Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Novi Sad and Karlovac

For one person, living is cheaper in Karlovac: $1,222 a month against $1,393 in Novi Sad, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Novi Sad
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Novi Sad Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Karlovac
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Karlovac Living Index

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Novi Sad

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,393

/mo nomad

Karlovac

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Novi Sad and in Karlovac

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,393 in Novi Sad versus $1,222 in Karlovac.

Novi Sad $1,393
Karlovac $1,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,154 in Novi Sad versus $1,821 in Karlovac.

Novi Sad $2,154
Karlovac $1,821

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,915 in Novi Sad versus $2,419 in Karlovac.

Novi Sad $2,915
Karlovac $2,419

Living in Novi Sad is roughly 14% more expensive than in Karlovac, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Novi Sad is 2% above, Karlovac is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.11 RSD 1,059

$11.20 €10.03

-9.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.2 RSD 5,255

$44.46 €39.82

12.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.06 RSD 1,263

$7.61 €6.82

58.48%

Cappuccino

$2.65 RSD 278

$1.96 €1.76

35.20%

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

$2.37 RSD 248

$2.45 €2.19

-3.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 RSD 191

$1.61 €1.44

13.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.93 RSD 307

$2.43 €2.18

20.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 RSD 390

$2.46 €2.20

51.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 RSD 146

$1.13 €1.01

23.01%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 RSD 97.5

$1.13 €1.02

-17.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.65 RSD 278

$1.53 €1.37

73.20%

Eggs

$2.67 RSD 280

$3.16 €2.83

-15.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.46 RSD 1,410

$9.05 €8.11

48.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.21 RSD 756

$9.86 €8.83

-26.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.06 RSD 1,473

$12.02 €10.77

16.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.76 RSD 184

$1.97 €1.77

-10.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 RSD 199

$1.84 €1.65

3.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 RSD 174

$1.83 €1.64

-9.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RSD 266

$2.01 €1.80

26.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 RSD 104

$1.38 €1.23

-27.54%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 RSD 72.5

$1.06 €0.95

-34.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 RSD 99.5

$1.63 €1.46

-41.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 RSD 71.5

$1.17 €1.05

-41.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.69 RSD 492

$5.69 €5.10

-17.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.79 RSD 816

$6.67 €5.98

16.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 RSD 90.9

$1.61 €1.44

-45.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RSD 241

$2.31 €2.07

-0.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 RSD 98.4

$3.33 €2.98

-71.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.22 RSD 2,537

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.31 RSD 242

$5.66 €5.07

-59.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 RSD 96.2

$1.09 €0.98

-15.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.42 RSD 1,092

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 RSD 190

$1.69 €1.51

7.10%

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

$30.1K RSD 3.2M

$26.3K €23.6K

14.45%

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

$23.8K RSD 2.5M

$24.7K €22.1K

-3.87%

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

$224 RSD 23.5K

$178 €160

25.68%

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

$20.29 RSD 2,125

$27.68 €24.79

-26.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.84 RSD 3,544

$38.87 €34.81

-12.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.97 RSD 3,663

$38.63 €34.60

-9.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.12 RSD 1,165

$18.24 €16.34

-39.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.88 RSD 721

$6.55 €5.87

5.04%

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

$364 RSD 38.1K

$427 €383

-14.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,540 RSD 789.7K

$6,876 €6,158

9.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 RSD 12.3K

$89.3 €79.9

31.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.36 RSD 4,647

$49.51 €44.34

-10.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 RSD 14.1K

$88.8 €79.5

52.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 RSD 13.0K

$78.3 €70.1

58.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$509 RSD 53.3K

$478 €428

6.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$411 RSD 43.0K

$349 €312

17.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,034 RSD 108.3K

$733 €657

41.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$824 RSD 86.3K

$530 €475

55.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,595 RSD 376.5K

$2,746 €2,460

30.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,621 RSD 274.6K

$2,382 €2,133

10.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,230 RSD 128.9K

$1,399 €1,253

-12.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.17

3.72

38.98%

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

Last update for Novi Sad: October 25, 2026

Last update for Karlovac: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Novi Sad

$411 29.5%

Karlovac

$349 28.5% 15.1% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Novi Sad

$278 20%

Karlovac

$245 20.1% 12% $33

Groceries & Markets

Novi Sad

$244 17.5%

Karlovac

$245 20.1% 0.6% $1.6

Clothing & Footwear

Novi Sad

$189 13.6%

Karlovac

$138 11.3% 27.3% $52

Eating Out

Novi Sad

$188 13.5%

Karlovac

$169 13.9% 9.8% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Novi Sad

$49 3.5%

Karlovac

$52 4.2% 6.2% $3

Getting Around

Novi Sad

$35 2.5%

Karlovac

$24 * 2% 30% $10

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $509 in Novi Sad and $478 in Karlovac. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karlovac pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50 in Novi Sad vs $44 in Karlovac. Groceries flip the comparison at $244 vs $245, with Novi Sad cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇸 Novi Sad

🇭🇷 Karlovac

🕒 Local time

06:07 6:07 AM

Same time as Novi Sad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

260,438

41,869

💱 Currency

Serbian Dinar RSD din

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 RSD = 9.55 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.55 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RSD – Serbian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇸 Serbian Dinar (din)

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 105 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.55 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.55 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RSD in detail →

On the map

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Novi Sad Karlovac 340 km

From you

Novi Sad
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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

Novi Sad vs Karlovac: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karlovac is about 12% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 12% lower in Novi Sad. 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: $509 in Novi Sad versus $478 in Karlovac. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Karlovac – a meal for two runs $44 versus $50 in Novi Sad. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Childcare runs $364 in Novi Sad versus $427 in Karlovac. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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, Novi Sad and Karlovac are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.