Cost of living comparison

Iran

compared to

Moldova

Balti vs. Karaj Cost of Living Summary

Balti is 76.7% more expensive than Karaj.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Balti
Groceries: pay 65.6% more in Balti
Transportation: pay 2.8 times more in Balti
Housing: pay 45.8% more in Balti
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Balti
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.4 times more in Balti
Clothing: pay 4.7% less in Balti

The cost of transportation, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and housing in Balti are more expensive than in Karaj. Notably, transportation, childcare, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Balti.

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Balti vs. Karaj Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Balti instead of Karaj, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Karaj	Balti
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.75 IRR5M	$8.41 MDL151.18	+124.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.00 IRR5M	$10.52 MDL188.98	+163.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 IRR623K	$1.08 MDL19.49	+139.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.69 IRR2M	$0.67 MDL12.09	-60.2%
Average			+100.8%

Karaj vs. Balti - Cost of restaurants

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pay 65.6% more for groceries

	Karaj	Balti
Bread 1 loaf	$0.50 IRR686K	$0.48 MDL8.57	-4.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.21 IRR3M	$3.37 MDL60.47	+52.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.53 IRR3M	$4.67 MDL83.94	+84.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.05 IRR1M	$2.22 MDL39.91	+111.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 IRR2M	$2.12 MDL38.08	+38.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.40 IRR550K	$0.46 MDL8.23	+14.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 IRR1M	$1.02 MDL18.29	+29.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.34 IRR471K	$0.84 MDL15.06	+144.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 IRR301K	$1.05 MDL18.95	+381.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.20 IRR274K	$0.34 MDL6.03	+68.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.21 IRR284K	$0.23 MDL4.11	+10.7%
Average			+65.6%

Karaj vs. Balti - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.8 times more for transportation

	Karaj	Balti
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$0.34 IRR462K	$6.01 MDL107.94	+1687.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.00 IRR18M	$16.83 MDL302.36	+29.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,000.00 IRR69B	$33,658.64 MDL605K	-32.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.70 IRR4M	$4.82 MDL86.68	+78.7%
Average			+175.4%

Karaj vs. Balti - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.8% more for housing

	Karaj	Balti
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$3.70 IRR5M	$11.22 MDL201.58	+203.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$292.57 IRR402M	$392.43 MDL7,050.49	+34.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$489.49 IRR673M	$280.49 MDL5,039.39	-42.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$9.95 IRR14M	$171.59 MDL3,082.92	+1624.2%
Average			+45.8%

Karaj vs. Balti - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Karaj	Balti
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$107.76 IRR148M	$112.20 MDL2,015.76	+4.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$827.70 IRR1B	$5,236.33 MDL94,078.34	+532.6%
Average			+156.6%

Karaj vs. Balti - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.4 times more for entertainment and sports

	Karaj	Balti
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.50 IRR687K	$1.12 MDL20.16	+124.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.08 IRR1M	$1.74 MDL31.24	+61.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.50 IRR3M	$3.37 MDL60.47	+34.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.73 IRR31M	$36.46 MDL655.12	+60.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.09 IRR2M	$7.57 MDL136.06	+593.3%
Average			+143.3%

Karaj vs. Balti - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.7% less for clothing

	Karaj	Balti
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.00 IRR34M	$44.88 MDL806.30	+79.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.33 IRR39M	$33.66 MDL604.73	+18.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.31 IRR134M	$56.10 MDL1,007.88	-42.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$75.17 IRR103M	$50.49 MDL907.09	-32.8%
Average			-4.7%

Karaj vs. Balti - Cost of clothing

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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

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