Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Belgrade and Barlad

For one person, living is cheaper in Barlad: $975 a month against $1,574 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
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Belgrade Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Barlad
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Barlad Living Index

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Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,574

/mo nomad

Barlad

🇷🇴 Romania

$975

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Belgrade and in Barlad

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

A single person spends $1,574 per month in Belgrade vs $975 in Barlad, rent included.

Belgrade $1,574
Barlad $975

A couple spends around $2,376 per month in Belgrade vs $1,521 in Barlad, rent included.

Belgrade $2,376
Barlad $1,521

A family of three spends $3,178 per month in Belgrade vs $2,066 in Barlad, rent included.

Belgrade $3,178
Barlad $2,066

Belgrade costs about 61% more than Barlad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Belgrade sits 16% above the global median, while Barlad is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.44 RSD 1,401

$8.96 RON 42.41

50.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.8 RSD 6,029

$41.38 RON 196

39.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.23 RSD 1,380

$7.20 RON 34.06

83.75%

Cappuccino

$3.10 RSD 323

$2.41 RON 11.40

28.63%

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

$2.73 RSD 285

$1.85 RON 8.75

47.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 RSD 241

$1.54 RON 7.27

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.54 RSD 369

$2.17 RON 10.25

63.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 RSD 430

$2.69 RON 12.72

53.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 RSD 151

$1.34 RON 6.34

8.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 RSD 123

$1.12 RON 5.31

5.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.61 RSD 272

$1.40 RON 6.63

86.43%

Eggs

$2.78 RSD 289

$3.39 RON 16.02

-17.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.23 RSD 1,171

$7.51 RON 35.53

49.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.72 RSD 701

$5.22 RON 24.69

28.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 RSD 1,586

$10.04 RON 47.49

51.59%

Apples (1kg)

$1.59 RSD 166

$1.04 RON 4.92

52.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 RSD 191

$1.63 RON 7.73

12.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 RSD 191

$1.38 RON 6.54

32.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.10 RSD 324

$1.76 RON 8.31

76.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 RSD 98.8

$0.79 RON 3.75

20.25%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 RSD 75.1

$0.77 RON 3.65

-6.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 RSD 77.8

$0.84 RON 3.99

-10.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 RSD 72.4

$0.89 RON 4.20

-22.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.76 RSD 496

$6.64 RON 31.41

-28.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.43 RSD 878

$5.58 RON 26.38

51.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RSD 97.8

$1.20 RON 5.68

-21.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 RSD 159

$1.62 RON 7.67

-5.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 RON 2.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.88 RON 94.0

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 RSD 312

$0.72 RON 3.42

315.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 RSD 106

$0.73 RON 3.46

39.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.54 RSD 1,828

$6.99 RON 33.08

150.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 RSD 193

$1.75 RON 8.30

5.71%

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

$30.5K RSD 3.2M

$26.5K RON 125.3K

14.96%

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

$23.7K RSD 2.5M

$25.1K RON 118.7K

-5.47%

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

$219 RSD 22.9K

$158 RON 748

38.75%

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

$24.82 RSD 2,588

$8.87 RON 41.95

179.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.79 RSD 3,731

$8.36 RON 39.58

328.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.37 RSD 4,313

$34.02 RON 161

21.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.96 RSD 2,394

$18.05 RON 85.4

27.20%

Cinema Ticket

$8.32 RSD 867

$6.61 RON 31.28

25.87%

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

$423 RSD 44.1K

$465 RON 2,202

-9.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K RSD 1.2M

$7,715 RON 36.5K

48.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 RSD 11.6K

$62.0 RON 293

79.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.48 RSD 4,950

$34.81 RON 165

36.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 RSD 12.1K

$72.7 RON 344

59.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 RSD 16.4K

$86.2 RON 408

83.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$823 RSD 85.8K

$407 RON 1,927

102.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 RSD 58.3K

$269 RON 1,271

108.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,485 RSD 154.8K

$651 RON 3,081

128.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$969 RSD 101.1K

$505 RON 2,387

92.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,489 RSD 572.2K

$1,755 RON 8,305

212.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,193 RSD 332.8K

$1,263 RON 5,976

152.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,214 RSD 126.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.61

6.97

-33.86%

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

Last update for Belgrade: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barlad: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Belgrade

$560 35.6%

Barlad

$269 27.6% 52% $291

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Belgrade

$280 17.8%

Barlad

$175 18% 37.4% $105

Groceries & Markets

Belgrade

$243 15.4%

Barlad

$190 19.5% 21.7% $53

Eating Out

Belgrade

$231 14.7%

Barlad

$152 15.6% 34.1% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Belgrade

$195 12.4%

Barlad

$115 11.8% 40.9% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Belgrade

$58 3.7%

Barlad

$47 4.9% 18.5% $11

Getting Around

Belgrade

$8.1 * 0.5%

Barlad

$26 2.7% 225% $18

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $823 in Belgrade versus $407 in Barlad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $58.0 in Belgrade versus $41.00 in Barlad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $243 vs $190 – making Barlad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🇷🇴 Barlad

🕒 Local time

00:55 12:55 AM

01:55 1:55 AM

1 h ahead of Belgrade

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,197,714 Capital

77,518

💱 Currency

Serbian Dinar RSD din

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to RSD – Serbian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇸 Serbian Dinar (din)

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to RSD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Belgrade Barlad 580 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Belgrade
Barlad

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

Belgrade vs Barlad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,574 in Belgrade, $975 in Barlad – roughly 61% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,360 per month in Belgrade and $1,462 in Barlad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Barlad, 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 $1,574 in Belgrade and $975 in Barlad. That's a gap of about 61%.

Kindergarten costs $423 per month in Belgrade and $465 in Barlad. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Barlad, where all-in costs run around $975, than in Belgrade at $1,574. In Barlad it covers expenses comfortably, while in Belgrade it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Barlad – 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 Barlad. 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.