Cost of Living (Numbeo)
Worth it
Confidence: Low
Evidence specific to Numbeo is thin, so confidence is low; as a free tool it works as a directional reference for comparing city living costs.
Comparison
Cost of Living (Numbeo) vs SmartAsset
Cost of Living (Numbeo) lands on Worth it, and SmartAsset lands on Depends.
SmartAsset
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Consumers get solid free calculators and tax research . but expect a follow-up advisor sales pitch.
| Compare | Cost of Living (Numbeo) | SmartAsset |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Depends |
| Best for | People relocating between cities | Consumers doing retirement and tax research |
| Who it's not for | Anyone needing audited, official statistics | Solo or new advisors . lead fees will crush margins |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.² | No confirmed vulnerabilities for itself in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | No support evidence found | Negative Trustpilot and WalletHub reviews |
| Public sentiment | Reviewed Reddit threads discuss cost-of-living struggles generally, not Numbeo itself; no direct product feedback was found.⁷ | Consumer feedback is thin while financial advisors on r/CFP are sharply critical of lead-gen value.14 |
| Biggest gotcha | Guess: Crowdsourced figures vary with contributor volume; treat as directional, not official¹ | AMP fees reportedly tripled as SmartAsset scaled . model your cost per closed client first. |
Pick Cost of Living (Numbeo) when
- People relocating between cities
- Expats comparing living costs
- Quick salary-vs-rent sanity checks
When Cost of Living (Numbeo) is not a fit
- Anyone needing audited, official statistics
- Guess: Compensation or HR teams needing defensible data
- Researchers requiring documented methodology
Pick SmartAsset when
- Consumers doing retirement and tax research
- Established RIAs with high client minimums
- Advisors with capacity to absorb referrals
When SmartAsset is not a fit
- Solo or new advisors . lead fees will crush margins
- Consumers who just want tools, not advisor pitches
- Buyers needing published, transparent pricing
- Small firms that cannot absorb non-converting leads
Sources
- Numbeo . Cost of Livingnumbeo.comofficial
- Numbeo . Security pagenumbeo.comsecurity
- Bankrate Cost of Living Calculatorbankrate.comofficial
- NerdWallet Cost of Living Calculatornerdwallet.comofficial
- SmartAsset Cost of Living Calculatorsmartasset.comofficial
- C2ER Cost of Living Indexcoli.orgofficial
review
review
- SmartAsset homepagesmartasset.comofficial
- SmartAsset AMP . advisor referral generationgetamp.smartasset.comofficial
- Advisor Fees & Costs (compensation disclosure)smartasset.comofficial
- SmartAsset Reviews: 157 User Ratings . WalletHubwallethub.comreview
- Trustpilot . smartasset.comtrustpilot.comreview
- Reddit r/CFP . Anyone used SmartAsset?reddit.comreview
review