The gap by the numbers

The widest price gap in our 20-market index is between Switzerland and Poland. For Netflix Standard, the comparison looks like this:

Market Plan Local price EUR equivalent
Switzerland Standard CHF 18.90 ~€19.80
Poland Standard 49 zł ~€11.50

At ECB reference rates as of July 2026, a Swiss Netflix subscriber pays approximately 2.6× more than their Polish counterpart for the same Standard plan.

Across our full basket of six services (Netflix, Spotify, ChatGPT Plus, Audible, Crunchyroll, Paramount+), the total monthly cost in Switzerland is €78 vs €30 in Poland — a 2.6× gap that holds consistently across every category we track.

Force 1: Purchasing power

Switzerland has a GDP per capita (PPP) roughly 3× that of Poland. Streaming services set per-market prices to reflect what a typical subscriber can spend on entertainment. A price that represents 0.3% of monthly disposable income in Switzerland might represent 0.8% in Poland.

This is not exploitation — it is how global consumer goods are priced. The alternative (a single global price) would mean either Swiss subscribers get an enormous discount or Polish subscribers pay an unaffordable share of their income.

Force 2: VAT

Switzerland charges 8.1% VAT on digital services. Poland charges 23%. Despite Poland's higher VAT rate, the pre-tax price is set low enough that the VAT-inclusive EUR price is still much lower than Switzerland.

Switzerland is not in the EU, so services set Swiss prices independently of the EUR tier structure. CHF prices are typically set higher in absolute EUR terms to reflect both purchasing power and the cost of operating in a non-EUR, non-EU market.

Force 3: Competition

Poland has a more competitive streaming market for its price tier. Local services compete with international ones at price points around 30–50 PLN/month. International services that price too far above this face churn to local alternatives. Switzerland has no significant local streaming competitor; Disney+, Netflix, and the global services compete only against each other, at a higher price floor.

What this means for travellers and expats

Netflix geo-locks content to the account's registered country. Subscribing in Poland and watching in Switzerland is technically a terms-of-service breach. The 2.6× gap is not arbitrageable without changing your account country.

Per-service data

The current verified prices for Switzerland and Poland: