Cost of Living

If we could sell our experiences for what they cost, we would all be millionaires -Abigail Van Buren

Unfortunately for many of us, our experiences are not lucrative, & we have to budget, save, and manage our finances.

When most people relocate to a new city, one of the first things they need to know is the cost of living..

The price to maintain our lifestyles in Brno/Czech Republic

The cost of many goods and services in the Czech Republic are pretty reasonable, especially if you are not in Prague. Perhaps people from the Czech Republic or Central/Eastern European countries feel differently than me though.. 🙂

Keep in mind that many “unnecessary” consumer goods like electronics, clothing, games, etc. are generally more expensive. (Especially in contrast to USA)

Of course all of these prices are estimations, depend where you are in the CR, and where about in your local Czech city.

1 USD – 19.22 CZK

1 EUR – 24.92 CZK

1 GBP – 30.61 CZK

Dining out

Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant – 90 CZK

Meal for 2, at a nice place for 3 courses – 500 CZK

Combo at Fast Food Restaurant – 120 CZK

Domestic Beer – 25 CZK

Pepsi/Coke – 27 CZK (I’ve been really surprised how much Pepsi instead of coke you see here)

Water – 20 CZK (but most Czechs just drink their tap water :))

Veronika (Foreigners.cz Brno) spoon feeding me beer: priceless. (Photo Compliments: BVOIS Pub Crawl)

Grocery Shopping/Market

Milk (1 liter) – 18 CZK

Loaf of Bread – 22 CZK

Apples (1 kg) – 25 CZK

Cheese (1kg) – 150 CZK (and it can be a lot more. Cheese is so expensive but so delicious.)

Chicken (1 kg) – 150 CZK

Eggs (10) – 40 CZK

Potatoes (1kg) – 12 CZK (Potatoes – delicious and cheap. A staple in everybody’s diet. :))

Bottle of wine – 65 CZK and up. This greatly ranges.  Depends what you are looking for, but Czech Republic definitely has some cheap and delicious wine.

Cigarettes (Marlboro) – 85 CZK

All the necessities.

Leisure

Fitness Club (Month) – 900 CZK

Cinema for 1 – 160 CZK

St. Peter and Paul Cathedral – 15 CZK per person

Leisure can be expensive, but there so many things to see and do in Brno/Czech Republic that are cheap, free, or priceless 🙂

View of Brno from the Cathedral

Rent/Utilities

Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre – 6,750 CZK

Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre – 10,000.00 CZK

Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre – 17,000 CZK

Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre – 12,230 CZK

Basic (Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment – 2,314 CZK

Internet (6 Mbps, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) – 400 CZK

– Remember, if you’re looking for an apartment in any shape, size, and price range, Foreigners.cz can find it for you! 🙂

Stay tuned for upcoming post on how to save money here in Brno & The Czech Republic 🙂

Don’t hesitate to leave questions, comments, and suggestions for us.

Foreigners.cz

36 thoughts on “Cost of Living

  1. Hi CHelsea

    Can you please tell me if you can live a decent life in Brno with 800 euros ?

    1. Hey Dan!
      I think you can live a nice life in Brno on 800 euro per month. I live alone in a studio apartment 10-15minutes by tram from city center and pay about 310EURO for rent and utilities. On top of that, I spend probably 80 EURO a month on food. Of course you have to factor in extra meals, drinks (which are cheap :D), public transport, etc. But I think you’d be more than happy with 800euro 🙂 – Hope I was able to help!!

      1. Hi Chelsea,

        If you can help me … can live a good life in brno with 2000 euro in 2016 per month ?

        Help please.

        Thanks,

        Ranchor

        1. Hi Ranchor, 2000 EUR will definitely take you a long way in Brno. Best, Anna

  2. Hi Chelsea !

    Thank you for sharing these useful information.
    I was searching on the web for clothes stores in Brno, but I couldn’t find any english website. would u plz advice

    Do you know stores which sell second-hand clothes in Brno ?

    1. Hey Mike! You will find that clothing stores in the Czech Republic do not really offer online shopping. I am not sure what type of clothing you would be interested in – there are websites like ASOS.com (a UK retailer) that offers free shipping world wide. It’s one of my favorites. Of course you can always try amazon.com (or UK site) and eBay.

      There are websites such as: mall.cz, alza.cz, kasa.cz for online shopping. Although I don’t think they offer English.

      There are plenty of second hand stores in Brno. My sister was just visiting and made the comment “there are so many second hand stores here!” For example Charley’s on the corner of Pionýrská and Stefanikova or http://www.nelso.com/cz/place/322162/. I think if you keep your eyes pealed you will see there are a lot 🙂

  3. Thanks for this, Chelsea. Very helpful! Any idea of how to find a clarinet tutor for our 12 year old and how much that would cost?

