Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bacau and Belgrade

For one person, living is cheaper in Bacau: $913 a month against $1,554 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Bacau
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Bacau Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
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Belgrade Living Index

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Bacau

🇷🇴 Romania

$913

/mo nomad

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,554

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $913 per month in Bacau vs $1,554 in Belgrade, rent included.

Bacau $913
Belgrade $1,554

A couple spends around $1,548 per month in Bacau vs $2,337 in Belgrade, rent included.

Bacau $1,548
Belgrade $2,337

A family of three spends $2,182 per month in Bacau vs $3,121 in Belgrade, rent included.

Bacau $2,182
Belgrade $3,121

Bacau is about 41% cheaper than Belgrade, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Bacau sits 32% below the global median, while Belgrade is 15% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.05 RON 66.5

$13.15 RSD 1,371

6.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.1 RON 402

$57.5 RSD 5,999

47.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.39 RON 34.96

$13.38 RSD 1,394

-44.77%

Cappuccino

$1.98 RON 9.37

$3.10 RSD 323

-36.13%

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

$1.94 RON 9.16

$2.82 RSD 294

-31.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 RON 8.97

$2.22 RSD 231

-14.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$3.47 RSD 362

-28.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 RON 14.96

$3.96 RSD 412

-20.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 RON 5.76

$1.38 RSD 144

-11.59%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 RON 3.09

$1.13 RSD 118

-42.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 RON 7.74

$2.66 RSD 277

-38.35%

Eggs

$3.39 RON 16.03

$2.78 RSD 290

21.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.79 RON 36.87

$10.99 RSD 1,146

-29.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.43 RON 25.67

$6.56 RSD 684

-17.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.42 RON 39.86

$15.07 RSD 1,571

-44.13%

Apples (1kg)

$1.14 RON 5.41

$1.66 RSD 173

-31.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.06

$1.79 RSD 186

-16.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 RON 7.32

$1.87 RSD 195

-17.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 RON 8.24

$3.03 RSD 315

-42.57%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 RON 3.43

$0.92 RSD 96.3

-21.74%

Onion (1kg)

$0.65 RON 3.07

$0.71 RSD 73.8

-8.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 RON 3.59

$0.74 RSD 77.6

2.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 RON 3.23

$0.74 RSD 77.2

-8.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.47 RON 25.87

$4.61 RSD 481

18.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.08 RON 24.02

$8.81 RSD 918

-42.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$0.89 RSD 92.7

5.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 RON 5.78

$1.45 RSD 151

-15.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 RON 3.51

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.14 RON 138

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.62 RON 2.92

$3.02 RSD 315

-79.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 RON 3.17

$0.98 RSD 103

-31.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.08 RON 33.51

$17.08 RSD 1,780

-58.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 RON 8.50

$1.91 RSD 199

-5.76%

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

$28.9K RON 136.6K

$31.0K RSD 3.2M

-6.86%

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

$24.9K RON 117.9K

$24.7K RSD 2.6M

1.00%

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

$106 RON 502

$220 RSD 23.0K

-51.84%

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

$7.51 RON 35.53

$24.41 RSD 2,544

-69.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$4.83 RON 22.86

$35.64 RSD 3,715

-86.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.72 RON 122

$41.20 RSD 4,295

-37.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.83 RON 74.9

$22.60 RSD 2,356

-29.96%

Cinema Ticket

$6.44 RON 30.45

$8.59 RSD 896

-25.03%

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

$591 RON 2,794

$424 RSD 44.2K

39.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,858 RON 23.0K

$11.0K RSD 1.1M

-55.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.9 RON 392

$111 RSD 11.5K

-25.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.49 RON 149

$47.28 RSD 4,929

-33.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.6 RON 282

$113 RSD 11.8K

-47.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.6 RON 395

$157 RSD 16.3K

-46.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$400 RON 1,891

$805 RSD 83.9K

-50.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$235 RON 1,113

$546 RSD 56.9K

-56.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$546 RON 2,584

$1,452 RSD 151.4K

-62.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$399 RON 1,889

$931 RSD 97.0K

-57.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,818 RON 8,604

$5,368 RSD 559.6K

-66.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,199 RON 5,673

$3,155 RSD 328.9K

-62.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$933 RON 4,415

$1,237 RSD 128.9K

-24.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.97

4.61

51.19%

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

Last update for Bacau: October 10, 2026

Last update for Belgrade: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bacau

$235 25.8%

Belgrade

$546 35.2% 132% $311

Eating Out

Bacau

$192 21.1%

Belgrade

$228 14.7% 18.5% $36

Groceries & Markets

Bacau

$176 19.3%

Belgrade

$241 15.5% 36.6% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bacau

$118 13%

Belgrade

$280 18.1% 137% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Bacau

$116 12.7%

Belgrade

$192 12.4% 66% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Bacau

$39 4.2%

Belgrade

$58 3.8% 51.3% $20

Getting Around

Bacau

$36 4%

Belgrade

$7.9 * 0.5% 78% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $400 in Bacau versus $805 in Belgrade. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 33% higher in Belgrade, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Bacau versus $58.0 in Belgrade. Groceries tell a different story – $176 in Bacau vs $241 in Belgrade – so Bacau wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bacau

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🕒 Local time

21:47 9:47 PM

20:47 8:47 PM

1 h behind Bacau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

144,307

1,197,714 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 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 = 8.53 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bacau Belgrade 540 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bacau
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

Bacau vs Belgrade: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Belgrade is pricier by about 70%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,369 per month in Bacau and $2,331 in Belgrade. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bacau, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $913 in Bacau and $1,554 in Belgrade. That's a gap of about 70%.

Kindergarten costs $591 per month in Bacau and $424 in Belgrade. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Bacau, where all-in costs run around $913, than in Belgrade at $1,554. In Bacau it covers expenses comfortably, while in Belgrade it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Bacau – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Bacau. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Belgrade makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.