Portugal vs Switzerland

Portugal

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (Autoridade Tributária + Segurança Social) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Method

Best eligible scheme pt-ifici-20 (IFICI 20% flat, NHR successor) at €60,000 revenue: social security 21.4%×70%×60,000 = €8,988; category-B simplified taxable income 0.75×60,000 = €45,000; IFICI IRS 20%×45,000 = €9,000; total €17,988 → 29.98% ≈ 30.0%. IFICI requires being a new resident (not resident in Portugal in the prior 5 years) in an eligible activity (IT/ICT qualifies) — realistic for an incoming remote worker. Without IFICI the same profile under the simplified 0.75 regime (progressive IRS) is ~34.4%.

Switzerland

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (ESTV federal tariff, § 35 StG Zurich, AHV/IV/EO, BAG-approved KVG premiums) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Method

Scheme ch-einzelfirma-zurich at €60,000 revenue with 10% expenses, converted at the 2026-08-13 ECB rate (1 EUR = 0.9373 CHF) to CHF 56,238 revenue and CHF 50,614 profit. Levies: family-allowance contribution CHF 519 + AHV/IV/EO CHF 3,927 (7.840%, the degressive band that applies below CHF 60,500) + direct federal tax CHF 300 + compulsory KVG health insurance CHF 7,678 + Zurich cantonal and communal tax CHF 3,184 = CHF 15,608 of CHF 56,238 = 27.75%.

Notes

TWO NUMBERS HIDE INSIDE THIS ONE. Swiss income tax at this level is very light — federal tax is CHF 300 on a CHF 50,600 profit — and social contributions are only 7.8% here, because the AHV scale is degressive below CHF 60,500 and the self-employed pay no unemployment or occupational-pension contribution. Nearly half the burden is the compulsory health premium, a flat CHF 7,678 that does not scale with income at all. That makes the Swiss figure unusually sensitive to the profile: at CHF 150,000 of revenue the same scheme comes out at 27.5%, LOWER than at CHF 80,000 (30.6%). It is also a Zurich number: the cantonal and communal share is set by the commune, and other Swiss communes would move this by several points.

Portugal

AIMA — residence authorization for remote professional activity (Nómadas Digitais, Art. 88.º/1 Law 23/2007) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jul 4, 2026

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Notes

Portugal has a dedicated digital-nomad route (D8): a residence visa for remote professional activity carried out for entities outside Portugal (in force since 2022, Law 18/2022), leading to a 2-year residence permit renewable for 3 years and to permanent residence/citizenship after 5 years. A temporary-stay variant (under 1 year) also exists. Income requirement 4× the national minimum wage (4 × €920 = €3,680/month in 2026).

Switzerland

SEM — Weisungen und Erläuterungen AIG, Kapitel 4: Aufenthalt mit Erwerbstätigkeit (Stand 30.06.2026) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jun 30, 2026

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Method

Classified from this country's legalization paths for the criterion's persona — a location-independent earner holding a median non-EU, non-US passport. Switzerland has no digital-nomad visa and no remote-work permit. The one self-employment route open to third-country nationals, Art. 19 AIG, is an entrepreneur admission: it must serve the overall Swiss economic interest and have a lasting positive effect on the Swiss LABOUR MARKET, it must clear the Art. 21 priority of resident and EU/EFTA workers, and it competes for a national quota of 8,500 permits for all qualified third-country workers in 2026. A freelancer invoicing foreign clients meets none of that, so the realistic ceiling is the Schengen 90-in-180 visa-free stay.

Notes

This is the one indicator where Switzerland's score depends entirely on the passport. An EU or EFTA citizen simply registers as self-employed under the Free Movement Agreement and gets a five-year permit with no quota — for them the honest classification would be freelance-permit. The criterion deliberately asks about the median non-EU passport, and for that holder Switzerland is close to shut.

