Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chisinau and Cotonou

For one person, living is cheaper in Cotonou: $897 a month against $1,316 in Chisinau, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Chisinau
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Chisinau Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Cotonou
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Cotonou Living Index

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Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,316

/mo nomad

Cotonou

🇧🇯 Benin

$897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chisinau and in Cotonou

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

A single person spends $1,316 per month in Chisinau vs $897 in Cotonou, rent included.

Chisinau $1,316
Cotonou $897

A couple spends around $1,991 per month in Chisinau vs $1,428 in Cotonou, rent included.

Chisinau $1,991
Cotonou $1,428

A family of three spends $2,666 per month in Chisinau vs $1,958 in Cotonou, rent included.

Chisinau $2,666
Cotonou $1,958

Chisinau costs about 47% more than Cotonou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Chisinau and Cotonou are more affordable than the global median – Chisinau 3% lower, Cotonou 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.34 MDL 202

$5.18 F CFA 3,042

118.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.7 MDL 1,010

$35.68 F CFA 21.0K

58.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 MDL 145

$9.39 F CFA 5,514

-13.31%

Cappuccino

$2.19 MDL 39.06

$5.25 F CFA 3,085

-58.29%

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

$1.22 MDL 21.67

$1.00 F CFA 589

22.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MDL 15.99

$0.89 F CFA 521

1.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 MDL 39.24

$0.87 F CFA 510

152.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 MDL 34.27

$2.59 F CFA 1,522

-25.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 MDL 22.54

$3.10 F CFA 1,820

-59.35%

White Bread (500g)

$0.71 MDL 12.74

$1.23 F CFA 724

-42.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 MDL 24.93

$1.88 F CFA 1,105

-25.53%

Eggs

$2.72 MDL 48.47

$2.74 F CFA 1,610

-0.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.70 MDL 173

$9.25 F CFA 5,436

4.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.00 MDL 89.2

$5.43 F CFA 3,189

-7.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.77 MDL 156

$5.04 F CFA 2,959

74.01%

Apples (1kg)

$0.97 MDL 17.33

$3.99 F CFA 2,345

-75.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 MDL 34.44

$1.78 F CFA 1,043

8.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 MDL 35.89

$1.33 F CFA 779

51.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 MDL 38.44

$2.71 F CFA 1,591

-20.30%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 MDL 11.63

$1.27 F CFA 745

-48.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.56 MDL 10.03

$1.68 F CFA 987

-66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 MDL 23.14

$0.43 F CFA 253

202.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 MDL 15.93

$1.14 F CFA 670

-21.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.31 MDL 59.0

$3.37 F CFA 1,977

-1.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.82 MDL 85.9

$4.30 F CFA 2,524

12.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MDL 21.66

$1.17 F CFA 688

4.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 MDL 33.72

$1.86 F CFA 1,092

1.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 MDL 6.73

$1.30 F CFA 764

-70.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.55 MDL 242

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 MDL 40.46

$1.38 F CFA 808

64.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 MDL 6.13

$1.32 F CFA 776

-74.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.94 MDL 88.1

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 MDL 29.47

$1.18 F CFA 695

39.83%

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

$29.8K MDL 531.9K

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

$27.6K MDL 492.9K

$23.5K F CFA 13.8M

17.60%

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

$241 MDL 4,289

$145 F CFA 85.1K

66.06%

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

$9.32 MDL 166

$33.52 F CFA 19.7K

-72.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.33 MDL 184

$49.06 F CFA 28.8K

-78.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.89 MDL 765

$47.60 F CFA 28.0K

-9.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.55 MDL 366

$3.36 F CFA 1,973

511.61%

Cinema Ticket

$8.33 MDL 149

$8.58 F CFA 5,043

-2.91%

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

$430 MDL 7,660

$131 F CFA 76.9K

228.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,720 MDL 102.0K

$5,544 F CFA 3.3M

3.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.1 MDL 1,392

$25.39 F CFA 14.9K

207.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.91 MDL 819

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MDL 2,006

$33.44 F CFA 19.6K

236.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MDL 2,083

$67.9 F CFA 39.9K

71.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$691 MDL 12.3K

$176 F CFA 103.4K

292.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 MDL 8,252

$163 F CFA 95.7K

184.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,257 MDL 22.4K

$600 F CFA 352.5K

109.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 MDL 14.3K

$412 F CFA 242.3K

94.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,585 MDL 46.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,861 MDL 33.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 MDL 15.4K

$251 F CFA 147.2K

245.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.17

129.25%

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

Last update for Chisinau: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cotonou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chisinau

$463 35.2%

Cotonou

$163 18.2% 64.8% $300

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chisinau

$260 19.8%

Cotonou

$227 25.4% 12.6% $33

Groceries & Markets

Chisinau

$190 14.5%

Cotonou

$222 24.8% 16.6% $32

Eating Out

Chisinau

$165 12.5%

Cotonou

$150 16.7% 9.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Chisinau

$159 12.1%

Cotonou

$57 * 6.4% 64.1% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Chisinau

$60 4.5%

Cotonou

$65 7.2% 8.8% $5.2

Getting Around

Chisinau

$19 1.5%

Cotonou

$13 * 1.5% 30.8% $5.9

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $691 in Chisinau versus $176 in Cotonou. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Chisinau are about 3.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $57 in Chisinau versus $36 in Cotonou. Groceries tell a different story – $190 in Chisinau vs $222 in Cotonou – so Chisinau wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Chisinau

🇧🇯 Cotonou

🕒 Local time

09:01 9:01 AM

08:01 8:01 AM

1 h behind Chisinau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

750,000 Capital

780,000

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.61 USD

100 MDL = 5.02 EUR

1,000 XOF = 1.7 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 17.83 MDL (100 MDL = 5.61 USD). 1 EUR = 19.91 MDL (100 MDL = 5.02 EUR).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 587 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.7 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR).

USD to MDL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chisinau Cotonou 5,170 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Chisinau
Cotonou

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

Chisinau vs Cotonou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Chisinau is pricier by about 47%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,974 per month in Chisinau and $1,345 in Cotonou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cotonou, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $176 there versus $691 in Chisinau.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,316 in Chisinau and $897 in Cotonou. That makes Cotonou about 32% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $430 per month in Chisinau and $131 in Cotonou. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cotonou, where all-in costs run around $897, than in Chisinau at $1,316. In Cotonou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chisinau it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cotonou – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cotonou. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chisinau makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.