November 21, 2018
Updated: November 2018 – Added new destinations; updated cost of living; refreshed recommendations
Wondering where the best place to work in Europe is? If you’re a tech professional working in Europe or looking to move, you’re spoiled for choice with European cities hiring tech specialists. There’s never been a better time to work in Europe’s tech sector.
Lifestyle, sunny climate, low-tax regions, language, culture… there are so many reasons to seek work abroad, and Europe had it all to offer. Plus, you’ll want to know where the best tech jobs are and which are the hottest employers to work for now.
In this guide we’ll explore 20 of Europe’s top locations for tech jobs, plus a bonus 5 locations elsewhere in the world.
Interested in remote work instead? Try How To Know If Remote Work Is Right For You
01 Dublin, Ireland
Global giants and Guinness
With its favourable corporation tax rates, Dublin has become an obvious choice of European HQ for many international tech giants including Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and eBay. Google, the largest private sector employer in the Irish capital, employs more than 6,000 people.
Dublin’s Silicon Docks are, however, also the home of a thriving start-up scene, with thousands of early and mid-stage companies, particularly in fintech, travel tech, igaming and edtech. Dublin has even been chosen by Intel as their first “Internet of Things City” lab.
It is also home to a huge number of conferences, including the Dublin Tech Summit, regular tech job fairs and events with a worldwide reach such as the Global Asia Matters Business Summit.
On top of all that you can add Dublin’s legendary party scene, the stunning nearby Irish countryside, and Guinness.
Key employers: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, eBay.
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: English, Polish, Irish, French.
02 Malta
Sun, sea and software
Working in Malta is, for many, the true Mediterranean dream. With 300+ days of sunshine, world-famous diving spots, incredible food and people from all over the world, this small island has big lifestyle potential. (We at Pentasia have been in Malta for over 10 years ourselves!)
Malta’s sunny beaches, historic sights and friendly locals are complemented by a booming digital scene which is growing faster than the European average.The IT industry in Malta is particularly strong, with a focus on financial services companies and a plethora of gaming companies now based on the island. Blockchain is being embraced by the island’s businesses and government alike – with Malta already emerging as a Blockchain hub. SAAS operations and app and software developers are now at the heart of a busy start-up scene based in the capital around the aptly-named Silicon Valletta.
Not surprisingly given the sunny location, Malta is a popular conference venue, with high profile events like SIGMA iGaming Summit and Blockchain Summit attracting delegates from around the world.
With English one of the official languages of the island (along with Maltese) it’s no surprise that there is a large British expat community there. In fact, though, Malta’s expat appeal has made it officially the most densely populated country in the EU, with residents and visitors arriving from all corners of the world.
For more information. Try our Malta Career Guide: Living and Working in Malta
Key employers: GO, Melita, Unibet, Betsson
Cost of living: Moderate (More info)
Common languages spoken: English, Maltese, French, Italian.
03 Berlin, Germany
Start-up central
Long seen as a cool destination by arty hipster types, Berlin is also building a global reputation as a digital hotspot. Berlin start-ups raised €2.4billion capital in 2015 – more than London or Stockholm. The German capital is now poised for a Brexit bonanza as digital companies dodge London because of the uncertainty over the UK’s exit from the EU.
Major global names such as Amazon and Google have a presence in the city, but this really is start-up central. A new company is created in Berlin every 20 hours and one in eight new digital jobs is with a start-up. Some of these firms have gone on to rank among the largest employers in the city.
Every sub-sector of tech is represented here; IT and software development, marketing and communications, design and UX are to the fore and there are opportunities for programmers, designers and many more.
With its location at the heart of Europe, Berlin hosts a huge number of science and tech conferences, with the WeAreDevelopers World Congress just one of the big events on the horizon.
Similarly, that central location makes for a truly cosmopolitan mixture of nationalities in Berlin. Add in the street art and the cheap German beer and you have an extremely compelling place to live and work.
Key employers: Amazon, Soundcloud, Wooga, Sofatutor.
Cost of living: Moderate (More info)
Common languages spoken: German, English, Turkish, Arabic, Russian.