Portugal

INE — Household Budget Survey 2022/2023 (Inquérito às Despesas das Famílias), single-person households, CPI-uplifted ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jun 30, 2026

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Method

INE 2022/2023 single-person (<65) household average spending €18,121/year = €1,510/month (incl. housing); CPI-uplifted to mid-2026 (×≈1.072 over 2024–2026 HICP) → €1,618/month; the rent/imputed-rent portion of the COICOP-2018 housing division (41.7% of the basket) removed while keeping utilities, then summed by category and converted at 1.1399 USD/EUR (ECB 2026-07-02) → ≈ $1,166/month excluding rent. Cross-checked against Eurostat comparative price level for household consumption (Portugal 2024 = 85.0, EU27=100 — ~15% below the EU average).

Notes

National average; Lisbon runs higher. Derived by summing the itemized cost-breakdown categories; see cost-breakdown for the split.

Switzerland

BFS — Haushaltsbudgeterhebung 2023: Haushaltseinkommen und -ausgaben sämtlicher Haushalte, und detaillierte Haushaltsausgaben ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Dec 31, 2023

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Method

Basket built from the 2023 Swiss household budget survey, per household per month in CHF: food and non-alcoholic drinks 637.76 + restaurants and cafés 427.20 (COICOP 531, excluding the 131.28 spent on accommodation) + service charges and energy of the main residence 271.46 (5712 + 5713, so the utilities without the 1,081.64 of net rent) + household goods and running the home 201.16 + clothing and footwear 160.60 + transport 743.53 + communications 161.81 + recreation, entertainment and culture 488.23 + other goods and services 319.26 = 3,411.01. Divided by the survey's own mean household size of 2.07 persons = CHF 1,647.83 per person per month, converted at 1 CHF = 1.2306 USD (ECB rates of 2026-08-13) = $2,028. Excluded: rent, alcohol and tobacco, out-of-pocket health spending, insurance premiums, taxes and social contributions.

Notes

Two things to hold against this figure. It is a PER-CAPITA share of average household spending, not a measured single-person budget, and a person living alone carries utilities, communications and household costs that a two-person household splits — so a real single in Zurich or Geneva will spend more than this. And it is 2023 data, the latest the survey publishes, with no inflation uplift applied. Health insurance is deliberately outside the basket even though it is compulsory, because it is carried separately by healthcare-private-cost and by the tax burden; add roughly $650/month for it if you want the all-in figure.

Portugal

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101) ↗

Open data

Data as of

Dec 31, 2024

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Notes

Police-recorded intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, 2024 (Eurostat crim_off_cat). Portugal has trended down since 2013 (1.37) to 0.68 in 2024 — among the lowest in the EU.

Switzerland

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

Open data

Data as of

Dec 31, 2024

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Notes

0.50 per 100,000 in 2024, at the very bottom of the European range and stable: the series has moved between 0.48 and 0.71 every year since 2008 with no trend.

Portugal

Médis / Multicare / AdvanceCare / Allianz comprehensive (with-hospitalization) plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Jul 4, 2026

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Method

Comprehensive private plans that include inpatient/hospital cover (outpatient + hospitalization) for a healthy 35-year-old run ≈ €35–60/month across the main Portuguese insurers (Médis, Multicare, AdvanceCare/AdvanceCare-network, Allianz, Generali Tranquilidade). Midpoint ≈ €47.5/month ≈ €570/year ≈ $650 at 1.1399 USD/EUR (range ≈ $547–$752). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.

Notes

Residents are covered by the public SNS; private insurance is optional/supplementary. Cheaper outpatient-only plans start ≈ €10–20/month but exclude hospitalization — this figure is the with-inpatient comprehensive tier, chosen for cross-country comparability. Insurers repriced ~+10% for 2026.

Switzerland

BAG/priminfo — approved 2026 premiums of compulsory health insurance, full report (gesamtbericht_ch.xlsx) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Method

Median of the 1,032 approved 2026 premiums across 34 insurers for an adult (age class 26+) on the standard model with free choice of doctor, the lowest CHF 300 franchise and accident cover included: CHF 571.35/month = CHF 6,856/year = $8,437 at 1 CHF = 1.2306 USD (ECB rates of 2026-08-13). Not a sample of three quotes — Switzerland approves and publishes every premium, so this is the whole population of them.

