Cost of living comparison

Russia

compared to

Moldova

Balti vs. Saint Petersburg Cost of Living Summary

Balti is 27.0% cheaper than Saint Petersburg.

Restaurants: pay 0.1% less in Balti
Groceries: pay 14.6% less in Balti
Transportation: pay 12.0% less in Balti
Housing: pay 29.4% less in Balti
Childcare: pay 75.1% less in Balti
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.6% less in Balti
Clothing: pay 51.4% less in Balti

Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation are lower in Balti.

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Balti vs. Saint Petersburg Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Balti instead of Saint Petersburg, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.1% less for restaurants

	Saint Petersburg	Balti
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.46 RUB976.26	$8.41 MDL150.88	-26.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.43 RUB547.90	$10.52 MDL188.60	+63.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 RUB127.01	$1.08 MDL19.45	-27.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 RUB58.37	$0.67 MDL12.07	-1.8%
Average			-0.1%

Saint Petersburg vs. Balti - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.6% less for groceries

	Saint Petersburg	Balti
Bread 1 loaf	$0.93 RUB79.20	$0.48 MDL8.55	-48.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.02 RUB512.63	$3.37 MDL60.35	-44.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.17 RUB355.25	$4.67 MDL83.77	+12.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 RUB139.71	$2.22 MDL39.83	+35.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.85 RUB242.54	$2.12 MDL38.01	-25.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.77 RUB65.29	$0.46 MDL8.21	-40.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 RUB61.87	$1.02 MDL18.25	+40.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.75 RUB64.06	$0.84 MDL15.03	+11.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 RUB117.87	$1.05 MDL18.91	-23.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 RUB30.55	$0.34 MDL6.02	-6.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 RUB23.88	$0.23 MDL4.11	-18.3%
Average			-14.6%

Saint Petersburg vs. Balti - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.0% less for transportation

	Saint Petersburg	Balti
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.25 RUB277.12	$6.01 MDL107.72	+84.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.51 RUB4,471.85	$16.83 MDL301.76	-68.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,093.40 RUB3M	$33,658.64 MDL604K	-4.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.60 RUB647.52	$4.82 MDL86.51	-36.6%
Average			-12.0%

Saint Petersburg vs. Balti - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.4% less for housing

	Saint Petersburg	Balti
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.55 RUB728.46	$11.22 MDL201.18	+31.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$730.46 RUB62,205.90	$392.43 MDL7,036.52	-46.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$437.21 RUB37,232.22	$280.49 MDL5,029.40	-35.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$112.08 RUB9,544.76	$171.59 MDL3,076.81	+53.1%
Average			-29.4%

Saint Petersburg vs. Balti - Cost of housing

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pay 75.1% less for childcare

	Saint Petersburg	Balti
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$549.43 RUB46,789.24	$112.20 MDL2,011.76	-79.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,234.08 RUB1M	$5,236.33 MDL93,891.86	-69.6%
Average			-75.1%

Saint Petersburg vs. Balti - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Saint Petersburg	Balti
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.63 RUB224.14	$1.12 MDL20.12	-57.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.03 RUB257.83	$1.74 MDL31.18	-42.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.92 RUB249.04	$3.37 MDL60.35	+15.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.61 RUB3,373.30	$36.46 MDL653.82	-7.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.02 RUB597.71	$7.57 MDL135.79	+7.9%
Average			-23.6%

Saint Petersburg vs. Balti - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.4% less for clothing

	Saint Petersburg	Balti
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.36 RUB7,865.29	$44.88 MDL804.70	-51.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.79 RUB4,325.52	$33.66 MDL603.53	-33.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$134.52 RUB11,456.07	$56.10 MDL1,005.88	-58.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$121.11 RUB10,313.39	$50.49 MDL905.29	-58.3%
Average			-51.4%

Saint Petersburg 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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