Croatia: Cost of Living in 2023 (Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split Etc)

The cost of living in Croatia has grown steadily over the past few years, mainly influenced by the country’s economic growth, boosted mainly by tourism and good usage of European funds.

And in today’s article, I will help you understand what is the cost of living in Croatia in 2023 – no matter if you choose one of the larger cities like Zagreb, Split or Dubrovnik and such or smaller ones.

You will see that the differences are not huge: usually, rental prices are higher in larger cities, but other costs are pretty much the same throughout the country.

Now, I have to specify that today we are going to talk about living in Croatia long term, as opposed to traveling here for a shorter period of time.

Going on vacation would cost you a bit more than it would to live here (due to short-term rental prices and increased spending on entertainment and food). So if you are interested in estimates for a holiday here, it might be a better idea to check my prices in Croatia article.

This article, on the other hand, is intended to help those who are planning to live in Croatia longer term (at least a couple of months) to better understand the cost of living and prepare for their move here.

Your monthly expenses in Croatia will be slightly influenced by the city or town you choose as your home base: larger cities like Zagreb or Split are more expensive than smaller ones, while popular touristic destinations (like Dubrovnink, for example) are still usually priced for tourists, which means that it costs more to live there even as a local.

Also, you should know that each person has different expectations and spending habits, so expenses will vary from individual to individual. Do not take my estimates as set in stone numbers!

This means that for some, my anticipated monthly costs will be higher and for others, lower than they will end up spending. But even so, it’s still good to have something to look at in order to prepare for your longer term move to Croatia.

I am still basing these on my own numbers – so at least it’s doable. If I can live in the country on these amounts, it means that others could too – and live a decent life also!

What’s the estimated cost of living in Croatia this year?

If you don’t want to go in depth with my entire analysis, here is the quick answer:

The cost of living in Croatia, for a single person, will be between €1,000 – €1,500 per month. For a couple, the amount would be lower, at around €1,800 per month. This is influenced by your style of living, what you spend money on and the city you choose to live in.

As I said in the intro, Croatia’s prices kept going up over the past few years. Part of that was the increase in the salaries people earn here, and part of it was a natural effect of the tourism boost and the country’s economic boost.

Inflation also played a role for this year’s increase, as 2022 saw one of the highest inflation rates in the country and 2023 seems to be the same.

Add to that the fact that Croatia has switched to using the Euro starting January 2023 – and this is something some believe will increase the living expenses a bit. This still needs time to be proven wrong or right.

How much money do you need to live comfortably in Croatia?

I would say that in order to live a comfortable life here, one would need at least 1,200 Euros per month. You can still make ends meet on 1,000 Euros (but it won’t be as pleasant), while 1,500 each month would give you a lot of extra options.

Croatia remains a cheap country to live in, especially if you compare it with others in Western Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and so on.

When living longer term here, you will have two major costs: rent (or mortgage if you buy your own place) and food costs.

Afterwards, we have smaller amounts that can still add up, like utilities, entertainment, health-related costs, generic house-related things and other unexpected or miscellaneous expenses. I will try to cover them all below.

So let’s get more in depth and see how each of the main expenses look like in the country this year!

Accommodation / rental prices in Croatia

Rent is still pretty much affordable in all cities here, even though prices have increased a bit over the years. It depends a lot when you come here to rent and for how long.

If you try to rent a place for a shorter period of time, and come here during the summer season, you’re most likely going to spend a lot more than otherwise.

It’s better to look at one of the top all inclusive resorts here if you’re planning a vacation in order to get the biggest bang for your buck.

But if you’re looking to rent for a longer period of time (12 months, for example), your monthly rental costs will be much lower.

This means that, no matter what city you choose to live in, you can expect rental prices to go as low as the ones listed below. Note that these are the lower end of the spectrum. From there, they can only go up!

IMPORTANT: When looking at apartments for rent in Croatia, have in mind that people here usually refer to the total number of rooms in their listing and not the number of bedrooms!

So a 1 room apartment would be a studio, while a 3-room apartment would have 2 bedrooms and one living room. This is not always the rule, but make sure you keep an eye out for this important thing.

Monthly rent for a studio in a good area: as low as 350 Euros per month. Decent size, good area, available in most cities. Can find even cheaper deals farther away from the center or in smaller towns.

1 Bedroom Apartment: there are some decent deals available for as low as 400 Euros per month, although I would recommend to actually budget 450 Euros just to keep it safe.