04 Barcelona, Spain
Upwardly mobile in Catalonia
Wherever you are from in the world, it seems Barcelona is everybody’s favourite second city. But apart from boasting a warm climate, tapas, sangria and stunning architecture, Barcelona is also the hub of Spain’s booming tech scene, ahead of its great rival Madrid.
Districte de la Innovacio, or District 22@, - redeveloped thanks to government initiatives - is home to much of the city’s expanding start-up community.Some genuine tech giants have set up home in the city too, with Amazon, Airbnb and WeWork among them.
Appropriately for a city with a sophisticated smartphone infrastructure, Barcelona hosts the annual Mobile World Conference, the largest of its kind in the world.
Culturally, the city offers no end of possibility. With vibrant promenade Las Ramblas, the spectacular La Sagrada Familia and a truly world-renowned football team on your doorstep, there’s always something cultural to do in Barcelona.
For more information. Try our Location Guide: Digital Careers in Barcelona
Key employers: Amazon, Airbnb, WeWork
Cost of living: Moderate (More info)
Common languages spoken: Spanish, Catalan, English in tourist areas.
05 Sofia, Bulgaria
Full of Eastern promise
The first of many cities on our list in central Eastern Europe that are emerging as tech and innovation hubs. Historically, the Bulgarian capital was the IT capital of the Soviet Union. Now, with low living costs and a €200million grant from the EU for venture capital activities, Sofia has become an attractive prospect for investors and start-ups.
Big names like Hewlett Packard and IBM have established a presence there, but there is also a flourishing start-up scheme. Telerik sponsors events and start-ups, while Despark and Dreamix are also frontrunners in encouraging tech ambition and innovation. SAAS and iGaming are among the sectors gaining traction.
The locals are welcoming, beer is extremely cheap and you can always escape the city for a trip to the breath-taking Rila mountains.
Key employers: Hewlett Packard, IBM, SAP, Telerik
Cost of living: Low (More info)
Common languages spoken: Bulgarian, Russian, English, Turkish.
06 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Go Dutch for innovation
400km of cycle lanes, picturesque canals and… Europe’s fastest broadband speeds!
The culture of Amsterdam may be legendarily relaxed, but ambition is rife in the tech scene here. This is the city that brought Python and Bluetooth to the world. Many US companies, such as Tesla and Netflix, take advantage of Amsterdam’s location and English-speaking population as a gateway to Europe.
Amsterdam is a haven for tech talent and start-ups. The atmosphere is innovative, entrepreneurial, creative and sociable. Topping the Economist’s safest cities index for 2017, Amsterdam is also one of the world’s greenest cities, with plans to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2025 in favour of electric vehicles.
As you might expect, there is a busy conference scene with numerous events drawing delegates from across the globe. And if the legendarily warm Dutch hospitality doesn’t make you feel at home, numerous expatriate groups hold meetings in the city.
Key employers: Philips, Booking Holdings, ASML
Cost of living: High (More info)
Common languages spoken: Dutch, English.
07 Gibraltar
Rock remains a safe bet
The Rock, with its incredibly low taxes, has been a prominent destination for digital careers for some years. Gibraltar has been the world’s biggest iGaming hub for some time, with most of the leading names in the betting industry having a presence there. But banks and data centres have also flocked to a piece of land just 6.8km² big.
As a British overseas territory, it’s no surprise to find plenty of expats from the UK enjoying 300 days of sunshine a year and the proximity of the Costa del Sol.
There are drawbacks to Gibraltar; accommodation can be on the snug side and though many chose to live over the border in Spain, there’s the daily risk of long delays at the commuter crossing. But the continuing strength of the iGaming sector ensures this will be a tech destination for years to come.
For more information. Try our Candidate Guide: Relocating to Gibraltar
Key employers: 888 Holdings, Party Poker, GVC Holdings, William Hill.
Cost of living: Moderate (More Info)
Common languages spoken: English, Spanish, Llanito.
