Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ba'qubah and Belgrade

For one person, living is cheaper in Ba'qubah: $524 a month against $1,554 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Ba'qubah
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Ba'qubah Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
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Belgrade Living Index

Jump to prices

Ba'qubah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$524

/mo nomad

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,554

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ba'qubah 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 Ba'qubah and in Belgrade actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $524 in Ba'qubah versus $1,554 in Belgrade.

Ba'qubah $524
Belgrade $1,554

Estimated couple costs with rent: $826 in Ba'qubah versus $2,337 in Belgrade.

Ba'qubah $826
Belgrade $2,337

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,128 in Ba'qubah versus $3,121 in Belgrade.

Ba'qubah $1,128
Belgrade $3,121

Living in Ba'qubah costs roughly 66% less than in Belgrade, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ba'qubah is 61% below, Belgrade is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.18 IQD 6,323

$13.15 RSD 1,371

-68.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.31 IQD 20.1K

$57.5 RSD 5,999

-76.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 IQD 8,615

$13.38 RSD 1,394

-57.40%

Cappuccino

$1.01 IQD 1,520

$3.10 RSD 323

-67.42%

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

$0.47 IQD 707

$2.82 RSD 294

-83.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 IQD 266

$2.22 RSD 231

-91.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 IQD 2,516

$3.47 RSD 362

-52.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 IQD 6,113

$3.96 RSD 412

2.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 IQD 1,559

$1.38 RSD 144

-25.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.47 IQD 704

$1.13 RSD 118

-58.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 IQD 1,552

$2.66 RSD 277

-61.28%

Eggs

$1.27 IQD 1,924

$2.78 RSD 290

-54.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.00 IQD 3,016

$10.99 RSD 1,146

-81.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.10 IQD 3,179

$6.56 RSD 684

-67.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.09 IQD 13.7K

$15.07 RSD 1,571

-39.68%

Apples (1kg)

$0.84 IQD 1,266

$1.66 RSD 173

-49.40%

Banana (1kg)

$0.93 IQD 1,402

$1.79 RSD 186

-48.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.85 IQD 1,290

$1.87 RSD 195

-54.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 IQD 711

$3.03 RSD 315

-84.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.51 IQD 776

$0.92 RSD 96.3

-44.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.60 IQD 908

$0.71 RSD 73.8

-15.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.43 IQD 648

$0.74 RSD 77.6

-41.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.15 IQD 220

$0.74 RSD 77.2

-79.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 IQD 3,326

$4.61 RSD 481

-52.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.64 IQD 16.1K

$8.81 RSD 918

20.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 IQD 2,197

$0.89 RSD 92.7

62.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 IQD 2,722

$1.45 RSD 151

24.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 IQD 644

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.36 IQD 27.7K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 IQD 2,427

$3.02 RSD 315

-46.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 IQD 2,368

$0.98 RSD 103

60.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.71 IQD 7,120

$17.08 RSD 1,780

-72.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.31 IQD 473

$1.91 RSD 199

-83.77%

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

$16.4K IQD 24.8M

$31.0K RSD 3.2M

-47.03%

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

$17.4K IQD 26.3M

$24.7K RSD 2.6M

-29.46%

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

$50.1 IQD 75.6K

$220 RSD 23.0K

-77.29%

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

$12.12 IQD 18.3K

$24.41 RSD 2,544

-50.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.83 IQD 34.5K

$35.64 RSD 3,715

-35.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.53 IQD 25.0K

$41.20 RSD 4,295

-59.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.60 RSD 2,356

Cinema Ticket

$3.36 IQD 5,078

$8.59 RSD 896

-60.88%

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

$22.77 IQD 34.4K

$424 RSD 44.2K

-94.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$555 IQD 838.8K

$11.0K RSD 1.1M

-94.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.58 IQD 25.0K

$111 RSD 11.5K

-85.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.76 IQD 25.3K

$47.28 RSD 4,929

-64.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.1 IQD 90.9K

$113 RSD 11.8K

-46.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$22.70 IQD 34.3K

$157 RSD 16.3K

-85.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$178 IQD 268.4K

$805 RSD 83.9K

-77.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$130 IQD 197.1K

$546 RSD 56.9K

-76.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$371 IQD 560.2K

$1,452 RSD 151.4K

-74.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$308 IQD 465.5K

$931 RSD 97.0K

-66.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$704 IQD 1.1M

$5,368 RSD 559.6K

-86.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$579 IQD 874.1K

$3,155 RSD 328.9K

-81.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$627 IQD 946.7K

$1,237 RSD 128.9K

-49.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.53

4.61

-45.12%

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

Last update for Ba'qubah: 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

Ba'qubah

$130 24.9%

Belgrade

$546 35.2% 319% $416

Groceries & Markets

Ba'qubah

$122 23.3%

Belgrade

$241 15.5% 97.4% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ba'qubah

$85 16.2%

Belgrade

$280 18.1% 230% $195

Eating Out

Ba'qubah

$82 15.6%

Belgrade

$228 14.7% 179% $146

Clothing & Footwear

Ba'qubah

$52 10%

Belgrade

$192 12.4% 268% $140

Getting Around

Ba'qubah

$30 5.6%

Belgrade

$7.9 * 0.5% 73.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Ba'qubah

$23 4.4%

Belgrade

$58 3.8% 151% $35

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 $178 in Ba'qubah and $805 in Belgrade. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Belgrade pays 97% 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 Ba'qubah vs $58.0 in Belgrade for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $122 vs $241 per month, with Ba'qubah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Ba'qubah

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🕒 Local time

07:07 7:07 AM

06:07 6:07 AM

1 h behind Ba'qubah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

268,866

1,197,714 Capital

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.88 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.52 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.88 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).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ba'qubah Belgrade 2,400 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ba'qubah
Belgrade

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ba'qubah vs Belgrade: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ba'qubah is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 197% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 97% 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: $178 in Ba'qubah versus $805 in Belgrade. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $22.77 in Ba'qubah 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 Ba'qubah – 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 $524 in Ba'qubah versus $1,554 in Belgrade, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ba'qubah but tight or insufficient in Belgrade. The gap between the two cities makes Ba'qubah 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, Ba'qubah 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 Ba'qubah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 197% less than in Belgrade. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.