Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ljubljana and Sarajevo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sarajevo: $1,204 a month against $2,111 in Ljubljana, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Ljubljana
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Ljubljana Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Sarajevo
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Sarajevo Living Index

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Ljubljana

🇸🇮 Slovenia

$2,111

/mo nomad

Sarajevo

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ljubljana and in Sarajevo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,111 in Ljubljana versus $1,204 in Sarajevo.

Ljubljana $2,111
Sarajevo $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Ljubljana versus $1,807 in Sarajevo.

Ljubljana $3,086
Sarajevo $1,807

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,062 in Ljubljana versus $2,410 in Sarajevo.

Ljubljana $4,062
Sarajevo $2,410

Living in Ljubljana is roughly 75% more expensive than in Sarajevo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ljubljana is 58% above, Sarajevo is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.87 €14.16

$8.60 BAM 15.01

84.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$39.59 BAM 69.1

70.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.07 €9.88

$8.48 BAM 14.79

30.54%

Cappuccino

$2.90 €2.58

$2.33 BAM 4.06

24.46%

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

$3.22 €2.87

$2.23 BAM 3.88

44.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.41 BAM 2.47

39.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.94 €3.52

$2.94 BAM 5.12

34.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 €3.95

$2.91 BAM 5.08

52.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 €1.23

$1.16 BAM 2.02

18.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 €1.98

$1.17 BAM 2.05

88.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.22 €2.87

$2.22 BAM 3.87

45.05%

Eggs

$4.11 €3.67

$3.08 BAM 5.37

33.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.98 €13.36

$10.33 BAM 18.02

45.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.17 €9.07

$7.73 BAM 13.49

31.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.01 €13.40

$14.14 BAM 24.67

6.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 €2.04

$1.42 BAM 2.48

61.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.70 BAM 2.96

1.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.57 BAM 2.74

44.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.59 €3.21

$1.98 BAM 3.46

81.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.98 BAM 1.71

52.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.14 BAM 1.99

42.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.07 BAM 1.86

59.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.80

$0.71 BAM 1.24

25.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.34 €5.66

$4.02 BAM 7.01

57.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.91 €7.06

$8.02 BAM 13.98

-1.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$0.89 BAM 1.56

59.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.42 BAM 2.47

54.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.70 €1.52

$1.24 BAM 2.17

37.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.46 €37.00

$35.01 BAM 61.1

18.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.15 €1.92

$1.47 BAM 2.56

46.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.12 BAM 1.96

11.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.30 €17.22

$8.61 BAM 15.02

124.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.74 BAM 3.03

9.20%

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

$29.6K €26.4K

$29.9K BAM 52.2K

-1.08%

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

$25.1K €22.4K

$23.2K BAM 40.5K

8.27%

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

$287 €256

$220 BAM 384

30.23%

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

$16.33 €14.58

$14.25 BAM 24.86

14.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.49 €37.92

$28.24 BAM 49.28

50.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.66

$40.15 BAM 70.1

35.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.60 €21.96

$19.66 BAM 34.30

25.13%

Cinema Ticket

$10.49 €9.36

$6.68 BAM 11.66

57.04%

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

$661 €590

$206 BAM 359

221.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.9K €12.4K

$3,856 BAM 6,727

260.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 €104

$88.6 BAM 155

31.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.02 €39.29

$37.30 BAM 65.1

18.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 €97.2

$89.4 BAM 156

21.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$146 €130

$99.4 BAM 173

47.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,123 €1,002

$449 BAM 783

150.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$884 €789

$305 BAM 533

189.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,853

$997 BAM 1,740

108.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 €1,277

$587 BAM 1,024

143.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,421 €5,730

$3,243 BAM 5,658

98.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,816 €4,298

$2,384 BAM 4,159

102.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,001 €1,786

$1,023 BAM 1,785

95.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

4.08

-12.75%

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

Last update for Ljubljana: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sarajevo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ljubljana

$884 42.1%

Sarajevo

$305 25.5% 65.5% $579

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ljubljana

$346 16.5%

Sarajevo

$263 21.9% 24% $83

Groceries & Markets

Ljubljana

$307 14.6%

Sarajevo

$231 19.3% 24.7% $76

Eating Out

Ljubljana

$244 11.6%

Sarajevo

$157 13.1% 35.6% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Ljubljana

$187 8.9%

Sarajevo

$142 11.8% 24.3% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Ljubljana

$76 3.6%

Sarajevo

$54 4.5% 29.1% $22

Getting Around

Ljubljana

$57 2.7%

Sarajevo

$47 3.9% 17% $9.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,123 in Ljubljana and $449 in Sarajevo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ljubljana pays 96% 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: $67.0 in Ljubljana vs $40.00 in Sarajevo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $231 per month, with Sarajevo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇮 Ljubljana

🇧🇦 Sarajevo

🕒 Local time

19:41 7:41 PM

Same time as Ljubljana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

285,604 Capital

271,194 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BAM = 0.573 USD

1 BAM = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.573 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.511 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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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

Ljubljana vs Sarajevo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sarajevo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 75% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 96% higher in Ljubljana, 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: $1,123 in Ljubljana versus $449 in Sarajevo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sarajevo runs roughly 18% less than in Ljubljana. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $661 in Ljubljana versus $206 in Sarajevo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Sarajevo versus $2,111 in Ljubljana, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sarajevo but tight or insufficient in Ljubljana. The gap between the two cities makes Sarajevo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Ljubljana and Sarajevo 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 Sarajevo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 75% less than in Ljubljana. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.