08 Stockholm, Sweden
Coffee, cake and code
A veteran of the tech scene – this was the birthplace of Spotify, Skype and SoundCloud. Stockholm now boasts the most “unicorns” (private tech companies valued at more than $1bn) in Europe and is second per capita only to Silicon Valley.
Working in Stockholm has many perks. The Swedes value work-life balance – they trialled the six-hour work day recently – and the working day is commonly broken up with “fikas”, coffee and cake breaks where you are encouraged to step away from your desk and chat with colleagues.
The long winters are offset by good quality accommodation and plenty of outdoor activities in the summer, as well as the tolerance and friendliness of the locals. English is widely spoken, and to a high standard, making this a particularly attractive destination for many expats.
Key employers: Skype, Spotify, Mojang
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Swedish, English, Finnish, Bosnian.
09 Budapest, Hungary
Hungary for more
History abounds in Hungary’s capital, but the present day is characterised by a booming digital scene. Budapest is now recognised as a magnet for start-ups, investors and incubators in Central and Eastern Europe. According to VentureBeat, this is the top Eastern European eco-system for scale-ups due to the city’s availability of capital.
A host of global tech names now have a base in Budapest, where the cost of living is 50% that of London. There are fewer expats here than in most European nations, but English is widely spoken and there is a British Chamber of Commerce in the city.
As you would expect from this growing tech hub, there is a bustling programme of conferences aimed at the sector, although the focus tends towards the local rather than the international.
Key employers: Bosch, IBM, Microsoft
Cost of living: Low (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Hungarian, English, German.
10 London, England
International connections and an innovation culture
London’s status as a digital hub is undeniable. It has great international connections and is home to 18 of Europe’s 47 tech “unicorns” and still attracts a huge amount of tech talent thanks to its reputation as a vibrant, creative city.
Forget Silicon Valley, it’s all about Silicon Roundabout – the area surrounding Old Street, on the east side of the City, which has been a magnet for tech development for more than a decade.
With almost 200,000 tech companies having their home in the city, there is an abundance of major tech conferences taking place in London almost on a weekly basis, cementing its standing as a place to see and be seen.
The shadow of Brexit will hang over London for some while yet, but it remains one of the world’s most cosmopolitan and exciting cities to live and work in.
Key employers: Salesforce, Facebook, SAP, Microsoft, Cisco
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: English, Polish, Turkish, Bengali… (London is the most linguistically diverse city in the world, with more than 250 languages spoken by its inhabitants!)
11 Copenhagen, Denmark
Green and growing
The Danish capital is gradually establishing itself as a desirable location for tech start-ups. It opened a Startup Village in 2014 which houses 40 growing firms and more than 500 people – the largest start-up hub in Scandinavia.
At the same time, several global names have established offices in Copenhagen, attracted by the cool lifestyle and eco-friendliness of the city, which aims to become the world’s first carbon-neutral capital by 2025.
Big data is a big concept in Denmark and Hitachi has opened its first mainland Europe big-data research laboratory here. The Internet of Things is also at the heart of development, with Cisco Systems recently entering into a partnership with three Danish municipalities to develop IoT-based citizen services.
Copenhagen is also a hotspot for developing innovative ICT solutions for the finance sector. The city now hosts more than 12,000 IT companies, with more than 100,000 employees.
It may not be cheap to live here, but the quality of life in a beautiful, green city more than compensates.
Key employers: Hitachi, Cisco, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Accenture.
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Danish, English, German.
12 Tallinn, Estonia
Digitally dynamic on the Baltic
Estonia is a country with a population of just 1.4million, but it punches way above its weight when it comes to tech. It’s a leading digital destination which is now home to a host of exciting start-up companies. This was the first country in the world to declare, in 2000, that Internet access was a basic human right.
The key to digital growth in Estonia was that it didn’t invite any big, established companies to lead the drive; instead, they used lean local tech firms to take the sector further and faster. At the heart of this was the Digital ID. Every citizen has a card which allows them to use public services, transport, banking, healthcare and more digitally – with a strong focus on data security.
You can also move to Tallinn without moving to Tallinn; Estonia introduced e-residency in 2013, allowing companies of any size to be virtually based in the former Soviet republic.