2 Bedroom Apartment: you can usually get the best deals in this category. There’s plenty to choose from for around 500 Euros per month, and if you have 600 Euros to spend monthly, then you should have no problem finding a nice apartment in a good area for long term rentals in all cities.

Bottom line: when renting or searching for a palce to rent, make sure that you look at local agencies that are aimed at Croatians, and not the fancy ones for foreigners.

The latter are more expensive and have far less properties to offer. Check out a website like njuskalo.hr for local prices (the website, however, is in Croatian only – use Google Translate with it to make it easier to navigate).

Also, I have to repeat: the prices above are the minimum prices you should expect to pay, or towards the bottom.

While I am confident that you will be able to find something good in those price ranges, I also know that the average prices are a bit higher than what I listed above especially if you plan to rent for less than 12 months.

Finally, it all depends on where you want to live: larger cities are more expensive (Zagreb being the most expensive, for example), while smaller towns and villages are obviously less expensive in this category.

Monthly food budget in Croatia

This is always one of the most difficult categories to estimate, because people can spend here anything from pennies to little fortunes.

So I have to say that I am basing the estimations below on my own experience and way of eating.

I am talking, therefore, about a family of three: my wife, my 9 years old son and myself. We cook a lot at home and eat out only a few times per month.

We do get fresh products, some organic food and try to eat as healthy as possible, but also pre-cooked foods and other silly stuff.

In other words, we’re somewhere in the middle by my standards: not as thrifty as possible, but not spending randomly and eating out a lot either.

Based on that, I would say that your monthly food budget should be of around 450 Euros.

If you’re single, don’t expect to pay much less: maybe around 300 Euros per month if you don’t eat out a lot. For a couple under the same circumstances, expect to pay 350-400 Euros a month for your food.

I repeat: these costs can vary greatly depending on your lifestyle. If you eat out a lot, expenses will go up really fast.

But if you cook a lot of food at home from base ingredients, you will spend much less as food is generally cheap here, especially when purchased from local peasant markets.

If you’re looking to compare some costs – or at least know what to expect, here is a list of products that you can find in the stores and their prices (all listed in Euros):

Tomatoes (1 kg): 1.50 (depending on the season, cheaper during summer/autumn)
Potatoes (1 kg): 0.85
Lettuce (1 head): 0.85
Apples (1 kg): 0.80 – 1.50
Oranges (1 Kg): around 1 Euro (you can find them as low as 0.7 Euro, but they can go up to 1.3 as well)
Bananas (1KG): 1.2
Cheese (1 Kg): 7.5
Eggs (1 egg): 0.20
Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless (1 kg): 6.50
Fresh fish, local (1 kg): 3.2
Loaf of Bread (300 grams): 0.70
Milk (1 Liter – store brands): 0.90
Bottle of cheap local wine: 3.10
Bottle of better local wine: 6.30
Beer (0.5 liter): 1.00 (in stores)
Sparkling water (1.5 l): 0.8
Bottled water (7 l): 1.5
Bottle of natural juice (1 liter): 2.5

Restaurant prices in Croatia

When it comes to eating out in a restaurant, prices remain low even in the touristy Croatia. You can easily find daily menu offers for around 8-10 Euros per person with everything included.

Find the restaurants were locals eat, and you can have a decent meal for as low as 6 Euros. But generally, consider the prices below as valid:

Meal for two, inexpensive restaurant, Main Dish & Dessert (tip included): 30 – 35 Euros
Meal for two, better restaurant: 50 – 60 Euros
Beer (0.5 l): 1.90
Coke (0.25 l): 1.50
Wine (0.75 l): 17 Euros (but can easily go way up)
Cappuccino: 1.50
Fresh lemonade: 3.00

Croatia: Utilities cost

In most cases, your monthly rent won’t include any utilities or common expenses for the building.

These will have to be paid separately on a monthly basis, but they’re not very expensive, compared to other regions of the world.

Here is what you are normally expected to pay on utilities each month, on average:

Internet & TV Package: 40 Eur /month (fast internet)

Mobile Phone: Prices vary here depending on what kind of deal you get, but let’s say that on average you would pay around 20 Euros per month for a plan that offers 20GB of mobile internet, unlimited text and calls in the same network and around 1,000 minutes in other networks.

Communal building expenses (elevators, cleaning etc): 15 Euros

Electricity, heating, garbage disposal, and water: 185 Euros (can go up quite a bit if you use the air conditioning a lot during the summer and keep the heating high during the winter).

