Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Plovdiv and Belgrade

For one person, living is cheaper in Plovdiv: $1,212 a month against $1,538 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Plovdiv
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Plovdiv Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
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Belgrade Living Index

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Plovdiv

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,212

/mo nomad

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,538

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Plovdiv and in Belgrade

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

A single person spends $1,212 per month in Plovdiv vs $1,538 in Belgrade, rent included.

Plovdiv $1,212
Belgrade $1,538

A couple spends around $1,850 per month in Plovdiv vs $2,321 in Belgrade, rent included.

Plovdiv $1,850
Belgrade $2,321

A family of three spends $2,489 per month in Plovdiv vs $3,105 in Belgrade, rent included.

Plovdiv $2,489
Belgrade $3,105

Plovdiv is about 21% cheaper than Belgrade, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Plovdiv sits 10% below the global median, while Belgrade is 15% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.12 BGN 15.96

$13.33 RSD 1,389

-31.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.93 BGN 78.6

$58.4 RSD 6,085

-23.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.39 BGN 16.43

$13.58 RSD 1,414

-30.85%

Cappuccino

$2.78 BGN 4.86

$3.13 RSD 326

-11.18%

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

$1.77 BGN 3.09

$2.77 RSD 288

-36.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 BGN 2.76

$2.27 RSD 237

-30.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 BGN 4.43

$3.75 RSD 390

-32.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 BGN 7.25

$4.38 RSD 456

-5.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 BGN 3.07

$1.40 RSD 146

25.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 BGN 2.03

$1.17 RSD 122

-0.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 BGN 3.93

$2.71 RSD 282

-17.34%

Eggs

$3.64 BGN 6.37

$2.78 RSD 289

30.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.42 BGN 19.98

$11.36 RSD 1,184

0.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.46 BGN 14.81

$7.01 RSD 731

20.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.11 BGN 24.70

$15.72 RSD 1,638

-10.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 BGN 2.92

$1.66 RSD 173

0.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 BGN 3.18

$1.81 RSD 188

0.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 BGN 3.33

$1.83 RSD 190

3.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.58 BGN 4.51

$3.13 RSD 326

-17.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.83

$0.88 RSD 91.3

18.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 BGN 1.85

$0.67 RSD 70.3

58.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 BGN 2.04

$0.81 RSD 84.4

43.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 BGN 1.27

$0.68 RSD 70.9

7.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.06 BGN 7.11

$4.78 RSD 498

-15.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 BGN 10.79

$8.54 RSD 889

-27.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 BGN 1.96

$0.94 RSD 97.7

19.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 BGN 3.56

$1.44 RSD 150

40.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 BGN 0.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.99 BGN 50.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 BGN 2.27

$3.09 RSD 322

-58.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 BGN 1.06

$1.02 RSD 107

-40.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.13 BGN 17.73

$17.18 RSD 1,789

-41.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 BGN 2.98

$1.87 RSD 195

-9.09%

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

$30.0K BGN 52.4K

$30.7K RSD 3.2M

-2.55%

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

$25.1K BGN 43.8K

$24.3K RSD 2.5M

3.23%

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

$114 BGN 200

$218 RSD 22.7K

-47.46%

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

$18.53 BGN 32.43

$25.24 RSD 2,629

-26.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.25 BGN 26.69

$35.35 RSD 3,683

-56.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.23 BGN 70.4

$41.77 RSD 4,351

-3.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.30 BGN 35.52

$22.80 RSD 2,375

-10.96%

Cinema Ticket

$9.01 BGN 15.76

$8.47 RSD 882

6.38%

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

$515 BGN 901

$426 RSD 44.4K

20.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,450 BGN 9,537

$11.4K RSD 1.2M

-52.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.3 BGN 118

$111 RSD 11.6K

-39.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.10 BGN 73.7

$45.99 RSD 4,791

-8.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 BGN 168

$119 RSD 12.4K

-19.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 BGN 181

$154 RSD 16.0K

-32.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$530 BGN 928

$821 RSD 85.6K

-35.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$388 BGN 679

$561 RSD 58.4K

-30.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$878 BGN 1,536

$1,511 RSD 157.4K

-41.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$670 BGN 1,173

$942 RSD 98.1K

-28.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,226 BGN 3,896

$5,312 RSD 553.4K

-58.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,572 BGN 2,751

$3,165 RSD 329.7K

-50.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,161 BGN 2,032

$1,228 RSD 127.9K

-5.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

4.61

-32.75%

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

Last update for Plovdiv: October 6, 2026

Last update for Belgrade: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Plovdiv

$388 32.6%

Belgrade

$561 35.5% 44.5% $173

Groceries & Markets

Plovdiv

$252 21.2%

Belgrade

$246 15.6% 2.3% $5.8

Eating Out

Plovdiv

$169 14.2%

Belgrade

$233 14.7% 37.8% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Plovdiv

$148 12.5%

Belgrade

$278 17.6% 87.8% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Plovdiv

$139 11.7%

Belgrade

$194 12.3% 39.3% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Plovdiv

$58 4.9%

Belgrade

$59 3.7% 0.8% $0.5

Getting Around

Plovdiv

$36 3%

Belgrade

$8.2 * 0.5% 76.9% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $530 in Plovdiv versus $821 in Belgrade. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 6% higher in Belgrade, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Plovdiv versus $58.0 in Belgrade. Groceries tell a different story – $252 in Plovdiv vs $246 in Belgrade – so Belgrade wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Plovdiv

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🕒 Local time

12:04 12:04 PM

11:04 11:04 AM

1 h behind Plovdiv

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

368,983

1,197,714 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.6 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.56 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.6 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.56 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Plovdiv Belgrade 460 km

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Plovdiv
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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

Plovdiv vs Belgrade: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,212 in Plovdiv, $1,538 in Belgrade – roughly 27% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,817 per month in Plovdiv and $2,307 in Belgrade. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Plovdiv, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Plovdiv and $58.0 in Belgrade. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 2% cheaper in Belgrade – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Plovdiv, where all-in costs run around $1,212, than in Belgrade at $1,538. In Plovdiv it covers expenses comfortably, while in Belgrade it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Plovdiv has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,212 in Plovdiv to $1,538 in Belgrade. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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