Given the size of the country, Tallinn, with a population of under 500,000, can still feel like a small town and the locals are sometimes quite reserved. But if you can stand the long winter nights, the reward is to feel you are right at the cutting edge of the digital revolution.
Key employers: TransferWise, Guardtime, Nortal.
Cost of living: Moderate (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Estonian, English, Russian, Ukrainian.
13 Vienna, Austria
Culture and cutting edge
It’s official. Vienna is the best place in the world to live after topping the prestigious 2018 survey of world cities. In some ways that’s hardly surprising when you consider its proud history in classical music and architecture that make it a cultural mecca.
To add even further to its lustre, however, the Austrian capital is also a start-up hotspot. It’s become known for firms in e-commerce, robotics and deep-tech enterprise tools.
One factor that helps is the Vienna Start-Up Package, on offer to anyone considering relocating to the city to set up a business. Once you get there, attracting staff is unlikely to be a problem; Vienna is home to about 190,000 students.
Austrian Startups runs a regular series of gatherings to help and advise new tech firms and, each June, Vienna hosts the Pioneers Festival, one of the biggest events of its kind in Europe.
Key employers: KIVU Technologies, Software AG, Delegate Technology
Cost of living: Moderate (More Info)
Common languages spoken: German, English.
14 Lisbon, Portugal
Surfing a wave of innovation
Portugal has bounced back strongly from the economic woes it suffered between 2008 and 2012, and start-ups have latched on to the renaissance.
In 2016, the government announced a €200m fund to invest in start-ups and foreign companies relocating to the country. In the same year, it launched Startup Portugal, which included a voucher for people aged 18 to 35 to bring good business ideas to life. This was also the year when the Web Summit moved from Dublin to Lisbon, a clear signal that the city was going to be the next big thing in tech.
At the centre of this development is the Hub Criativo do Beato in eastern Lisbon, a massive former army factory complex that will house tech, innovation and creative businesses. Second Home is also opening a big base in the capital in 2019.
Lisbon matches a relatively low cost of living with a high quality of life. Experts say it has echoes of Berlin – but here it’s several degrees warmer and you can go surfing after work.
Key employers: Volkswagen, Google, Beta-i
Cost of living: Moderate (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Portuguese, English.
15 Paris, France
The New French Revolution
Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Rive Gauche - the attractions of one of the world’s most famous, beautiful and historic cities are familiar to us all.
But when it comes to tech, the French capital is all about the future. With Britain’s status as Europe’s leading tech nation at threat because of Brexit, France is moving swiftly to claim top spot.
Nowhere exemplifies this better than Station F, a former railway station now billing itself as the world’s largest start-up incubator. In its first 10 months, it filled up with 1,000 ambitious companies.
Global names including Google, Amazon and Apple have gathered in the 9th arrondissement, which is becoming a serious tech hub. By 2025, it is estimated, the tech sector could represent 13% of all employment in the Paris region.
The combination of Paris’s eternal status as one of the coolest places in the world to live, and the extraordinary focus on tech in the city, makes this an incredibly appealing destination.
Key employers: Facebook, Google, Apple, Uber
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: French, English.
16 Tel Aviv, Israel
Promised land for start-ups
Israel is sometimes called “Startup Nation” because of the sheer numbers of entrepreneurs building businesses there – particularly in cities like Tel Aviv. Global tech giants including Google, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft all have research centres here, but local companies are contributing just as much to the sector. There’s a strong focus on sub-sectors including drones, cyber security, and autonomous driving technology.
As long ago as 1998, Tel Aviv was named by Newsweek as one of the ten technologically influential cities in the world and in 2012 it was labelled one of the best locations for hi-tech start-ups.
Tel Aviv is crowded and expensive, but it’s also vibrant and diverse with great beaches, a lively nightlife and loads of opportunities to make your way in tech.
Key employers: NICE Ltd, RAD Data Communications, Radware, Elbit
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian.
17 Moscow, Russia
Bolshoi and big data
Russia is still at the cutting edge of software development, despite the ban on selling tech to its firms imposed by the West after 2014. The Kremlin’s response to that sanction was to encourage Russian firms to develop home-grown technological solutions, and many have risen to that challenge.