Notes

Switzerland is the one country in this dataset where the 'private insurance' figure is not optional: KVG/LAMal basic cover is a legal duty for every resident, so this number is a bill, not a choice, and it is already counted inside the freelancer tax burden. It buys more than the criterion asks for — there is no benefit ceiling at all, where the criterion assumes ~$100k. It is also the maximum-price configuration: the official enrolment-weighted average premium actually paid by adults in 2026 is CHF 465.30/month ($6,873/year) because most people take a restricted-choice model and a higher franchise, and the cheapest standard-model quote in the country is CHF 70/month lower than the median. City medians on the same basis: Zurich CHF 639.80/month, Bern CHF 681.50, Geneva CHF 752.20 — Geneva costs 18% more than Zurich for the same legal cover.

Portugal

Autoridade Tributária — Criptoativos: conceito fiscal e tributação (folheto informativo) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Notes

Legal for individuals; regulated under EU MiCA/CARF. Since Law 24-D/2022: capital gains on crypto held ≥365 days are tax-EXEMPT (declared in Anexo G1); gains on assets held <365 days are taxed at a 28% autonomous rate (Category G, option to aggregate); crypto-to-crypto swaps are deferred (not taxed at the swap). Frequent/professional trading may be reclassified as Category B (general rates). Classified legal-friendly for the explicit long-term-holding exemption; short-term gains are still fully taxed.

Switzerland

ESTV — Kryptowährungen: Besteuerung (Arbeitspapier zu Kryptowährungen und Initial Coin/Token Offerings) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Notes

Holding and trading are legal and the tax treatment is published rather than improvised: the Federal Tax Administration's working paper sets out that gains realised by a private individual managing private assets are TAX-FREE capital gains (Art. 16 Abs. 3 DBG), while the holding itself is subject to the annual wealth tax at its 31 December market value, and losses are correspondingly non-deductible. The exemption is not unconditional — where the scale, financing and frequency of trading go beyond private wealth management the activity is reclassified as self-employment and the gains become taxable income, which is the line to watch if you trade actively. Mining and staking rewards are income, not exempt gains.

Portugal

ASAE — cash-payment limits (Art. 63.º-E Lei Geral Tributária); euro-area free movement of capital ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jul 4, 2026

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Method

Composite: euro-area member, no currency or capital controls, EUR fully convertible; free movement of capital guaranteed by the EU Treaty (Art. 63 TFEU). Non-resident bank accounts routinely available. Standard EU CRS/DAC reporting via banks; no FBAR-style personal foreign-account self-declaration for individuals. Cash-payment limit €2,999.99 for residents (natural persons) and €9,999.99 for non-residents not acting as merchants (Art. 63.º-E LGT) — a limit on cash, not on bank money movement. Rated 'low' state control over personal money flows.

Switzerland

Bundesgesetz über die Bekämpfung der Geldwäscherei und der Terrorismusfinanzierung (GwG, SR 955.0) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jan 1, 2026

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Method

Inputs weighed: no exchange or capital controls on the movement of personal funds in or out of the country; no general legal ceiling on cash payments, only anti-money-laundering due-diligence duties on dealers and financial intermediaries under the GwG; residents declare worldwide income and worldwide net wealth in the annual cantonal return, and Switzerland exchanges account information automatically under the OECD standard.

Notes

Low control over the movement of money, but not low visibility. Two things surprise newcomers: the annual return asks for your WORLDWIDE assets, because the cantons levy a wealth tax on net assets, so there is a reporting duty here that most countries do not have; and opening an account is easy for a resident but often refused or heavily priced for non-residents, so 'Swiss bank account' is not something you arrange before you move.

Portugal

CTT Correios de Portugal — express delivery times, coverage and Collectt/Locky network (official service pages) ↗

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of

Dec 31, 2025

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Method

National operator CTT offers next-day ('Expresso Para Amanhã') and 2-day express nationwide, with the Collectt pickup network (CTT shops + Payshop agents + Locky 24/7 parcel lockers) and real-time tracking. Private carriers DPD, GLS, DHL, UPS, Chronopost and Seur operate nationwide. Rated 'good' — 1–3 day delivery is the norm and lockers exist in cities, but locker density and universal next-day are below the best-in-class (e.g. Poland's InPost).

