🇨🇿
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.
Very Affordable
Cost of Living
Expensive
High
Nightlife
High
Fair
Weather
Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Iconic
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.