🇨🇿
Brno
Czech Republic
Affordable Czech student capital with a strong community.
🇦🇹
Vienna
Austria
Imperial elegance, coffee houses and unbeatable quality of life.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇨🇿 Brno
€650–950 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇦🇹 Vienna
€1,000–1,300 / month
Best for
🇨🇿 Brno
- Students with a tight budget
- Those who want a strong student community
- People who enjoy travelling around Central Europe
Best for
🇦🇹 Vienna
- Students who value culture and classical music
- Those who want a high quality of life
- People interested in prestigious universities
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
🇨🇿 Brno
🇦🇹 Vienna
Very Affordable
Cost of Living
Expensive
High
Nightlife
High
Fair
Weather
Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Outstanding
Student Life
Very Active
Comfortable
Housing
Comfortable
Strong
University Reputation
Top-Tier
Student insights
🇨🇿 Brno
- Very low cost of living
- Strong, tightly-knit Erasmus community
- Multiple universities concentrated in one city
Student insights
🇦🇹 Vienna
- Consistently ranked among the most liveable cities in the world
- Excellent public transport
- Strategic Central European location
Student voice — 🇨🇿 Brno
“Brno is Prague's chill little sibling.”
Student voice — 🇦🇹 Vienna
“Quality of life in Vienna is on another level.”
🇨🇿 Brno
Pros
- Very low cost of living
- Strong, tightly-knit Erasmus community
- Multiple universities concentrated in one city
- Great Central European travel base
- Friendly, welcoming atmosphere
Cons
- Cold winters
- Smaller than Prague — fewer flights and tourists
- Czech language barrier outside university
- Less famous globally as an Erasmus destination
- Limited beach or Mediterranean lifestyle
🇦🇹 Vienna
Pros
- Consistently ranked among the most liveable cities in the world
- Excellent public transport
- Strategic Central European location
- Rich cultural and academic environment
- Safe and very well organised
Cons
- Higher cost of living than Eastern European capitals
- Locals can feel reserved
- Long, grey winters
- Less spontaneous nightlife than Berlin or Budapest
- Housing market competitive in popular neighbourhoods
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.