This is the category where you can spend a lot more than my estimated amount – heating is very expensive and most of the houses in Croatia are still not properly insulated, but things are getting better and fortunately (or not, depending how you look at it), the climate has became warmer during the winters, so heating costs are lower than ever.

All in all, the prices for utilities in Croatia have grown a lot in the past several years and they keep growing, although not at an alarming rate.

But for electricity, heating and water, it might be safer to budget 200 to 250 Euros per month (although your average will probably be lower).

Additional expenses

These are very difficult to estimate, as they vary from person to person.

You’ll have to spend money on getting new clothes, various consumables for your home, you’ll have health related-costs, car or transportation costs and all sorts of unexpected expenses (or at least those that can’t really fit in any category).

Have in mind that a monthly travel pass in Croatia is around 50 Euros, with single tickets selling for around 1.4 euros. The good thing is that most cities in Croatia (except for maybe Zagreb) are very walkable – or at least a bike will do.

Everything else depends on your lifestyle and it’s very difficult to make any estimations, but here are some other expenses you might have:

• 1 month at the gym: 35 Euros
• gas price: 1.4 Euros / liter
• cinema ticket price: 5 Euros
• private health insurance: as low as 75 Eur/month

Can you live in Croatia on 1,000 Euros per month?

And the answer, as it usually happens, is not very simple. But yes, I would say that it is possible for a single person to live a decent life in Croatia for €1,000 per month, with some limitations and things to consider.

This is a nice, round, amount that I like to use when thinking about how expensive (or cheap) living in a country really is.

For many people coming from richer countries, 1,000 per month for one person is not much at all and this is why I will use this amount to estimate the actual living monthly expenses in the country, after adding everything above up.

So, for a budget of 1,000 Euros, we’d have the following expenses below:

350 Euros for rent
350 Euros for food and eating out
270 Euros for utilities and phone/internet

______________

TOTAL: 970 Euros per month

This would leave us with around 30 Euros for everything else. And while this is definitely not a huge amount, as long as you have the “basics” covered, it should prove to be enough to allow you to live here on a budget.

Of course, you won’t be living like a king on this money, but it won’t be very difficult to enjoy life either.

Remember that the average salary that a Croat earns is around 1,000 Euros per month, so if you had that amount, you’d be on average earnings here.

There are local families that actually live on a lot less – there are families of three that can make ends meet on a budget of 1,000 Euros per month, so it’s not impossible. But do have in mind that many of these families don’t have to pay rent or mortgage!

Of course, you will have other limitations because as a foreigner – and especially in the first few months, you will probably spend more than the average.

Also, if you want a larger (or better place) and better food, as well as party a bit, you will have a tougher time making ends meet on 1,000 Euros per month.

If it’s two of you, things will look better as you won’t need to double the amount of money needed in order to live a decent life.

I would say that a budget starting at 1,800 Euros per month for a couple would be more than decent, while 2,000 Euros (so 1k per person) would be really good. Ah, the advantages of not being single!

When kids come into play, things get a bit more complicated because there might be additional costs related to their education.

While public schools in Croatia are free, your kids must speak (or learn) the Croatian language in order to study there.

Private schools are expensive, and private kindergartens are relatively expensive too, both of which can have a massive impact over the monthly budget.

For example, private education in Croatia can cost anything between 350 Euros per month (for private kindergartens) to 1,000 Euros per month for Primary or Seconday Education.

This means that for each kid, if education costs will be involved, you should add at least 600 Euros more per month.

Conclusion

I tried to paint a picture that’s as clear and accurate as possible. I have to repeat, though, that as it is the case of any situation when personal preferences and different lifestyles are involved, your reality could vary greatly from mine – or the one presented in this article.

However, I am confident that for most people, the cost estimates above – and especially the monthly budget – will be pretty much spot on.

Knowing all that data will surely help you make a more educated choice and better plan your finances if a move to Croatia is starting to look like a possibility.

As you can see above, this country is still pretty cheap to live in if you compare it to other parts of the world – from Western Europe to North America or Australia and the quality of life is really good.

Prices have been going up lately, but I don’t expect them to increase at an alarming rate in the next few years.

If you have additional questions or comments, don’t hesitate to post them below in the comment section.

If you have personal insights regarding the monthly living costs in Croatia, I would love to hear them: the more people we have sharing their personal expenses, the easier it will be for those interested in moving here to estimate their costs.