Cost of Living in Chișinău, 🇲🇩 Moldova - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 5 6 7 $920 $650 $835 $437 $45

Utilities 24 25 1 — $280 $364 $243 —

Internet & Mobile 17 3 4 $18 $20 $31 $12 $0

Groceries 19 1 $100 $225 $450 $170 $9

Transportation 16 26 $76 $95 $220 $42 $12

Dining Out 21 18 $538 $170 $400 $65 $25

Leisure Activities 23 22 29 11 $68 $59 $1,205 $52 $15

Health Insurance 9 $63 $84 $250 — $2

Visa & Legal Fees 10 $2 $5 $10 — —

Total $1,785 $1,588 $3,765 $1,021 $108

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 5 6 1 $436.52 $352 – $560 per month

Coworking Space 8 $112.03 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 7 $920.00 $601 – $1,303 per month

Coliving Space 7 $350.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 20 $2.24 per cup

Beer 21 1 $2.24 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 21 $8.12 per meal

Fast Food Combo 18 $9.63 per meal

Apples 19 1 $0.96 per kg

Bread 35 19 $0.67 per loaf

Milk 19 $1.14 per liter

Rice 35 19 $1.27 per kg

Chicken Fillets 19 $4.17 per kg

Beef 28 1 $10.19 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 21 1 $4.76 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 21 1 $50.41 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 19 1 $0.87 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 26 27 $1.79 per trip

Taxi per km 26 $0.31 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 16 $15.29 per month

Gasoline 2 $1.21 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 26 $3.36 per trip

Scooter Rental 14 $50.36 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 3 $4.80 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 17 $7.28 per month

Gym Membership 23 $47.59 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 29 $11.21 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 4 $2.74 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 22 $4.48 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 30 1 $16.19 per pair

Summer Dress 31 $15.07 per dress

Running Shoes 32 $111.97 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 13 $16.80 per visit

Laundry 15 $4.20 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 12 $22.41 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 34 35 $3.18 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 17.8523 MDL on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Buenos Aires, Bucharest, Sofia

Numbeo Chișinău cross-check (utilities, clothing, minor groceries)Index
Moldova gasoline ~MDL 21.54/litre (Sep 2026 snapshot)Index
Moldcell Cartelă 80 — 80 lei / 28 days, 40 GBOfficial
Orange PrePay SIM from 49 leiOfficial
Gazda.md Chișinău long-term apartment searchListings
Chișinău 2026 rent bands by district (EUR)Secondary
Airbnb monthly furnished 1BR with discountsListings
CBC coworking MDL 2,000/monthOfficial
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
IGM temporary residence state and service feesOfficial
Livingcost — international primary school USD 6,332/yearIndex
Emanuel clinic internist consultation MDL 400Official
Men haircut from MDL 120Official
Bolt scooter MDL 2.50/minuteSecondary
Laundry wash MDL 25/kg with deliveryOfficial
RTEC monthly pass 273 lei (general travellers, May 2026)Official
Moldtelecom fibre 300 Mbps 130 lei/monthOfficial
McDonald’s Glovo menu — burgers, fries, drinks (MDL)Shop
Kaufland Moldova weekly offers (meat, pasta, Oct 2026)Shop
Proper Coffee latte MDL 40Shop
Andy’s Pizza menu — pizzas and mains (MDL)Shop
Patria Loteanu 2D ticket tariffs (MDL)Secondary
Arena Aquacenter Fitness+SPA 850 lei/monthOfficial
Chișinău utility bill bands (ANRE-linked tariffs)Secondary
INFOBON 2026 utility tariff reference tableSecondary
Metered taxi from 32 lei + 5.6 lei/km (Standard)Shop
Moldova Tourism taxi fare guide (MDL)Official
METRO/STRAUS beef — pulpă fără os 181.90 MDL/kgShop
ARENA Tennis Club court hire from 200 MDL/hourOfficial
AZART PORT MALL — Sinsay blugi talie medie 289 MDLShop
Sinsay casual summer dress 269 MDLShop
Adidas Supernova Rise 2 running shoes 1,999 MDLShop
Paracetamol 500 mg N20 — 13.05 leiShop
Inflanor (ibuprofen) 400 mg N10 — 43.74 leiShop
Kaufland MD catalog — K-CLASSIC orez 1 kg 22.65 MDL; pâine rustică 300 g 11.95 MDLSecondary

