Cost of living comparison

Bosnia and Herzegovina

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. Sarajevo Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 5.0% more expensive than Sarajevo.

Restaurants: pay 1.7% more in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 16.0% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 26.7% less in Chisinau
Housing: pay 30.2% more in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 78.1% more in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.3% less in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 13.2% more in Chisinau

The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, and restaurants in Chisinau are more expensive than in Sarajevo. Expenses including transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Chisinau. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Chisinau.

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Chisinau vs. Sarajevo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chisinau instead of Sarajevo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 1.7% more for restaurants

	Sarajevo	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.58 BAM14.93	$11.22 MDL201.58	+30.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.58 BAM14.93	$8.70 MDL156.22	+1.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.20 BAM3.82	$1.21 MDL21.71	-45.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 BAM2.52	$0.89 MDL16.00	-38.4%
Average			+1.7%

Sarajevo vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.0% less for groceries

	Sarajevo	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 BAM2.08	$0.71 MDL12.77	-40.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 BAM8.96	$4.89 MDL87.82	-5.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.50 BAM7.83	$4.73 MDL85.03	+5.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.04 BAM5.29	$2.79 MDL50.06	-8.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.43 BAM5.97	$2.36 MDL42.34	-31.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.66 BAM1.15	$0.44 MDL7.87	-33.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 BAM1.31	$0.87 MDL15.68	+15.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 BAM1.21	$0.94 MDL16.87	+35.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 BAM1.60	$1.01 MDL18.06	+9.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 BAM0.76	$0.31 MDL5.61	-28.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 BAM0.89	$0.25 MDL4.42	-52.1%
Average			-16.0%

Sarajevo vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.7% less for transportation

	Sarajevo	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.41 BAM11.15	$6.44 MDL115.64	+0.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.33 BAM59.73	$13.52 MDL242.90	-60.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,737.21 BAM51,736.89	$29,507.41 MDL530K	-0.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.58 BAM18.42	$4.94 MDL88.69	-53.4%
Average			-26.7%

Sarajevo vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.2% more for housing

	Sarajevo	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.86 BAM48.47	$10.59 MDL190.33	-62.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$454.54 BAM790.80	$679.74 MDL12,212.58	+49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$310.33 BAM539.92	$435.34 MDL7,821.60	+40.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$167.00 BAM290.54	$185.85 MDL3,339.13	+11.3%
Average			+30.2%

Sarajevo vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

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pay 78.1% more for childcare

	Sarajevo	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$206.61 BAM359.46	$434.06 MDL7,798.47	+110.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,870.15 BAM6,733.30	$5,841.67 MDL105K	+50.9%
Average			+78.1%

Sarajevo vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Sarajevo	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.86 BAM4.98	$2.24 MDL40.32	-21.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.29 BAM3.99	$2.16 MDL38.87	-5.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.95 BAM6.87	$3.42 MDL61.48	-13.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.01 BAM69.61	$41.67 MDL748.71	+4.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.87 BAM11.95	$8.41 MDL151.18	+22.6%
Average			-1.3%

Sarajevo vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.2% more for clothing

	Sarajevo	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$87.64 BAM152.48	$79.80 MDL1,433.71	-8.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.97 BAM66.06	$47.07 MDL845.61	+24.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.59 BAM157.61	$114.14 MDL2,050.64	+26.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.13 BAM174.20	$115.56 MDL2,076.23	+15.4%
Average			+13.2%

Sarajevo vs. Chisinau - 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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