Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Belgrade and Carei

For one person, living is cheaper in Carei: $982 a month against $1,554 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Carei
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Carei Living Index

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Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,554

/mo nomad

Carei

🇷🇴 Romania

$982

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Belgrade and in Carei

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 Carei actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,554 per month in Belgrade vs $982 in Carei, rent included.

Belgrade $1,554
Carei $982

A couple spends around $2,337 per month in Belgrade vs $1,492 in Carei, rent included.

Belgrade $2,337
Carei $1,492

A family of three spends $3,121 per month in Belgrade vs $2,001 in Carei, rent included.

Belgrade $3,121
Carei $2,001

Belgrade costs about 58% more than Carei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.15 RSD 1,371

$9.03 RON 42.71

45.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.5 RSD 5,999

$39.88 RON 189

44.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.38 RSD 1,394

$7.16 RON 33.87

86.87%

Cappuccino

$3.10 RSD 323

$2.31 RON 10.91

34.20%

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

$2.82 RSD 294

$1.93 RON 9.11

46.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 RSD 231

$1.52 RON 7.18

46.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.47 RSD 362

$2.07 RON 9.77

67.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 RSD 412

$2.54 RON 12.02

55.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 RSD 144

$1.37 RON 6.49

0.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 RSD 118

$1.15 RON 5.43

-1.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 RSD 277

$1.41 RON 6.65

88.65%

Eggs

$2.78 RSD 290

$2.92 RON 13.83

-4.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.99 RSD 1,146

$7.68 RON 36.34

43.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.56 RSD 684

$6.16 RON 29.17

6.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.07 RSD 1,571

$9.69 RON 45.84

55.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.66 RSD 173

$1.10 RON 5.21

50.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.79 RSD 186

$1.45 RON 6.87

23.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 RSD 195

$1.43 RON 6.75

30.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.03 RSD 315

$2.04 RON 9.63

48.53%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 RSD 96.3

$0.80 RON 3.77

15.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.71 RSD 73.8

$0.79 RON 3.74

-10.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 RSD 77.6

$0.87 RON 4.10

-14.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 RSD 77.2

$0.81 RON 3.84

-8.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.61 RSD 481

$5.78 RON 27.37

-20.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 RSD 918

$6.38 RON 30.17

38.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 RSD 92.7

$1.07 RON 5.04

-16.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 RSD 151

$1.59 RON 7.53

-8.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 RON 3.56

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.70 RON 103

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 RSD 315

$0.71 RON 3.34

325.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 RSD 103

$0.70 RON 3.33

40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.08 RSD 1,780

$6.98 RON 33.00

144.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.91 RSD 199

$1.81 RON 8.59

5.52%

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

$31.0K RSD 3.2M

$28.5K RON 134.7K

8.86%

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

$24.7K RSD 2.6M

$25.5K RON 120.6K

-3.28%

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

$220 RSD 23.0K

$138 RON 653

59.72%

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

$24.41 RSD 2,544

$7.84 RON 37.11

211.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.64 RSD 3,715

$8.05 RON 38.09

342.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.20 RSD 4,295

$37.36 RON 177

10.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.60 RSD 2,356

$20.18 RON 95.5

11.99%

Cinema Ticket

$8.59 RSD 896

$6.98 RON 33.04

23.07%

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

$424 RSD 44.2K

$417 RON 1,971

1.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K RSD 1.1M

$6,823 RON 32.3K

60.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 RSD 11.5K

$60.4 RON 286

83.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.28 RSD 4,929

$35.63 RON 169

32.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 RSD 11.8K

$76.1 RON 360

48.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$157 RSD 16.3K

$83.2 RON 394

88.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 RSD 83.9K

$384 RON 1,815

109.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$546 RSD 56.9K

$289 RON 1,367

89.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,452 RSD 151.4K

$600 RON 2,839

142.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$931 RSD 97.0K

$448 RON 2,121

107.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,368 RSD 559.6K

$1,878 RON 8,885

185.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,155 RSD 328.9K

$1,331 RON 6,297

137.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,237 RSD 128.9K

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 12, 2026

Last update for Carei: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Belgrade

$546 35.2%

Carei

$289 29.4% 47.1% $257

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Belgrade

$280 18.1%

Carei

$154 15.7% 45.1% $127

Groceries & Markets

Belgrade

$241 15.5%

Carei

$194 19.8% 19.3% $47

Eating Out

Belgrade

$228 14.7%

Carei

$151 15.3% 33.9% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Belgrade

$192 12.4%

Carei

$115 11.7% 40.3% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Belgrade

$58 3.8%

Carei

$51 5.2% 12.1% $7.1

Getting Around

Belgrade

$7.9 * 0.5%

Carei

$29 3% 265% $21

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Belgrade versus $384 in Carei. 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 $40.00 in Carei. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $241 vs $194 – making Carei the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🇷🇴 Carei

🕒 Local time

21:24 9:24 PM

22:24 10:24 PM

1 h ahead of Belgrade

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,197,714 Capital

25,911

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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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Between locations

Belgrade Carei 350 km

From you

Belgrade
Carei

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 Carei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,554 in Belgrade, $982 in Carei – roughly 58% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,331 per month in Belgrade and $1,474 in Carei. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Carei, 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 $58.0 in Belgrade and $40.00 in Carei. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 24% 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 $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Carei, where all-in costs run around $982, than in Belgrade at $1,554. In Carei it covers expenses comfortably, while in Belgrade it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Carei – 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 Carei. 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.