A comfortable retirement works out cheaper in Ecuador — around £1,600/month for a couple, versus £2,500 in France (about 36% more).
Cost of living, side by side
| Ecuador | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Modest (couple/mo) | £1,050 | £1,700 |
| Comfortable (couple/mo) | £1,600 | £2,500 |
| Premium (couple/mo) | £2,400 | £3,800 |
Indicative monthly estimates for a couple — real costs vary by location, lifestyle and exchange rates.
Ecuador: Foreigners enjoy the same property rights as Ecuadorians and can buy freehold with just a passport, with no limit on the number of properties. The main restriction is a national-security zone within 50km of the Colombian and Peruvian borders; popular expat areas such as Cuenca, Quito and Salinas are unrestricted.
France: There are no nationality restrictions on owning French property: non-residents can buy freehold (pleine propriété) apartments, houses and land on the same basis as citizens. Every sale is completed by a notaire, who guarantees legal title and collects taxes.
Ecuador: The Pensioner (retirement) visa broadly requires around US$1,400 a month of pension or lifetime income; it begins as a two-year temporary residence and can convert to permanent residency.
France: EU/EEA nationals need no visa; others (including UK citizens) generally use the long-stay visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur), requiring stable income of roughly €1,400+ a month, private health insurance and accommodation, renewed annually.
Ecuador: Ecuador is very affordable: residents can join the public IESS social-security health scheme for a low monthly contribution, and private hospitals in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca are good and inexpensive. Private cover costs a fraction of Western prices.
France: France's public health system is excellent; after three months' residence you can join it (PUMA), and UK state pensioners use an S1 form so the UK covers their care. Most residents add a top-up mutuelle policy, often EUR 50-150 a month, to cover the balance the state does not.
Ecuador: Ecuador is widely treated as taxing residents mainly on Ecuador-source income, so many retirees' foreign pensions are effectively untaxed, and over-65s also receive a large personal allowance. The letter of the law is debated and enforcement is tightening, so declare correctly and take local advice.
France: Under the UK-France treaty most UK pensions, both state and private, are taxed in France at progressive rates after a 10% allowance, while UK government-service pensions stay taxable in the UK. S1 holders are exempt from France's social charges on pension income, a valuable saving.
Ecuador: Climate follows altitude rather than season: the Andes and Cuenca stay spring-like near 20C by day all year, while the coast is hot and humid. Highland weather splits into drier and wetter spells rather than hot and cold. Ecuadorians are warm and the cost of living is low, but security has worsened in some coastal cities, so many expats prefer calmer highland towns like Cuenca; Spanish is essential, English limited, and they drive on the right.
France: Temperate in the north and west with mild, wet winters and warm summers, turning Mediterranean and hot in the south. Late spring and early autumn are especially lovely. France is safe and well-run, with petty theft mainly a big-city concern; they drive on the right, and while English is spoken in cities and tourist spots, some French is important for rural life and officialdom.
Ecuador: Buying is inexpensive and straightforward: a transfer tax (alcabala) of roughly 1% plus municipal registration and legal fees of around 1%, so total costs are low. Completion is usually quick.
France: Budget around 7-8% of the price in frais de notaire on an existing home (much less, 2-3%, on a new build), mostly transfer duty of up to 5% plus the notaire's fee and registration; agency commission is often already in the price. Completion typically takes about three months.
Ecuador: Cuenca is the standout expat hub, colonial and spring-like; Quito for city life; Vilcabamba and Cotacachi for valleys and villages; and Salinas, Manta or Olon on the coast.
France: The Dordogne for its long-established British community and countryside; Provence and the Occitanie south for sun and Mediterranean life; Brittany for a familiar green coast close to the UK; and the Riviera for glamour at a price.
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