The Global Metro Affordability Index
We compared the cost of single and annual tickets on 94 metro systems around the world with local salaries, to find out where riding the metro is most and least affordable.
The price of a metro ticket in a new town can sometimes come as a surprise. But the difference between ticket prices from country to country can be extraordinary.
According to our new research, the world’s cheapest single ticket is for the Caracas Metro in Venezuela, at the equivalent of around $0.02 USD. The most expensive is nearly 400 times the cost: Switzerland’s Lausanne Metro, at $7.22 USD. And there are many more metros like these at both ends of the scale and all the way in between.
But ticket prices don’t exist in a vacuum. So to assess the true value of metro tickets around the world, Remitly ranked not only ticket prices in absolute terms but also as a percentage of the local income, using data sourced from the World Bank. This allowed us to identify the cheapest and most affordable metro tickets worldwide, both for a single journey and for an annual season ticket — a reflection of financial value rather than quality of service, which has not been assessed.
Key findings
In our study, the Lausanne Metro in Switzerland has the world’s most expensive single ticket, at 5.85 CHF or $7.22 USD.
The MBTA subway in Boston is the most affordable U.S. metro for locals, with a single ticket ($2.40) costing just 1.21% of the average daily wage in the city.
The world’s most expensive annual metro tickets in our analysis are for the London Underground at £2,100 GBP ($2,817 USD) and PATH (New York City) at $1,578 USD.
The most affordable annual metro ticket is for the Prague Metro in the Czech Republic, where it costs just 7.3% of the local average monthly salary.
Lausanne and London metros among most expensive for single ticket
First, we sourced the price of a single ticket in 94 metro systems around the world. We focused on the average cost and used the midpoint value where prices vary by zone or distance traveled.
We found that the nine most expensive single tickets are all on European metros. The Swiss Lausanne Metro is the priciest, at 5.85 CHF ($7.22 USD) per ride. The least expensive is Caracas Metro in Venezuela, where a single ticket costs Bs. 15 VES ($0.02 USD) — although you need to purchase a SUVE Card for Bs. 40 VES the first time, to which you add credit before tapping in.1
The London Underground (the “Tube”) in the UK is the third most expensive, with the average single ticket costing £4.50 based on a journey through zones 1-3. Tube tickets are cheaper during off-peak hours, and there is a daily price cap of between £8.90 and £16.30, depending on which zones you travel through.2 Considering a move ‘across the pond’? Use Remitly to transfer money to the UK(opens in new window) to help with your international move.
Boston city metro system among the world’s most affordable for a single ticket
To find the “affordability” of a single ticket around the world, we compared the price as calculated above to the average daily wage in each location (according to World Bank data).
The Caracas Metro in Venezuela is the most affordable on local wages, with the average Bs. 15 VES ($0.02 USD) ticket working out at just 0.17% of the average daily wage.
While many of the top ten most affordable metros for a single ticket are in Asia or Latin America, the U.S. has one metro system near the top of the table. A single ticket on the MBTA subway in Boston costs just $2.40 USD, or 1.21% of the city’s average daily wage ($198 USD).
Three Latin American metro systems are also among the least affordable. A single ticket on the Rio de Janeiro Metro costs 6.85% of the average daily wage in the city, making it the least affordable single ticket in the world. Elsewhere in Brazil, the Recife Metro costs 5.51% of the local daily wage, while in Colombia, a ticket for the Medellín Metro costs 5.08% of the average local pay. Support your family overseas with their daily costs and send money to Colombia(opens in new window) securely with Remitly.
Egypt’s Cairo Metro is the world’s least expensive for an annual metro ticket
Next, we extended our analysis to identify the most and least expensive metro systems for an annual ticket. For those metros that don’t offer an annual ticket, we multiplied the cost of a monthly ticket by 12.
The ten most expensive are all in Europe or North America, except the Tokyo Metro(opens in new window) in Japan. The UK’s London Underground is the most expensive overall, at £2,100 GBP ($2,817 USD) for an annual Zone 1-3 card (being the midpoint of London’s six principal fare zones). This also makes London the second-least affordable metro globally, at 58.5% of the average monthly wage in the UK (£3,705 GBP or $4,970 USD).
The PATH (New York City(opens in new window)), SEPTA Metro (Philadelphia) and Metrorail (Miami) systems are also among the world’s most expensive for an annual ticket. And a year riding Canada’s Toronto(opens in new window) Subway costs $1,227 USD, which is payable as 12 monthly charges of $102.25 USD.
Egypt’s Cairo Metro offers the world’s least expensive annual metro pass at £5,100 EGP ($100 USD) for use on any two out of the metro’s three lines.
