exempts payments between natural persons not acting in a professional capacity, and under article 80(3) leaves lower existing national limits in force; the Minister of Finance's letter of 3 March 2026 (Kamerstuk 36228, nr. J) says the draft Implementatiewet would align the limit for services with the existing EUR 3,000 limit for goods (a draft, not law). (3) Cash of EUR 10,000 or more entering or leaving the EU must be declared to Dutch Customs (Douane, page updated 7 April 2026; Regulation (EU) 2018/1672); no declaration is needed for travel directly to or from another EU country. (4) Banking access: a consumer lawfully resident in the EU can ask for a basic payment account at the large Dutch banks if no ordinary account can be opened; the bank may refuse only on listed grounds, such as no genuine tie to the Netherlands (Rijksoverheid). These are anti-money-laundering rules on cash, not limits on moving one's own money by bank transfer. Classified 'low', like Latvia, Malta, France and Spain.

Notes

The Dutch cash limit (EUR 3,000, from 1 January 2026) is lower than Latvia's EUR 7,200 and Malta's EUR 10,000 on listed goods, and higher than the EUR 1,000 limits of France and Spain, which are also classified 'low'. It binds the shop, not the customer's money, and leaves cash between private persons and bank transfers free. Not read: the draft Implementatiewet itself, the attachment to the Kamerbrief, and DNB's pages (DNB answered HTTP 403).

France

La Poste / Colissimo (Pickup) and Mondial Relay network figures ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jan 1, 2025

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Method

France has one of Europe's densest out-of-home parcel networks. Colissimo/Pickup: 26,000+ pickup points (≈17,500 relay points + ≈6,500 automatic lockers, incl. ≈4,500 24/7 Pickup Station lockers). Mondial Relay: ≈17,000 points (≈9,000 lockers + ≈8,000 relais). Plus Relais Colis, Chronopost, DPD, and La Poste home delivery ~6 days/week, with nationwide next-day/2-day standard options → 'excellent'.

Netherlands

PostNL Annual Report 2025 (national postal operator) with DHL eCommerce, DPD, GLS and Budbee official network and delivery-time pages (composite) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Oct 21, 2026

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Method

Classified from the carriers' own pages and PostNL's annual report, read on 2026-10-21. PostNL, the national postal operator: 1.2 million parcels delivered per working day in 2025; its delivery-quality indicator for parcels in the Netherlands was 97% in 2025 and in 2024 (normalised for regular weeks, excluding peak weeks), measured against a time frame of one working day from the first sorting scan unless other arrangements are made; 1,400 automated parcel lockers at the end of 2025 (1,083 a year earlier; its own March 2026 post says 'more than 1,500', and it plans about 7,500 by 2031), 5,700 PostNL points (retail pick-up and drop-off points, newsroom boilerplate of 3 August 2026) and 10.0 million active PostNL accounts, with tracking in the PostNL app. DHL eCommerce: delivers parcels in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg on the next working day, including Saturdays in the Netherlands, evening delivery Monday to Saturday between 18:00 and 22:00, same-day delivery for parcels at the sorting centre before 13:30, a day chosen up to two weeks ahead, and more than 5,000 DHL ServicePoints including lockers, most open 24/7. DPD Netherlands: parcels delivered Monday to Saturday, with the recipient told the arrival time to within one hour on the day, and more than 1,500 parcel points. GLS Netherlands: delivery within 24 hours on working days (Saturday depending on the sender), over 2,200 GLS Points and, through PostNL's lockers opened to it, about 1,100 to 1,300 parcel lockers. Budbee delivers to lockers only; a Marktplaats press release of 22 July 2026 says that 90% of the population outside the Wadden Islands lives within 5 km of one of its lockers. Nationwide next-working-day delivery is the published standard at the national operator and DHL, tracking is standard and several locker and pick-up networks run side by side → 'excellent'.

Notes

Two caveats. PostNL says in its 2025 annual report that it is moving from 'next day' to 'best day' delivery, so a cheaper, later delivery day chosen by the sender and recipient is becoming common, and GLS and DPD do not promise next-day delivery on the pages read. The locker networks are smaller per head of population than in the Baltic states (about 1,400 PostNL lockers for the whole country, shared with GLS), with the pick-up points of DHL, DPD and PostNL filling the gap. PostNL's own website (postnl.nl) did not answer from the machine used, so its parcel delivery days were not read there.

