Cost of living comparison

compared to

Chisinau vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 2.1 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 2.8% less in Chisinau
Groceries
pay 16.9% less in Chisinau
Housing
pay 6.1 times more in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports
pay 43.7% less in Chisinau

Expenses including entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Chisinau. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Chisinau.

Chisinau vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chisinau instead of P'yongyang, you would:

pay 2.8% less for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.81
KPW4,327
$11.22
MDL201.58
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$21.26
KPW19,136
$8.70
MDL156.22
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
KPW1,985
$1.21
MDL21.71

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pay 16.9% less for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Chisinau
Bread
1 loaf
$2.30
KPW2,071
$0.71
MDL12.77
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $4.89
MDL87.82
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
KPW3,195
$4.73
MDL85.03

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $6.44
MDL115.64
Monthly public transit pass ?? $13.52
MDL242.90
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $29,507.41
MDL530K

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pay 6.1 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Chisinau
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $10.59
MDL190.33
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $89.58
KPW80,621
$679.74
MDL12,212.58
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $89.58
KPW80,621
$435.34
MDL7,821.60

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $434.06
MDL7,798.47
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $5,841.67
MDL105K

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pay 43.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $13.44
KPW12,093
$2.24
MDL40.32
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.12
KPW1,008
$2.16
MDL38.87
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $3.42
MDL61.48

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Chisinau
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $79.80
MDL1,433.71
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $47.07
MDL845.61
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $114.14
MDL2,050.64

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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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