Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cluj-Napoca and Kragujevac

For one person, living is cheaper in Kragujevac: $1,167 a month against $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Kragujevac
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Kragujevac Living Index

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Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,413

/mo nomad

Kragujevac

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,167

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cluj-Napoca and in Kragujevac

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,167 in Kragujevac.

Cluj-Napoca $1,413
Kragujevac $1,167

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,122 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,761 in Kragujevac.

Cluj-Napoca $2,122
Kragujevac $1,761

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,831 in Cluj-Napoca versus $2,355 in Kragujevac.

Cluj-Napoca $2,831
Kragujevac $2,355

Living in Cluj-Napoca is roughly 21% more expensive than in Kragujevac, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cluj-Napoca is 4% above, Kragujevac is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.53 RON 59.3

$10.60 RSD 1,105

18.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.5 RON 258

$43.81 RSD 4,567

24.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.73 RON 46.01

$9.30 RSD 969

4.62%

Cappuccino

$3.68 RON 17.42

$1.95 RSD 204

88.72%

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

$2.31 RON 10.92

$2.29 RSD 239

0.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 RON 10.93

$1.35 RSD 141

71.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.22 RON 15.24

$2.76 RSD 288

16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 RON 20.14

$3.44 RSD 359

23.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 RON 7.69

$1.30 RSD 136

25.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 RON 6.78

$0.63 RSD 65.2

126.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 RON 8.63

$1.91 RSD 199

-4.71%

Eggs

$3.82 RON 18.08

$2.54 RSD 265

50.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.16 RON 43.34

$9.64 RSD 1,005

-4.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.08 RON 33.50

$6.39 RSD 666

10.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.76 RON 55.7

$11.36 RSD 1,184

3.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.40 RON 6.64

$1.24 RSD 129

12.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.03

$1.85 RSD 192

-8.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 RON 8.96

$1.69 RSD 176

11.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.42 RON 11.43

$2.16 RSD 226

12.04%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.36

$1.11 RSD 116

-17.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 RON 4.15

$1.21 RSD 127

-27.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 RON 4.59

$1.06 RSD 111

-8.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.61

$0.60 RSD 62.7

61.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.21 RON 29.39

$4.26 RSD 444

45.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.54 RON 35.66

$7.55 RSD 787

-0.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.96

$0.90 RSD 93.3

40.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 RON 8.05

$2.28 RSD 238

-25.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 RON 3.42

$1.42 RSD 148

-49.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.02 RON 147

$28.98 RSD 3,021

7.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.88 RON 4.17

$1.41 RSD 147

-37.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 RON 4.40

$1.01 RSD 105

-7.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.51 RON 40.26

$5.16 RSD 538

64.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 RON 9.08

$1.81 RSD 189

6.08%

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

$28.9K RON 136.7K

$30.0K RSD 3.1M

-3.82%

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

$24.4K RON 115.2K

$24.6K RSD 2.6M

-1.09%

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

$156 RON 739

$185 RSD 19.2K

-15.43%

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

$8.74 RON 41.34

$27.21 RSD 2,837

-67.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.61 RON 45.46

$31.27 RSD 3,260

-69.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.29 RON 219

$30.35 RSD 3,164

52.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.98 RON 104

$19.75 RSD 2,059

11.29%

Cinema Ticket

$9.27 RON 43.87

$6.40 RSD 668

44.84%

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

$587 RON 2,775

$177 RSD 18.5K

230.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,749 RON 46.1K

$3,857 RSD 402.1K

152.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.1 RON 426

$61.7 RSD 6,432

46.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.13 RON 218

$64.4 RSD 6,717

-28.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.2 RON 465

$123 RSD 12.8K

-20.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 RON 522

$117 RSD 12.2K

-6.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$623 RON 2,950

$398 RSD 41.5K

56.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 RON 2,502

$295 RSD 30.8K

79.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,143 RON 5,407

$641 RSD 66.9K

78.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$820 RON 3,881

$479 RSD 49.9K

71.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,578 RON 21.7K

$2,171 RSD 226.3K

110.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,358 RON 15.9K

$1,629 RSD 169.8K

106.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,261 RON 5,964

$944 RSD 98.4K

33.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

4.84

37.40%

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

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 18, 2026

Last update for Kragujevac: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cluj-Napoca

$529 37.5%

Kragujevac

$295 25.3% 44.1% $233

Groceries & Markets

Cluj-Napoca

$233 16.5%

Kragujevac

$208 17.8% 10.6% $25

Eating Out

Cluj-Napoca

$217 15.3%

Kragujevac

$171 14.7% 20.9% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cluj-Napoca

$175 12.4%

Kragujevac

$243 20.8% 39.3% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Cluj-Napoca

$155 11%

Kragujevac

$165 14.1% 6.3% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Cluj-Napoca

$65 4.6%

Kragujevac

$43 3.7% 33.4% $22

Getting Around

Cluj-Napoca

$39 2.8%

Kragujevac

$41 3.5% 4.2% $1.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $623 in Cluj-Napoca and $398 in Kragujevac. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cluj-Napoca pays 34% 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: $54.0 in Cluj-Napoca vs $44.00 in Kragujevac for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $208 per month, with Kragujevac cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇸 Kragujevac

🕒 Local time

19:22 7:22 PM

18:22 6:22 PM

1 h behind Cluj-Napoca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

324,576

146,315

💱 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 22, 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 22, 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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Between locations

Cluj-Napoca Kragujevac 370 km

From you

Cluj-Napoca
Kragujevac

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

Cluj-Napoca vs Kragujevac: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kragujevac is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 21% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 34% higher in Cluj-Napoca, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $623 in Cluj-Napoca versus $398 in Kragujevac. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kragujevac runs roughly 7% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $587 in Cluj-Napoca versus $177 in Kragujevac. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,167 in Kragujevac versus $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kragujevac but tight or insufficient in Cluj-Napoca. The gap between the two cities makes Kragujevac the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kragujevac is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cluj-Napoca, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cluj-Napoca and Kragujevac 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 Kragujevac gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.