France

EU single market (free movement of goods) + European Commission removal of the €150 duty-free import threshold (from 1 July 2026) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jul 1, 2026

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Notes

Intra-EU shipping is frictionless (single market — most European cross-border parcels arrive like domestic ones). For non-EU imports the EU removed the €150 duty-free threshold and from 1 July 2026 applies a temporary flat customs duty per item on ≤€150 consignments (VAT already collected at checkout via IOSS since 2021). Predictable but no longer duty-free — the same EU regime as other member states.

Netherlands

Dutch Customs (Douane) — Paying import duties for e-commerce (EUR 3 duty on consignments up to EUR 150 from 1 July 2026; Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jul 1, 2026

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Notes

Parcels from the EU single market arrive without customs. Every consignment from outside the EU is declared. The duty exemption for consignments up to EUR 150 ended on 30 June 2026; since 1 July 2026 Dutch Customs charges a fixed customs duty of EUR 3 per product type (one declaration line) until 1 July 2028, when the normal customs tariff applies (the European Commission page of 8 June 2026 counts it per item, with an item defined by tariff classification, not quantity). Dutch VAT, normally 21% and 9% on books and magazines, is charged on the total including shipping and duty; the VAT is collected at checkout when the shop uses the IOSS scheme. The declarant, normally the seller or the carrier, owes the duty; shops often charge it at checkout, and otherwise the carrier collects it before delivery: PostNL sends a digital payment request and its couriers never ask for payment at the door; DHL eCommerce pays the duties to Customs and delivers once the recipient has paid. Carriers add their own clearance charge, a fixed amount per carrier that Customs does not set (the amounts were not found on the pages read). A Union handling fee of EUR 2 per declaration line, paid by the declarant, is expected from 1 November 2026 (Douane information page updated 14 October 2026); the Netherlands decided in June 2026 not to introduce a national fee. Dutch Customs saw 46% fewer e-commerce declarations in July and August 2026 than in the first half of the year. PostNL, DHL eCommerce, DPD and GLS deliver parcels in the Netherlands; PostNL calls the Netherlands an important gateway for e-commerce into Europe.

France

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for France ↗

Open data

Data as of

Dec 31, 2023

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Method

Median of the 344 daily country-median download values for FR in 2023 (~10.47M download tests; daily medians ranged 24.9–61.1 Mbps). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style or advertised figures (French fibre commonly markets 300–1000+ Mbps) — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API.

Notes

France has extensive FTTH fibre coverage; the M-Lab single-stream median understates real-world line speeds and is used only for cross-country comparability on one consistent method.

Netherlands

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for the Netherlands ↗

Open data

Data as of

Dec 31, 2023

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Method

Median of the 343 daily country-median download values for NL in 2023 (2,635,642 download tests; daily medians ranged 50.4-91.9 Mbps). 2023 is the year used across the dataset.

Notes

M-Lab NDT is a single-stream test and reads well below advertised fibre speeds; it is comparable only within this criterion. Monthly medians of the daily values ran from 74.1 Mbps (April) to 87.9 Mbps (October).

France

EF EPI 2025 — France (score 539, rank 38/123, Moderate band) ↗

Research

Data as of

Nov 1, 2025

Verified

Jul 14, 2026

Notes

Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): France score 539, global rank 38, 'Moderate' band (EF cutoffs: Moderate 500–549), up 11 places and +15 points vs 2024. English is workable in Paris tech/expat circles and tourism-facing Côte d'Azur, but French is essential for administration, most workplaces, and daily life — France sits below the very-high Northern-European tier.

Netherlands

EF English Proficiency Index 2025 — Netherlands (rank 1/123, score 624, Very High band) ↗

Research

Data as of

Nov 1, 2025

Verified

Oct 21, 2026

Notes

Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): the Netherlands ranks 1st of 123 countries and regions with 624 points, well inside EF's Very High band (600 and above) and 12 points below its 2024 score; the global average is 488. By skill: reading 634, listening 628, writing 554, speaking 514. Amsterdam scores 630, Utrecht 638, The Hague and Rotterdam 621 each. Eurostat's Adult Education Survey 2022 (self-reported, not English-specific; dataset edat_aes_l21, ages 25-64) shows 92.9% of adults know at least one foreign language and 40.2% know three or more, while 7.0% know none. Banded 'very-high', like Austria (616) and Portugal (612), although Dutch is the language of public administration: the General Administrative Law Act (Awb, art. 2:6) says administrative bodies use Dutch unless a statute provides otherwise, and allows another language where that is more efficient and does not disproportionately harm third parties, so official communication is in Dutch by default.