Travel to Spain or Italy for Europe’s most affordable annual metro tickets compared to local wages
Finally, we balanced the cost of an annual metro ticket against the national average monthly salary to calculate the affordability of metro systems worldwide.
We found that the 10 most affordable annual tickets are all in Europe. The Prague Metro offers the most reasonable deal of all, with a 3,650 CZK ($174 USD) annual ticket working out at just 7.3% of the average monthly wage in the city.
In addition to being among the least expensive, the Rome Metro(opens in new window) in Italy and Spain’s Barcelona and Bilbao Metros are also among the ten most affordable for an annual ticket.
Barcelona’s T-usual ticket offers 30 days of unlimited travel for €22.80 EUR ($26.33 USD). This works out at €273.60 EUR ($316 USD) per year, or just 13.3% of the average monthly salary in the city. Looking to start a new life in Barcelona or other Spanish cities? Explore our essential guide on moving to Spain(opens in new window) for more information and remember to use Remitly if you need to send money to Spain(opens in new window) to set up.
Public transport for those who have moved overseas
Using public transit when living in a new country has many advantages, from getting a first-hand view of a city’s culture to saving on the expense of running a car. Of course, it’s usually better for the environment, too.
But the cost difference from one city’s metro system to another can differ considerably, so it’s worth looking into season tickets, price caps and alternative modes of public transport before you settle on the best journey for you.
If you’re considering moving, or have recently moved to a new country or city for a job, you should make sure you factor these costs into your monthly budget. High public transport costs for a job that requires full-time office attendance could be more expensive than you imagine. Alternatively, if you’re moving to one of the affordable cities in our list, perhaps you may save more than you originally thought.
Methodology
We manually researched the prices for 94 metro systems worldwide, focusing on the average cost of a single ticket and the annual cost of metro travel as of August 2026.
We considered a variety of factors to arrive at the single ticket and annual prices:
For metros with a range of prices depending on zones and distances, we took the midpoint value.
For metro systems on transport networks, including normal train travel, we only considered zones in which the metro system operated.
For metros that don’t offer an annual travel pass, we extrapolated the price of a monthly travel pass (i.e., multiplied it by 12).
Finally, we calculated the affordability of the single tickets and annual prices based on the average wages in each city, using net national income per capita data from the World Bank.
The metro systems in our study: Caracas Metro, Mass Transit Railway, Riyadh Metro, Dubai Metro, Athens Metro, Dhaka Metro Rail, Namma Metro, Cairo Metro, Rio de Janeiro Metro, BTS Skytrain, Metropolitan Rapid Transit, Hyderabad Metro, Rapid KL, Medellín Metro, Delhi Metro, Buenos Aires Underground, Manila Light Rail Transit System, Hanoi Metro, Ho Chi Minh City Metro, Warsaw Metro, SITEUR, São Paulo Metro, Metrorrey, Istanbul Metro, Santo Domingo Metro, London Underground, Lisbon Metro, Ankara Metro, Barcelona Metro, Algiers Metro, Recife Metro, Quito Metro, Stockholm Metro, Sydney Metro, Munich U-Bahn, Hamburg U-Bahn, Bilbao Metro, SkyTrain, Berlin U-Bahn, Lausanne Metro, Nuremberg U-Bahn, Kolkata Metro, Taipei Metro, Copenhagen Metro, Helsinki Metro, Vienna U-Bahn, Lima and Callao Metro, Beijing Subway, Prague Metro, Kyoto Municipal Subway, Osaka Metro, Sapporo Municipal Subway, Bucharest Metro, Paris Metro, Amsterdam Metro, Lyon Metro, Oslo Metro, Mexico City Metro, Washington Metro, Brussels Metro, Tokyo Metro, Budapest Metro, Montreal Metro, Santiago Metro, Madrid Metro, Manila Metro Rail Transit System, PATH, Rome Metro, Sofia Metro, Toronto Subway, Baku Metro, New York City Subway, BART, SEPTA Metro: L, B, M, Lille Metro, Glasgow Subway, Rennes Metro, Panama Metro, Yerevan Metro, MARTA, Chicago "L", Toulouse Metro, MBTA subway, Marseille Metro, Tbilisi Metro, Metrorail, Daegu Metro, Mass Rapid Transit, Incheon Subway, Seoul Metropolitan Subway, Metro Rail, Almaty Metro, Tashkent Metro, Doha Metro.
References
[1] Metro de Caracas (2026). Tarifas y Tarjeta SUVE. https://metrodecaracas.com/tarifas-suve/(opens in new window)
[2] Transport for London (2026). Adult caps and Travelcard prices. https://content.tfl.gov.uk/adult-fares.pdf(opens in new window)
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