The goal of the study was to assess the effectiveness and competitiveness of farms breeding slaughter cattle in Poland and in other selected countries. The study covered farms from Poland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and France. The selection of countries was deliberate. The research materials are based on data from farms covered by the monitoring of the Polish and European FADN. The index and comparative method was used in the assessment of the surveyed farms. An ability to compete was demonstrated by medium-sized Polish farms keeping over 50 livestock units of cattle per one holding and using 55 hectares of utilised agricultural area (UAA) and very large German farms keeping 480 livestock units of cattle and using 417 ha. Payments were the main source of farm income. Their share in the farm income was: 83% (Polish) and 166% (German) respectively.