Switzerland

Die Schweizerische Post — Finanzbericht 2024 (Zugangspunkte) und My Post 24 ↗

Official source

Data as of

Dec 31, 2024

Verified

Sep 9, 2026

Method

Inputs: A-Post priority mail must arrive on the working day after posting, everywhere in the country; Swiss Post reports over 5,000 access points in its 2024 financial report, of which about 2,000 are staffed, plus 770 Postomaten, 563 drop-off and collection points in retailers such as Migros, and 14,077 letter boxes; tracking is standard on parcels.

Notes

The one part of the definition Switzerland does not meet on its own terms is the parcel-locker network: 303 My Post 24 terminals for nine million people is thin next to the locker-first markets in this dataset, where the count runs into five figures. What Switzerland has instead is an unusually dense network of STAFFED counters and retail collection points, which does the same job with different opening hours. Rated excellent on speed, coverage and tracking, with that caveat visible rather than averaged away.

Portugal

European Commission — removal of the €150 customs duty exemption / temporary flat fee on low-value imports ↗

Official source

Data as of

Jul 1, 2026

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Notes

Intra-EU shipping is frictionless (single market, all major carriers). Non-EU imports: the €150 duty-free threshold was removed on 2026-07-01 — a temporary flat €3/item duty applies to ≤€150 consignments (until the 2028 EU Customs reform); import VAT has applied from €0 since 2021 (IOSS collects it at checkout). Predictable but no longer duty-free — hence minor-friction.

Switzerland

BAZG — Empfangen von Briefen und Paketen (Kleinsendungen, Wertfreigrenze) ↗

Official source

Data as of

Sep 9, 2026

Verified

Sep 9, 2026

Method

Switzerland is outside the EU customs union, so every consignment is cleared. Import VAT is waived only where the tax due would be under CHF 5, which is a goods value of CHF 62 at the standard 8.1% rate and CHF 193 at the reduced 2.6% rate (books, food); customs duty under CHF 5 is likewise not levied, and unsolicited gifts between private individuals are free up to CHF 100. All the major carriers deliver door to door, and they set their own clearance fees, over which the customs administration states it has no influence.

Notes

Not friction from delay — clearance is quick and predictable — but from the threshold and the handling fee. A CHF 62 de-minimis is low, and the carrier's customs-clearance charge is often larger than the tax it collects, which is why a small parcel from an EU shop can arrive costing noticeably more than its price. Coming from an EU country this is the change people notice first: the same order that used to arrive with nothing to pay now clears customs.

Portugal

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Portugal ↗

Open data

Data as of

Dec 31, 2024

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Method

M-Lab NDT daily country medians for Portugal cluster at ≈ 39–42 Mbps (2024). Recorded as 40 Mbps. WebFetch truncates the JSON to ~mid-January, so the full-year median should be re-aggregated from the M-Lab BigQuery dataset next cycle.

Notes

M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures (Portuguese fibre retail speeds are far higher) — comparable only within this criterion. Value should be re-verified against the full 2024/2025 M-Lab aggregate.

Switzerland

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Switzerland ↗

Open data

Data as of

Dec 31, 2023

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Notes

Median of the 2023 daily country medians over 343 days and 406,505 tests; monthly medians ran 77.8–102.1 Mbps. 2023 is still the latest full year M-Lab's public stats API carries for Switzerland — the 2024 file stops on 26 March. M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads far below Ookla-style figures, so compare it only with other countries in this criterion.

Portugal

EF EPI 2025 — Portugal rank 6/123, score 612 (Very High band) ↗

Research

Data as of

Nov 1, 2025

Verified

Jul 4, 2026

Notes

Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Portugal ranks 6th of 123 countries (score 612, 'Very High'). English is broadly workable in cities, tourism, tech and services; less consistent in local government/administration.

Switzerland

EF EPI 2025 — Switzerland (rank 30/123, score 564, High band) ↗

Research

Data as of

Nov 1, 2025

Verified

Sep 8, 2026

Notes

Our band, matching EF's own: 564 points, 30th of 123 countries and up 14 points on the previous edition. Do not read Switzerland as a Nordic-style English country — administration, healthcare and housing run in the local official language, which is German in Zurich and French in Geneva, and the two cities differ sharply in EF's own city scores (Zurich 621, Geneva 555). English gets a professional a long way inside international employers and almost nowhere inside a cantonal office.