Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bistrita and Belgrade

For one person, living is cheaper in Bistrita: $845 a month against $1,554 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bistrita
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Bistrita Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
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Belgrade Living Index

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Bistrita

🇷🇴 Romania

$845

/mo nomad

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,554

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $845 per month in Bistrita vs $1,554 in Belgrade, rent included.

Bistrita $845
Belgrade $1,554

A couple spends around $1,288 per month in Bistrita vs $2,337 in Belgrade, rent included.

Bistrita $1,288
Belgrade $2,337

A family of three spends $1,730 per month in Bistrita vs $3,121 in Belgrade, rent included.

Bistrita $1,730
Belgrade $3,121

Bistrita is about 46% cheaper than Belgrade, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bistrita sits 37% below the global median, while Belgrade is 15% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.22 RON 29.44

$13.15 RSD 1,371

-52.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.58 RON 149

$57.5 RSD 5,999

-45.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$13.38 RSD 1,394

-53.74%

Cappuccino

$2.23 RON 10.55

$3.10 RSD 323

-28.06%

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

$1.56 RON 7.38

$2.82 RSD 294

-44.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 RON 6.47

$2.22 RSD 231

-38.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.13 RON 10.06

$3.47 RSD 362

-38.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 RON 15.09

$3.96 RSD 412

-19.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 RON 5.82

$1.38 RSD 144

-10.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 RON 4.95

$1.13 RSD 118

-7.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 RON 4.90

$2.66 RSD 277

-60.90%

Eggs

$2.67 RON 12.62

$2.78 RSD 290

-3.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.36 RON 30.08

$10.99 RSD 1,146

-42.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 RON 29.47

$6.56 RSD 684

-5.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.19 RON 53.0

$15.07 RSD 1,571

-25.75%

Apples (1kg)

$0.87 RON 4.12

$1.66 RSD 173

-47.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 RON 6.88

$1.79 RSD 186

-18.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.57

$1.87 RSD 195

-14.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.07 RON 9.78

$3.03 RSD 315

-31.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.80

$0.92 RSD 96.3

-13.04%

Onion (1kg)

$0.65 RON 3.06

$0.71 RSD 73.8

-8.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 RON 5.02

$0.74 RSD 77.6

43.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 RON 3.20

$0.74 RSD 77.2

-8.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 RON 25.92

$4.61 RSD 481

18.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.15 RON 24.35

$8.81 RSD 918

-41.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$0.89 RSD 92.7

2.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 RON 5.11

$1.45 RSD 151

-25.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 RON 1.90

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.19 RON 100

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 RON 3.58

$3.02 RSD 315

-74.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 RON 3.55

$0.98 RSD 103

-23.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.37 RON 34.88

$17.08 RSD 1,780

-56.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 RON 7.29

$1.91 RSD 199

-19.37%

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

$27.3K RON 129.0K

$31.0K RSD 3.2M

-12.01%

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

$24.1K RON 114.2K

$24.7K RSD 2.6M

-2.14%

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

$172 RON 812

$220 RSD 23.0K

-22.14%

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

$5.53 RON 26.16

$24.41 RSD 2,544

-77.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$5.82 RON 27.54

$35.64 RSD 3,715

-83.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.75 RON 188

$41.20 RSD 4,295

-3.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.96 RON 146

$22.60 RSD 2,356

36.99%

Cinema Ticket

$6.20 RON 29.33

$8.59 RSD 896

-27.82%

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

$314 RON 1,485

$424 RSD 44.2K

-25.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,963 RON 42.4K

$11.0K RSD 1.1M

-18.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.77 RON 179

$111 RSD 11.5K

-65.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.48 RON 125

$47.28 RSD 4,929

-43.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.4 RON 295

$113 RSD 11.8K

-44.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.6 RON 343

$157 RSD 16.3K

-53.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 RON 1,055

$805 RSD 83.9K

-72.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 RON 875

$546 RSD 56.9K

-66.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 RON 1,868

$1,452 RSD 151.4K

-72.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$315 RON 1,490

$931 RSD 97.0K

-66.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,510 RON 7,146

$5,368 RSD 559.6K

-71.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,175 RON 5,558

$3,155 RSD 328.9K

-62.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,016 RON 4,805

$1,237 RSD 128.9K

-17.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.73

4.61

45.99%

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

Last update for Bistrita: 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

Bistrita

$185 21.9%

Belgrade

$546 35.2% 195% $361

Groceries & Markets

Bistrita

$184 21.8%

Belgrade

$241 15.5% 30.5% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bistrita

$183 21.7%

Belgrade

$280 18.1% 53.3% $97

Eating Out

Bistrita

$124 14.7%

Belgrade

$228 14.7% 84% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Bistrita

$90 10.6%

Belgrade

$192 12.4% 115% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Bistrita

$52 6.2%

Belgrade

$58 3.8% 12% $6.2

Getting Around

Bistrita

$27 3.2%

Belgrade

$7.9 * 0.5% 70.9% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $223 in Bistrita 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 22% 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 $32.00 in Bistrita versus $58.0 in Belgrade. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $184 vs $241 – making Bistrita the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bistrita

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🕒 Local time

21:00 9:00 PM

20:00 8:00 PM

1 h behind Bistrita

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,076

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

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Bistrita Belgrade 400 km

From you

Bistrita
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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

Bistrita vs Belgrade: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $845 in Bistrita, $1,554 in Belgrade – roughly 84% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,268 per month in Bistrita 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 Bistrita, 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 $32.00 in Bistrita 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 31% 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 Bistrita, where all-in costs run around $845, than in Belgrade at $1,554. In Bistrita it covers expenses comfortably, while in Belgrade it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Bistrita – 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 Bistrita. 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.