Cost of living comparison

Bosnia and Herzegovina

compared to

Croatia

Zagreb vs. Sarajevo Cost of Living Summary

Zagreb is 45.0% more expensive than Sarajevo.

Restaurants: pay 26.3% more in Zagreb
Groceries: pay 29.6% more in Zagreb
Transportation: pay 16.8% more in Zagreb
Housing: pay 78.7% more in Zagreb
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Zagreb
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.4% more in Zagreb
Clothing: pay 11.9% more in Zagreb

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

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Zagreb vs. Sarajevo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.3% more for restaurants

	Sarajevo	Zagreb
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.58 BAM14.93	$12.32 HRK82.58	+43.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.58 BAM14.93	$8.12 HRK54.42	-5.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.20 BAM3.82	$3.04 HRK20.36	+38.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 BAM2.52	$2.59 HRK17.36	+79.0%
Average			+26.3%

Sarajevo vs. Zagreb - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.6% more for groceries

	Sarajevo	Zagreb
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 BAM2.08	$1.63 HRK10.95	+37.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 BAM8.96	$7.46 HRK50.04	+45.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.50 BAM7.83	$4.78 HRK32.05	+6.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.04 BAM5.29	$3.93 HRK26.33	+29.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.43 BAM5.97	$5.41 HRK36.30	+57.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.66 BAM1.15	$1.04 HRK6.96	+57.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 BAM1.31	$0.79 HRK5.32	+5.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 BAM1.21	$0.95 HRK6.35	+36.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 BAM1.60	$1.15 HRK7.71	+25.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 BAM0.76	$0.60 HRK4.05	+39.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 BAM0.89	$0.53 HRK3.54	+2.7%
Average			+29.6%

Sarajevo vs. Zagreb - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.8% more for transportation

	Sarajevo	Zagreb
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.41 BAM11.15	$7.15 HRK47.92	+11.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.33 BAM59.73	$53.50 HRK358.68	+55.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,737.21 BAM51,736.89	$27,993.39 HRK188K	-5.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.58 BAM18.42	$13.44 HRK90.08	+26.9%
Average			+16.8%

Sarajevo vs. Zagreb - Cost of transportation

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pay 78.7% more for housing

	Sarajevo	Zagreb
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.86 BAM48.47	$40.80 HRK273.55	+46.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$454.54 BAM790.80	$869.66 HRK5,830.31	+91.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$310.33 BAM539.92	$659.99 HRK4,424.62	+112.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$167.00 BAM290.54	$167.33 HRK1,121.83	+0.2%
Average			+78.7%

Sarajevo vs. Zagreb - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Sarajevo	Zagreb
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$206.61 BAM359.46	$494.08 HRK3,312.40	+139.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,870.15 BAM6,733.30	$9,918.06 HRK66,491.85	+156.3%
Average			+147.6%

Sarajevo vs. Zagreb - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Sarajevo	Zagreb
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.86 BAM4.98	$3.36 HRK22.52	+17.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.29 BAM3.99	$2.50 HRK16.73	+8.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.95 BAM6.87	$5.77 HRK38.66	+46.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.01 BAM69.61	$50.32 HRK337.34	+25.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.87 BAM11.95	$8.96 HRK60.05	+30.5%
Average			+23.4%

Sarajevo vs. Zagreb - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.9% more for clothing

	Sarajevo	Zagreb
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$87.64 BAM152.48	$105.08 HRK704.49	+19.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.97 BAM66.06	$43.32 HRK290.43	+14.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.59 BAM157.61	$94.92 HRK636.35	+4.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.13 BAM174.20	$109.43 HRK733.62	+9.3%
Average			+11.9%

Sarajevo vs. Zagreb - 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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