Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arak and Belgrade

For one person, living is cheaper in Arak: $482 a month against $1,554 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Arak
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Arak Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
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Belgrade Living Index

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Arak

🇮🇷 Iran

$482

/mo nomad

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,554

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Arak and in Belgrade

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Arak and in Belgrade actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $482 in Arak versus $1,554 in Belgrade.

Arak $482
Belgrade $1,554

Estimated couple costs with rent: $758 in Arak versus $2,337 in Belgrade.

Arak $758
Belgrade $2,337

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,034 in Arak versus $3,121 in Belgrade.

Arak $1,034
Belgrade $3,121

Living in Arak costs roughly 69% less than in Belgrade, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Arak is 64% below, Belgrade is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.71 $3.71

$13.15 RSD 1,371

-71.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.65 $12.65

$57.5 RSD 5,999

-78.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 $4.09

$13.38 RSD 1,394

-69.43%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.68 $0.68

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 $0.56

Cappuccino

$1.36 $1.36

$3.10 RSD 323

-56.13%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 $0.48

$2.82 RSD 294

-82.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 $1.73

$2.22 RSD 231

-22.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.47 RSD 362

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 RSD 412

Milk (1 liter)

$0.55 $0.55

$1.38 RSD 144

-60.14%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 $0.57

$1.13 RSD 118

-49.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 $1.90

$2.66 RSD 277

-28.57%

Eggs

$1.22 $1.22

$2.78 RSD 290

-56.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.16 $2.16

$10.99 RSD 1,146

-80.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.56 $2.56

$6.56 RSD 684

-60.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.32 $10.32

$15.07 RSD 1,571

-31.52%

Apples (1kg)

$0.79 $0.79

$1.66 RSD 173

-52.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.79 RSD 186

-43.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 $0.63

$1.87 RSD 195

-66.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$3.03 RSD 315

-83.17%

Potato (1kg)

$0.44 $0.44

$0.92 RSD 96.3

-52.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 $0.41

$0.71 RSD 73.8

-42.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.48 $0.48

$0.74 RSD 77.6

-35.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 $0.30

$0.74 RSD 77.2

-59.46%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.83 $0.83

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 $0.52

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 $2.19

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.54 $2.54

$4.61 RSD 481

-44.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 RSD 918

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 RSD 92.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 RSD 151

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.10 $0.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.52 $9.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.25 $0.25

$3.02 RSD 315

-91.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.12 $0.12

$0.98 RSD 103

-87.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.03 $1.03

$17.08 RSD 1,780

-93.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.09 $0.09

$1.91 RSD 199

-95.29%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$49.8K $49.8K

$31.0K RSD 3.2M

60.65%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$34.4K $34.4K

$24.7K RSD 2.6M

39.29%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$9.84 $9.84

$220 RSD 23.0K

-95.54%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$1.49 $1.49

$24.41 RSD 2,544

-93.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.75 $3.75

$35.64 RSD 3,715

-89.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$9.87 $9.87

$41.20 RSD 4,295

-76.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.01 $24.01

$22.60 RSD 2,356

6.24%

Cinema Ticket

$1.12 $1.12

$8.59 RSD 896

-86.96%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$83.5 $83.5

$424 RSD 44.2K

-80.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,319 $2,319

$11.0K RSD 1.1M

-78.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.43 $13.43

$111 RSD 11.5K

-87.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$8.95 $8.95

$47.28 RSD 4,929

-81.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.9 $80.9

$113 RSD 11.8K

-28.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.4 $51.4

$157 RSD 16.3K

-67.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$295 $295

$805 RSD 83.9K

-63.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$211 $211

$546 RSD 56.9K

-61.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$806 $806

$1,452 RSD 151.4K

-44.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$359 $359

$931 RSD 97.0K

-61.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,354 $1,354

$5,368 RSD 559.6K

-74.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$656 $656

$3,155 RSD 328.9K

-79.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$368 $368

$1,237 RSD 128.9K

-70.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

18.5

4.61

301.30%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Arak: October 11, 2026

Last update for Belgrade: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Arak

$211 43.7%

Belgrade

$546 35.2% 159% $335

Groceries & Markets

Arak

$97 20.1%

Belgrade

$241 15.5% 149% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Arak

$70 14.4%

Belgrade

$192 12.4% 176% $123

Eating Out

Arak

$67 13.9%

Belgrade

$228 14.7% 240% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arak

$15 3.1%

Belgrade

$280 18.1% 1760% $265

Sport & Entertainment

Arak

$12 2.5%

Belgrade

$58 3.8% 382% $46

Getting Around

Arak

$11 2.2%

Belgrade

$7.9 * 0.5% 26.4% $2.8

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $295 in Arak and $805 in Belgrade. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Belgrade pays 236% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $13.00 in Arak vs $58.0 in Belgrade for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $97.0 vs $241 per month, with Arak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Arak

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🕒 Local time

07:24 7:24 AM

05:54 5:54 AM

1 h 30 min behind Arak

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

526,200

1,197,714 Capital

💱 Currency

USD USD

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.52 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇷🇸 Serbian Dinar (din)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.52 EUR).

RSD to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Arak Belgrade 2,760 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Arak
Belgrade

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Arak vs Belgrade: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arak is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 222% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 236% lower in Belgrade. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $295 in Arak versus $805 in Belgrade. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $83.5 in Arak versus $424 in Belgrade. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Arak – a meal for two runs $13.00 versus $58.0 in Belgrade. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $482 in Arak versus $1,554 in Belgrade, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Arak but tight or insufficient in Belgrade. The gap between the two cities makes Arak the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Arak and Belgrade are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Arak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 222% less than in Belgrade. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.