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 867.73 920
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 404.94 436.52
- Apples 1.45 0.96
- Beef 10.41 10.19
- Beer 2.02 2.24
40 more changes
- Bread 1.04 0.67
- Chicken Fillets 5.5 4.17
- Cinema Ticket 7.52 4.48
- Coffee 2.6 2.24
- Coliving Space 462.79 350
- Coworking Space 144.62 112.03
- Dining Out local 104.13, nomad 867.73, expat 347.09, family 404.94, tourist 34.71 local 65, nomad 538, expat 170, family 400, tourist 25
- Doctor Visit (GP) 23.14 22.41
- Fast Food Combo 6.94 9.63
- Gasoline 1.5 1.21
- Groceries local 231.4, nomad 86.77, expat 318.17, family 636.34, tourist 8.68 local 170, nomad 100, expat 225, family 450, tourist 9
- Gym Membership 46.28 47.59
- Haircut 14.46 16.8
- Health Insurance local 86.77, nomad 69.42, expat 144.62, family 404.94, tourist 4.34 local 0, nomad 62.72, expat 84, family 250, tourist 2.09
- Housing local 433.87, nomad 1128.05, expat 780.96, family 1012.35, tourist 133.05 local 436.52, nomad 920, expat 650, family 834.86, tourist 45
- Internet & Mobile local 26.03, nomad 104.13, expat 52.06, family 69.42, tourist 5.78 local 12.08, nomad 18, expat 20, family 30.76, tourist 0.28
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 20.25 7.28
- Jeans 69.42 16.19
- Laundry 5.78 4.2
- Leisure Activities local 57.85, nomad 231.4, expat 173.55, family 202.47, tourist 23.14 local 52.07, nomad 68, expat 58.8, family 1205.38, tourist 15
- Meal (Inexpensive) 5.5 8.12
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 34.71 50.41
- Milk 1.27 1.14
- Mobile Plan 11.57 4.8
- Monthly Transport Pass 26.03 15.29
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 8.68 3.18
- Rice 1.74 1.27
- Ride-hailing (5km) 4.63 3.36
- Running Shoes 92.56 111.97
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 5.78 2.74
- Scooter Rental 34.71 50.36
- Summer Dress 40.49 15.07
- Taxi Start 2.6 1.79
- Taxi per km 0.87 0.31
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 20.25 11.21
- Transportation local 69.42, nomad 144.62, expat 115.7, family 347.09, tourist 11.57 local 42, nomad 76, expat 95, family 220, tourist 12
- Utilities local 104.13, nomad 0, expat 144.62, family 185.12, tourist 0 local 242.68, nomad 0, expat 280, family 364.1, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 5.78, nomad 28.92, expat 46.28, family 57.85, tourist 0 local 0, nomad 2, expat 5, family 10
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.69 0.87
- Wine (Mid-range) 8.68 4.76
Coworking Space, Apples, Bread, Rice, Beef, Wine (Mid-range), Taxi per km, Gasoline, Mobile Plan, Summer Dress, Running Shoes, Housing nomad, Utilities local, Health Insurance local, Visa & Legal Fees local, Coliving Space, Meal (Mid-range, 2 people), Water (1.5L bottle), Scooter Rental, SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid), Haircut, Laundry, Pharmacy (basic meds), Tennis Court (Weekend), Jeans moved to current shop and operator prices (straus.md, arenachisinau.md, azart.md, sportlandia.md, farmacie.md, kaufland.md, mooldo.com)

Chișinău cost of living