Warsaw vs Kraków: the gap is wider on rent than on price
Warsaw and Kraków are both near the top of Poland’s secondary market, but the spread between them is not evenly sized. In 2026-Q1, Warsaw averaged 16,393 PLN/m² on NBP BaRN, while Kraków came in at 15,110 PLN/m². That is an 8.5% gap, or 1,283 PLN/m².
Rent shows a sharper split. The official NBP rent series puts a two-bedroom flat at 5,200 PLN in Warsaw versus 3,800 PLN in Kraków, a difference of 1,400 PLN or 36.8%. The rent figures are from 2025-Q1, so they are not perfectly aligned with the price comparison period.
Side-by-side: Warsaw vs Kraków
| Metric | Warsaw | Kraków | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary-market price, PLN/m² | 16,393 | 15,110 | 1,283 |
| Quarter-on-quarter price change | -0.5% | -1.78% | 1.28 pp |
| 2-bed rent, PLN/month | 5,200 | 3,800 | 1,400 |
| 2-bed rent gap | — | — | 36.8% |
| Rent per m², PLN | 104 | 76 | 28 |
| Population | 1,860,000 | 780,000 | 1,080,000 |
| Total dwellings | 1,091,985 | 466,649 | 625,336 |
| Maintenance per m²/year, PLN | 151.04 | 127.48 | 23.56 |
What the price data says
Warsaw still sits at the top of the pack. In the NBP BaRN ranking for 2026-Q1, it is the priciest of the eight cities shown here, ahead of Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Gdynia, Rzeszów, Poznań and Lublin.
The broader series also shows a market that moved around, not in a straight line. Warsaw’s secondary-market average rose from 16,327 PLN/m² in 2024-Q2 to 16,949 PLN/m² in 2024-Q4, then eased to 16,393 PLN/m² in 2026-Q1. Kraków’s latest quarter also softened, with a -1.78% QoQ change.
The useful point for buyers is simple: the capital remains more expensive, but the premium over Kraków is not massive on price alone. The quarterly moves show both markets cooling a bit in the latest reading, though at different speeds.
Rent: Kraków is cheaper, but the gap is larger than the price spread
On rent, Kraków’s lower level is clearer than the price gap. The official NBP rent series shows 104 PLN/m² in Warsaw versus 76 PLN/m² in Kraków. For a standard two-bedroom unit, that translates to 5,200 PLN in Warsaw and 3,800 PLN in Kraków.
That 36.8% gap matters more for monthly budgets than the 8.5% price difference does for purchase comparisons. Again, the caveat is timing: the rent series here is for 2025-Q1, not the same quarter as the price data.
City scale and housing stock help explain the split
Warsaw is simply a much larger market. It has a population of 1.86 million and 1,091,985 dwellings. Kraków has 780,000 residents and 466,649 dwellings.
That scale difference shows up in the character of the market: Warsaw is the capital and financial hub, with the deepest market; Kraków is the historic university city with strong rental demand and tourism. The numbers do not assign value judgments, but they do explain why Warsaw typically holds the higher price level.
Maintenance costs also differ
The maintenance line is another practical split. Warsaw is at 151.04 PLN/m²/year, compared with 127.48 PLN/m²/year in Kraków. That is a difference of 23.56 PLN/m²/year.
For owners, that can matter almost as much as the purchase price. For tenants, it is a reminder that headline rent is only part of the monthly bill.
Open-data caveats
A few cautions before reading too much into the comparison:
- Prices are transaction prices, not asking prices. The figures come from NBP BaRN secondary-market averages.
- Rent and price periods differ here: prices are for 2026-Q1, while the rent series is 2025-Q1.
- The market ranking is a snapshot across cities, not a substitute for local micro-location analysis.
- The OSM housing-map counts are useful for scale, but they are not a measure of quality.
What renters and buyers can take from this
For buyers, Warsaw’s premium over Kraków is real but not dramatic in percentage terms on the secondary market: 8.5%. If you are comparing similar flats, that gap can still be enough to change the maths.
For renters, the difference is much harder to ignore. A 2-bed flat is 1,400 PLN/month more in Warsaw on the official NBP rent series, and the per-square-metre rent gap is 28 PLN.
So the picture is not “one city wins.” The data says something more specific: Warsaw is pricier overall, while Kraków is materially cheaper on rent and still close on price. For anyone comparing the two, the choice looks less like a grand regional split and more like a trade-off between capital-market depth and a lower monthly housing bill.
Sources and related city pages
Sources: NBP BaRN secondary-market prices and official rent series; period: 2026-Q1 prices, 2025-Q1 rent. · Updated 15 Jun 2026