Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budva and Bilbao

For one person, living is cheaper in Budva: $1,611 a month against $2,129 in Bilbao, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Budva
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Budva Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index

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Budva

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,611

/mo nomad

Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,129

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budva and in Bilbao

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,611 in Budva versus $2,129 in Bilbao.

Budva $1,611
Bilbao $2,129

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,529 in Budva versus $3,159 in Bilbao.

Budva $2,529
Bilbao $3,159

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,447 in Budva versus $4,190 in Bilbao.

Budva $3,447
Bilbao $4,190

Living in Budva costs roughly 24% less than in Bilbao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Budva 19% above, Bilbao 58% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.76 €13.13

$22.39 €19.92

-34.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.1

$71.3 €63.4

-6.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.27 €11.80

$12.25 €10.90

8.33%

Cappuccino

$3.39 €3.02

$2.55 €2.27

32.94%

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

$2.21 €1.96

$3.03 €2.70

-27.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.89 €1.68

-19.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 €4.17

$3.33 €2.96

40.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 €3.80

$3.41 €3.04

25.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.29 €1.15

-3.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 €0.95

$1.58 €1.41

-32.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.48 €1.32

49.32%

Eggs

$3.07 €2.73

$3.31 €2.95

-7.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.50 €7.56

$15.51 €13.80

-45.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.08 €8.08

$7.99 €7.11

13.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.17 €10.83

$14.47 €12.87

-15.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.80 €2.49

-54.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.16 €1.93

-18.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.52 €1.35

$2.61 €2.32

-41.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.78 €2.47

$2.55 €2.27

9.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 €0.76

$1.63 €1.45

-47.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 €0.95

$2.50 €2.22

-57.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.67 €1.48

$1.27 €1.13

31.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.90 €0.80

4.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.42 €3.93

$6.60 €5.88

-33.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 €6.82

$8.00 €7.12

-4.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 €0.94

$1.48 €1.31

-28.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$2.50 €2.23

-30.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.84 €2.53

$1.76 €1.57

61.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.74 €35.34

$50.4 €44.87

-21.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 €0.98

$5.54 €4.93

-79.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.03 €0.91

5.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.85 €14.99

$32.65 €29.04

-48.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.81 €1.61

-6.08%

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

$28.5K €25.4K

$34.7K €30.9K

-17.90%

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

$25.8K €22.9K

$30.7K €27.3K

-16.00%

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

$158 €140

$142 €127

10.82%

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

$14.92 €13.27

$20.57 €18.29

-27.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.61 €29.90

$30.26 €26.92

11.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 €50.8

$55.0 €48.96

3.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.24 €18.89

$15.24 €13.55

39.37%

Cinema Ticket

$6.19 €5.50

$9.97 €8.87

-37.91%

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

$407 €362

$521 €463

-21.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,855 €8,766

$11.4K €10.1K

-13.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.3

$105 €93.4

-0.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.04 €39.17

$37.72 €33.55

16.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.8 €86.1

$75.7 €67.3

28.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$178 €159

$146 €130

22.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$846 €752

$1,261 €1,121

-32.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$606 €539

$1,057 €940

-42.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,499 €1,333

$2,392 €2,127

-37.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,149 €1,022

$1,689 €1,503

-31.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,046 €3,599

$5,657 €5,032

-28.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,920 €2,597

$3,688 €3,281

-20.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,028 €915

$2,394 €2,129

-57.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.95

2.98

99.66%

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

Last update for Budva: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bilbao: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budva

$606 37.6%

Bilbao

$1.1K 49.7% 74.4% $451

Eating Out

Budva

$246 15.2%

Bilbao

$290 13.6% 18% $44

Groceries & Markets

Budva

$235 14.6%

Bilbao

$282 13.3% 19.9% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budva

$206 12.8%

Bilbao

$193 9.1% 6.4% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Budva

$191 11.9%

Bilbao

$164 7.7% 14.2% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Budva

$69 4.3%

Bilbao

$75 3.5% 8% $5.5

Getting Around

Budva

$58 3.6%

Bilbao

$68 3.2% 18.2% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $846 in Budva and $1,261 in Bilbao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bilbao pays 133% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Budva vs $71.0 in Bilbao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $282 per month, with Budva cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇪 Budva

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🕒 Local time

21:59 9:59 PM

Same time as Budva

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,338

346,096

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Budva Bilbao 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Budva
Bilbao

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

Budva vs Bilbao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budva and Bilbao differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($1,611 vs $2,129 including rent). Budva is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 133% lower in Bilbao. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $846 in Budva versus $1,261 in Bilbao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $407 in Budva versus $521 in Bilbao. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Bilbao. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,611 in Budva versus $2,129 in Bilbao, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Budva but tight or insufficient in Bilbao. The gap between the two cities makes Budva the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Budva and Bilbao are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Budva gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Bilbao. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.