Cost of living comparison

Belarus

compared to

Russia

Russia vs. Belarus Cost of Living Summary

Russia is 26.9% more expensive than Belarus overall.

Restaurants: pay 15.2% more in Russia
Groceries: pay 12.6% more in Russia
Transportation: pay 27.1% more in Russia
Housing: pay 47.0% more in Russia
Childcare: pay 17.6% less in Russia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.4% more in Russia
Clothing: pay 31.1% more in Russia

The cost of housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, and groceries in Russia are more expensive than in Belarus.

Planning a move to Russia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Russia vs. Belarus Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Russia instead of Belarus, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 15.2% more for restaurants

	Belarus	Russia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.13 BYN27.54	$10.83 RUB894.72	+18.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.06 BYN18.26	$6.39 RUB528.16	+5.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 BYN2.47	$1.16 RUB95.62	+41.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 BYN1.60	$0.60 RUB49.27	+12.2%
Average			+15.2%

Belarus vs. Russia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.6% more for groceries

	Belarus	Russia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.70 BYN2.10	$0.77 RUB63.38	+10.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.61 BYN10.87	$5.51 RUB455.14	+52.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.35 BYN10.11	$4.39 RUB362.53	+30.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.53 BYN4.63	$1.57 RUB129.78	+2.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.12 BYN6.40	$2.44 RUB201.91	+15.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.66 BYN1.98	$0.84 RUB69.40	+27.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 BYN2.48	$0.80 RUB66.30	-2.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 BYN2.75	$0.81 RUB67.22	-10.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 BYN3.24	$1.33 RUB109.55	+23.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.27 BYN0.82	$0.35 RUB29.18	+30.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.36 BYN1.08	$0.28 RUB23.52	-20.9%
Average			+12.6%

Belarus vs. Russia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 27.1% more for transportation

	Belarus	Russia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.28 BYN9.91	$3.08 RUB254.77	-6.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$14.80 BYN44.63	$24.17 RUB1,997.57	+63.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,373.99 BYN61,445.50	$32,081.81 RUB3M	+57.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.26 BYN15.88	$5.45 RUB450.28	+3.5%
Average			+27.1%

Belarus vs. Russia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.0% more for housing

	Belarus	Russia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.80 BYN41.61	$8.47 RUB700.03	-38.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$335.81 BYN1,012.76	$496.53 RUB41,028.91	+47.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$226.01 BYN681.62	$335.29 RUB27,705.54	+48.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$48.74 BYN147.00	$92.30 RUB7,626.55	+89.4%
Average			+47.0%

Belarus vs. Russia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.6% less for childcare

	Belarus	Russia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$337.47 BYN1,017.77	$402.75 RUB33,279.52	+19.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,502.72 BYN52,786.10	$9,958.40 RUB823K	-43.1%
Average			-17.6%

Belarus vs. Russia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Belarus	Russia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.62 BYN4.88	$2.06 RUB170.10	+27.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.86 BYN5.61	$2.73 RUB225.71	+46.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.42 BYN7.30	$2.85 RUB235.62	+17.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.16 BYN100.00	$37.43 RUB3,092.83	+12.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.56 BYN13.77	$6.26 RUB517.18	+37.1%
Average			+28.4%

Belarus vs. Russia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.1% more for clothing

	Belarus	Russia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.04 BYN147.90	$83.60 RUB6,907.85	+70.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.02 BYN132.77	$55.20 RUB4,561.14	+25.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.41 BYN314.89	$125.97 RUB10,408.90	+20.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.29 BYN293.40	$111.42 RUB9,206.92	+14.5%
Average			+31.1%

Belarus vs. Russia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Belarus vs. Russia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Russia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 2.1 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Russia

Size Comparison · See true size

Belarus is about 82 times smaller than Russia.

Moving from Belarus to Russia · UN DESA 2020

763,879 people born in Belarus live in Russia.

More cost comparisons

Belarus vs.

Ukraine

Belarus vs.

Poland

Belarus vs.

Kazakhstan

Belarus vs.

United States

Belarus vs.

Latvia

Belarus vs.

Lithuania

Belarus vs.

Germany

Belarus vs.

Uzbekistan

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Minsk vs. Moscow

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Belarus

Add prices for Russia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Russia or Belarus. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.