Cost of living in Croatia

American teacher Freds interview about cost of living in Croatia

If you are interested to know what is the cost of living in Croatia than I have a good news for you. If you compare the costs in other European countries, you will find Croatia approximately from 30% to 40 % cheaper.

Lets do some comparison to find out the prices with countries that belong to European Community. Household bills and transport costs are much lower in Croatia. Household cost is sometimes more than 50 % lower while transport costs up to 30 % cheaper.

Typically, other items, such as eating out tends to be half the price of that in the EU. A good meal out including starter, main course and dessert can be found for about $ 25, while a takeaway pizza is about $ 6. For the ladies, a good hairdresser will charge less than half EU prices. If you need dental service or perhaps plastic surgery then a Croatian dentist and plastic surgeons will charge about 50% of the price a EU dentist and plastic surgeon would charge.

Here are the monthly costs for one-bedroom apartment (approximately 60 square-meter). Use this currency converter for other currency.

Electricity: 150 kuna/$27.60
Communal maintenance fees: 100 kuna/$18.40
Garbage collection and sewage charges: 150 kuna/$27.60
Water usage: 100 kuna/$18.40
Bottled gas for cooking: 60 kuna/$11

The cost of living in Croatia will be more comprehensive if I give you some supermarket prices which can vary from town to town, but the differences are not significant, unless you are making shopping in Croatias top destinations like Dubrovnik, Hvar or even Split or Zagreb.

Cost of living - supermarket’s prices!

Nescafe (100 grams) 27.88 kuna - $5.12
Mineral water 1.5 liters 6.30 kuna - $1.16
Prosciutto (150 grams) 37.73 kuna - $6.92
Butter (250 grams) 7.99 kuna - $1.47
Sugar 1 kilo 7.99 kuna - $1.47
Milk 1.5 liters 8.80 kuna - $1.61
Bananas 23.3 kuna/kilo - $4.27
Quality orange juice 1 liter 13.80 kuna - $2.53
Beer (33cl cans) 5.99 kuna - $1.10
Minced beef from 40 kuna/kilo - $7.34
Coca Cola (33cl cans) 4.99 kuna - $0.91
Cheese from 41.58 kuna/kilo - $7.63
Carrots 8.88 kuna/kilo - $1.63
Potatoes 5 kuna/kilo - $0.92
Cauliflower 12.98 kuna/ kilo - $2.38
Onions 7.98 kuna/kilo - $1.46
Pork cutlets 44.48 kuna/kilo - $8.16
Whole chicken from 25 kuna/kilo - $4.59
10 large eggs 12.80 kuna - $2.35

Learn more about Kuna(Croatian currency)!

Cost of living - Going out costs!

Espresso coffee costs 4 - 6 kuna ($0.74 - $1.10), a 33 cl glass of local beer averages 8 kuna ($1.47). A pack of local Ronhill cigarettes is 14 kuna ($2.57), but you can buy other brands for less. In bakeries, huge chocolate donuts cost 3 kuna ($0.55) each and bread loaves around $0.66. Gas is very expensive: between 7.80 and 8.50 kuna per liter, which translates to $5.42 to $5.91 per U.S. gallon.

In restaurants, a couple can have a two-course lunch (soup, fish, and salad) for $25. Half a liter of house wine will add around another $4.60. A seafood platter for two (sea bass, orata, grilled calamari, mussels, and fresh shrimp) starts at around 180 kuna/$33. A good steak generally costs around $15.65 and a veal schnitzel $11. Pizzas start at around $8.30.

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