Cost of living comparison

Russia

compared to

Moldova

Moldova vs. Russia Cost of Living Summary

Moldova is 8.7% cheaper than Russia overall.

Restaurants: pay 4.4% more in Moldova
Groceries: pay 12.3% less in Moldova
Transportation: pay 14.2% more in Moldova
Housing: pay 4.5% less in Moldova
Childcare: pay 45.4% less in Moldova
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.5% less in Moldova
Clothing: pay 33.9% less in Moldova

The cost of transportation and restaurants in Moldova are more expensive than in Russia. Expenses including childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing are lower in Moldova.

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Moldova vs. Russia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.4% more for restaurants

	Russia	Moldova
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 RUB894.72	$9.35 MDL167.98	-13.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.39 RUB528.16	$8.74 MDL157.06	+36.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.16 RUB95.62	$1.02 MDL18.32	-11.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 RUB49.27	$0.67 MDL12.05	+12.5%
Average			+4.4%

Russia vs. Moldova - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.3% less for groceries

	Russia	Moldova
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 RUB63.38	$0.51 MDL9.13	-33.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.51 RUB455.14	$3.87 MDL69.59	-29.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.39 RUB362.53	$4.41 MDL79.21	+0.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.57 RUB129.78	$2.31 MDL41.48	+47.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.44 RUB201.91	$2.20 MDL39.50	-10.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.84 RUB69.40	$0.45 MDL8.11	-46.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 RUB66.30	$0.93 MDL16.65	+15.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 RUB67.22	$0.87 MDL15.67	+7.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.33 RUB109.55	$1.04 MDL18.65	-21.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 RUB29.18	$0.31 MDL5.63	-11.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 RUB23.52	$0.23 MDL4.22	-17.6%
Average			-12.3%

Russia vs. Moldova - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.2% more for transportation

	Russia	Moldova
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.08 RUB254.77	$6.15 MDL110.50	+99.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.17 RUB1,997.57	$17.07 MDL306.73	-29.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,081.81 RUB3M	$32,274.90 MDL580K	+0.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.45 RUB450.28	$4.30 MDL77.27	-21.1%
Average			+14.2%

Russia vs. Moldova - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.5% less for housing

	Russia	Moldova
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.47 RUB700.03	$10.64 MDL191.11	+25.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$496.53 RUB41,028.91	$414.42 MDL7,445.70	-16.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$335.29 RUB27,705.54	$301.91 MDL5,424.26	-10.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$92.30 RUB7,626.55	$134.34 MDL2,413.65	+45.6%
Average			-4.5%

Russia vs. Moldova - Cost of housing

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pay 45.4% less for childcare

	Russia	Moldova
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$402.75 RUB33,279.52	$219.48 MDL3,943.33	-45.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,958.40 RUB823K	$5,438.11 MDL97,703.64	-45.4%
Average			-45.4%

Russia vs. Moldova - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Russia	Moldova
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.06 RUB170.10	$1.50 MDL26.88	-27.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.73 RUB225.71	$1.77 MDL31.77	-35.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.85 RUB235.62	$3.38 MDL60.81	+18.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.43 RUB3,092.83	$31.66 MDL568.73	-15.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.26 RUB517.18	$6.45 MDL115.91	+3.1%
Average			-15.5%

Russia vs. Moldova - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.9% less for clothing

	Russia	Moldova
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$83.60 RUB6,907.85	$52.78 MDL948.25	-36.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.20 RUB4,561.14	$38.13 MDL685.02	-30.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.97 RUB10,408.90	$92.27 MDL1,657.83	-26.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.42 RUB9,206.92	$66.57 MDL1,196.02	-40.3%
Average			-33.9%

Russia vs. Moldova - 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

Compare further: Russia vs. Moldova

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Moldova?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Be 4.7 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Moldova

Size Comparison · See true size

Russia is about 505 times bigger than Moldova.

Moving from Russia to Moldova · UN DESA 2020

40,018 people born in Russia live in Moldova.

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