Moscow now boasts tech firms making big strides in augmented reality, drones, VR and big data. And for all the associations with the Cold War and the Iron Curtain, this is a modern megacity with free Wi-Fi on the streets and on public transport.
If you fancy a city that is the home of the Bolshoi Ballet and the famous Metro, and has centuries of history and culture built into its personality, Moscow is for you. But be aware the winters are long and cold; in December 2017 the sun shone here for a grand total of six minutes.
Key employers: Yandex, 1C Company, Kaspersky Lab, ITA Labs
Cost of living: Low (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Russian, English.
18 Milan, Italy
High fashion and fintech
Always one of the coolest cities on the European map, with a name that conjures up images of La Scala and haute couture, Milan is now one of Italy’s principal tech hubs.
The city has always been at the heart of the Italian economy but staging of the universal Expo in 2015 gave it a massive boost. Alongside giants like Google, Microsoft, IBM and Cisco, the city now hosts about 1,000 start-ups. The focus here is on AI, fintech and tourism.
Of course, there’s so much more to Milan than simply business. The name itself simply drips with echoes of classiness and style. There is a community of British expats who, while tight-knit, embrace the local culture and nightlife enthusiastically.
Key employers: Samsung, Mikamai, Google, Microsoft, Cisco
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Italian, Milanese, English.
19 Limassol, Cyprus
Beaches and big potential
The Mediterranean lifestyle, the warm weather of the south coast of Cyprus, a cosmopolitan nightlife… there are an awful lots of things to like about Limassol.
But away from the beaches, there are signs that this corner of Cyprus is about to become a compelling tech destination. Companies from Israel, Russia and the Arab world have already expressed an interest in establishing a presence in proposed new technology business parks, and ambitious owners are also looking at large sites in the area.
Several other cutting-edge building projects are under way, including a €500million casino resort, suggesting it is going to be well worth keeping a close eye on Cyprus for potential digital opportunities in the near future.
Key employers: Whipper, ASBIS, ImpactTech
Cost of living: Moderate (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Greek, English, Russian.
20 Bucharest, Romania
Home-grown excellence
Yet another entrant on the list from Eastern Europe, as yet another capital of a former Soviet enclave turns itself into a tech powerhouse.
Romania has been an IT outsourcing destination for years, helped by its fast-growing economy and a flood of graduates with scientific knowledge and good language skills. But the focus has shifted towards using these natural resources to develop home-grown start-ups.
Cyber security is one of the top sectors, with Bitdefender, Avira and SecureWorks all compiling large teams in the city. Tech now accounts for about six per cent of Romania’s GDP – second only to the car industry.
For outsiders looking to relocate, Bucharest offers high salaries, low living costs and fast internet. The city has a bustling nightlife, cheap beer, a low crime rate and visitors are very welcome – Romanians had little contact with the outside world before communism fell here in 1989.
Key employers: Amazon, Salesforce
Cost of living: Low (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Romanian, Hungarian, Romani, Ukrainian, German, Russian, English…
BONUS: 5 LOCATIONS BEYOND EUROPE
European working destinations not exciting you? If you’re seeking working adventures further from home, here are five places to work in tech that’ll deliver big on career AND lifestyle…
21 San Francisco, CA - USA
California, here I come
The gold standard. The benchmark. The daddy of the world tech family. However you look at it, if the global tech industry had a capital city, this is where the parliament would sit.
A list of tech firms in Silicon Valley is a veritable Who’s Who of the digital age – and 15 of the top 50 companies on LinkedIn’s 2018 list of places where candidates most want to work are based here.
But what’s it like to live here? Well, it’s expensive. As you might expect, demand for property in this corner of northern California is incredibly high. But so is the quality of life. The locals are pretty friendly, there’s plenty to see and do, the population is cosmopolitan and sophisticated and the nightlife is fantastic.
Most of all, you’ll be able to tell yourself – and all your jealous mates – that you are working in the global epicentre of tech.
