Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Balti and Belgrade

For one person, living is cheaper in Balti: $977 a month against $1,538 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Balti
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Balti Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
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Belgrade Living Index

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Balti

🇲🇩 Moldova

$977

/mo nomad

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,538

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $977 per month in Balti vs $1,538 in Belgrade, rent included.

Balti $977
Belgrade $1,538

A couple spends around $1,405 per month in Balti vs $2,321 in Belgrade, rent included.

Balti $1,405
Belgrade $2,321

A family of three spends $1,832 per month in Balti vs $3,105 in Belgrade, rent included.

Balti $1,832
Belgrade $3,105

Balti is about 36% cheaper than Belgrade, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Balti sits 27% below the global median, while Belgrade is 15% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.14 MDL 144

$13.33 RSD 1,389

-38.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.56 MDL 400

$58.4 RSD 6,085

-61.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 MDL 184

$13.58 RSD 1,414

-23.42%

Cappuccino

$1.78 MDL 31.46

$3.13 RSD 326

-43.13%

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

$1.10 MDL 19.54

$2.77 RSD 288

-60.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 MDL 12.16

$2.27 RSD 237

-69.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.11 MDL 19.67

$3.75 RSD 390

-70.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 MDL 25.39

$4.38 RSD 456

-67.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 MDL 22.42

$1.40 RSD 146

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.46 MDL 8.13

$1.17 RSD 122

-60.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MDL 28.35

$2.71 RSD 282

-40.96%

Eggs

$2.19 MDL 38.78

$2.78 RSD 289

-21.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.89 MDL 122

$11.36 RSD 1,184

-39.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.78 MDL 84.6

$7.01 RSD 731

-31.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.27 MDL 111

$15.72 RSD 1,638

-60.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.02 MDL 18.08

$1.66 RSD 173

-38.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 MDL 38.70

$1.81 RSD 188

20.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MDL 33.07

$1.83 RSD 190

2.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.30 MDL 40.71

$3.13 RSD 326

-26.52%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 MDL 13.43

$0.88 RSD 91.3

-13.64%

Onion (1kg)

$0.52 MDL 9.20

$0.67 RSD 70.3

-22.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 MDL 8.23

$0.81 RSD 84.4

-43.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MDL 9.65

$0.68 RSD 70.9

-20.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.30 MDL 58.5

$4.78 RSD 498

-30.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.36 MDL 77.3

$8.54 RSD 889

-48.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 MDL 24.42

$0.94 RSD 97.7

46.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 MDL 35.26

$1.44 RSD 150

38.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 MDL 5.80

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.05 MDL 302

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 MDL 50.1

$3.09 RSD 322

-8.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.24 MDL 4.23

$1.02 RSD 107

-76.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.63 MDL 99.8

$17.18 RSD 1,789

-67.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 MDL 28.39

$1.87 RSD 195

-14.44%

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

$33.2K MDL 587.5K

$30.7K RSD 3.2M

7.83%

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

$24.0K MDL 424.9K

$24.3K RSD 2.5M

-1.21%

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

$228 MDL 4,036

$218 RSD 22.7K

4.64%

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

$7.65 MDL 136

$25.24 RSD 2,629

-69.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.35 MDL 201

$35.35 RSD 3,683

-67.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.50 MDL 647

$41.77 RSD 4,351

-12.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.11 MDL 268

$22.80 RSD 2,375

-33.73%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 MDL 137

$8.47 RSD 882

-8.74%

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

$111 MDL 1,975

$426 RSD 44.4K

-73.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,202 MDL 92.2K

$11.4K RSD 1.2M

-54.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.48 MDL 788

$111 RSD 11.6K

-59.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.04 MDL 586

$45.99 RSD 4,791

-28.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.2 MDL 979

$119 RSD 12.4K

-53.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.0 MDL 904

$154 RSD 16.0K

-66.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$390 MDL 6,915

$821 RSD 85.6K

-52.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$278 MDL 4,932

$561 RSD 58.4K

-50.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$674 MDL 12.0K

$1,511 RSD 157.4K

-55.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$506 MDL 8,960

$942 RSD 98.1K

-46.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,419 MDL 25.2K

$5,312 RSD 553.4K

-73.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$999 MDL 17.7K

$3,165 RSD 329.7K

-68.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$605 MDL 10.7K

$1,228 RSD 127.9K

-50.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.61

73.54%

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

Last update for Balti: October 4, 2026

Last update for Belgrade: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Balti

$278 28.4%

Belgrade

$561 35.5% 101% $282

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Balti

$247 25.2%

Belgrade

$278 17.6% 12.8% $31

Groceries & Markets

Balti

$164 16.8%

Belgrade

$246 15.6% 49.9% $82

Eating Out

Balti

$133 13.6%

Belgrade

$233 14.7% 74.6% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Balti

$83 8.4%

Belgrade

$194 12.3% 134% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Balti

$52 5.3%

Belgrade

$59 3.7% 13% $6.7

Getting Around

Balti

$22 2.3%

Belgrade

$8.2 * 0.5% 63.3% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $390 in Balti versus $821 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 103% 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 $23.00 in Balti versus $58.0 in Belgrade. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $164 vs $246 – making Balti the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Balti

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🕒 Local time

09:19 9:19 AM

08:19 8:19 AM

1 h behind Balti

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

144,800

1,197,714 Capital

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.64 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.6 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.56 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17.72 MDL (100 MDL = 5.64 USD). 1 EUR = 19.88 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.6 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.56 EUR).

USD to MDL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Balti Belgrade 660 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Balti
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

Balti vs Belgrade: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $977 in Balti, $1,538 in Belgrade – roughly 57% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,466 per month in Balti and $2,307 in Belgrade. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23.00 in Balti and $58.0 in Belgrade. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 50% more in Belgrade, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Balti, where all-in costs run around $977, than in Belgrade at $1,538. In Balti it covers expenses comfortably, while in Belgrade it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Balti – 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 Balti. 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.