Key employers: Amazon, Google, Salesforce, Facebook
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: English, Chinese, Spanish, Filipino.
22 New York, NY - USA
Big city, big buzz
The city that never sleeps – and neither, you won’t be surprised to hear – does its tech industry. The growth that started in what was known as Silicon Alley, which was based around the Flatiron district in Manhattan in the middle of the last decade, has hardly stopped since.
The figures are astounding. Start-ups in the city raised $1.7billion in funding in the month of September 2018 alone. There are currently 6,300 start-ups in New York, and 7,500 tech firms in the city – and tech jobs have grown at a rate of 30% over the last decade.
As you would expect, most sub-sectors are well represented and there are some amazing success stories. Venmo, the digital wallet, was acquired for $26.2m by Paypal and Source3 was purchased by Facebook.
And living in New York? If you like a constant buzz, the exhausting feeling of a city living with the choke out, the non-stop busy-ness, you will absolutely love it.
Yes, it’s expensive, but there are wonderful places to go, great bars and diners and you can go everywhere in the subway or yellow taxis. It’s like being in a movie.
Key employers: Amazon, Google, Microsoft
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: English, Spanish, Chinese.
23 Tokyo, Japan
Olympic innovation
The biggest city in the world, with an astonishing 39 million people in its urban area, has a tech footprint to match. Many of the biggest names in the digital sector are already in the city preparing for some cutting-edge innovations at the Olympics in 2020.
We could see driverless taxis ferrying tourists to and from events, spectators using electronic passes to enter stadiums and an app guiding them to their seats in one of 10 languages.
There’s extraordinary innovation here but start-ups are less important to the Japanese tech scene and wider economy than SMEs in the sector.
Life in Tokyo is bustling, expensive and intense – you are expected to work extremely long hours. And it’s worth picking up some conversational Japanese. Most locals understand English but rarely use it outside a business context.
Key employers: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Hitachi, Softbank Group Corp
Cost of living: High (More Info)
Common languages spoken: Japanese, English, Korean, Chinese.
24 Las Vegas, NV - USA
Well worth a gamble
It’s unmistakeable and unforgettable. The brash, gaudy, larger-than-life city in the heart of the Mojave Desert that has been known for decades as America’s playground. But to gambling and tourism, we might soon to have to add tech as an industry synonymous with Las Vegas.
We’re in the middle of a three-year period that is set to see 10,000 new tech jobs created in Vegas, which is now ranked as the seventh most affordable start-up venue in the USA. It’s also the biggest conference and convention venue in the States.
Of course, gaming will always be the raison d’etre here – and an extremely cool way to unwind after a week of work if you are based in Vegas. But the tech start-up scene is growing steadily, encouraged by tax breaks and the comparatively economical cost of living compared to Silicon Valley.
So it’s a fabulous place to visit – but to live in? Well, you’ll pay some of the lowest state and local taxes in the USA, the cost of living is relatively low, the climate is warm… and there’s always an all-you-can-eat buffet round the corner. Yum!
Key employers: International Game Technology, Influential, iStream Planet
Cost of living: Moderate (More Info)
Common languages spoken: English, Spanish.
25 Singapore
Perfectly placed to grow
Throughout its history, Singapore has been an important staging-post for all sorts of commerce. The city state less than 100 miles north of the Equator is now making a new name for itself as a tech hub; it was named the second-best destination in Asia for tech firms looking to establish a base.
It’s also number one on a recent list of the best start-up cities. Singapore scores highly because of its strong talent pool, personal tax rates, safety and quality of life – not to mention its excellent location close to so many key markets.
Eighty of the world’s top 100 tech firms now have a base there, making it a compelling destination for tech experts keen on a long-haul relocation.
About 25% of residents in Singapore are expats, making for a diverse and cosmopolitan ambience. The city is legendarily clean and efficient, it’s very warm all year round and English is, along with Malay, the main language here.
Key employers: Accenture, IBM, Red Hat, Tinkerbox
Cost of living: Moderate (More Info)
Common languages spoken: English, Malay, Chinese, Tamil.
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