    1. Thanks for your comment, Michael!
      I don’t think it would be a problem to find a tutor for clarinet as there is an international school offering music lessons and you will find a lot of people speak English here for your daughter. A great place to look are Facebook groups such as: https://www.facebook.com/groups/englishinbrno/ or websites: http://brnoexpats.com,
      However, I can work with Foreigners.cz and we can get back to you ASAP 🙂

  4. Hi,
    I’m looking for the apartment, cheap, 1 room in Prerov. Do You know, where can i find, websites etc?
    Thanks for help,
    Luke

  5. Hi Chelsea.
    I’ve got a job offer in Brno that will pay me US$2000,00 per month.
    As soon as I get settled in Brno I will have to support my 1 year old son and my wife as well.
    Are US$2000.00 enough to support myself, my wife and son?
    Best regards,

    1. Hi Marcus, it is more than enough. 1100 USD is what you need to spend every month to reach an average living standard for 3 people in the Czech republic, anything more will make you better off.

  6. Hi chelsea,
    i am about to start my post graduation in MACRO prague.the institution is offering free accomodation and i shall be getting a stipend of 11000 CZK per month for one year.
    but i have to take care of the food expense by my self.could you please tell me how much i need to pay for food for one month if i am following an ordinery diet???
    regards

  7. Hello Folks,

    I am Indian and i have a job offer from IBM Czec. They have offered me 36 thousand koruna as gross.. i am married and can i be able to live with this and support my family?
    Regards
    Ananth

  8. Hey Chelsea,

    Great post! It gave me a lot of insight into the city… The cost of living seems to be very reasonable in the city (especially the domestic beer.. glug glug! :P)..

    What about the language, is English spoken widely in the city? (Kind of a noob question I know, but I am really curious).

    Thanks in advance,
    Kushal

  9. Hi chealsea, I jux got admission @ Mendel university in Brno n wanted to know whether I can get a job when I come to Czech Republic. Is finding a job easy n how is income here at Brno. I’m from Ghana

  10. can i live a decent life with net 38000 koruna in brno with my wife and son’s school if he studies in czech medium.. he is 10 year old

  11. Hello can i live in brno with 600 euros of salary *accommodations i have it for free* ..but as personal expenses transportation . food etc are 600 euro enough ??

  12. Hello, I like your post, But is it possible for you, to update it with information from 2016.
    One company offer a job to my husband in Brno, and we don’t know the real cost of living. We expecting a baby soon, and I’m searching for all information that will be helpful for taking the decision to move there or not.

    Thanks in advance,
    Rosi

  13. Hi chelsea. I am from india . I want to work in cr . I have experience of retail srgment and i am post graduate. Please give me some tolips to get job in czech republic.

  14. Hi,

    I’m offered 32/33 000 Czech Koruna net salary. Will I be able to manage my family there? I’ve 8 years old son (let say he’s studying at a public school), 4 years old daughter and wife.
    Thank you in advance!

  15. I am about to be provided with an offer from a IT company. what would be a decent salary for a person with 8 years of IT experience planning to migrate with his spouse to Brno to be able to live a decent live? How much would the monthly expenses be if we are vegetarians and take up a single bedroom accommodation and manage to cook @ home?

    Thank you in advance!

  16. HI CHELSIA I WANT TO COME IN CZECH REPUBLIC AS A TOURIST FOR 3 DAYS HOW MUCH DOLLAR IS NECESSARY FOR 3 TO 4 DAYS IN CZECH REPUBLIC?

  17. Hi every one,

    could somebody helps me with infos please?
    With 18.000 CZK (700 Euro) could I live a normally decent good life in Brno?

    Kind regards.

    Yasser

  18. Am in ghana but am planing to move to check republic and live there….is getting a job there difficult ?

  19. Am a teacher by profession …i teach both french and english language …both elementry and high school….both international school and national school..

  20. Hello Guyes,
    I just got an offer from Brno. They are offering € 2,000/month. We are a family of 4. My elder is 9 and younger is 2. Can you please suggest should I consider this offer.

  21. Hi there, do you know about the comparison of living in or around Brno compared to say Bučovice (we’re considering moving there or Brno)?

    We have two dogs and a cat, and there’s two of us. We need a yard probably and a good size rental to fit us all. We’re coming from US and my husband is from CZ.

    Thank you so much to you and anyone can help shed some light on moving to Brno or near Brno. I’m from Portland, Oregon USA. This will be my first time leaving home and living in CZ.

  22. Hi!
    With a net income of 40 000 CZK, can I provide for myself and my wife (until she is eligible for work) in Prague, renting a 1-bedroom flat? Thank you!

  23. Hello I’m am thinking of moving to prauge I get USD 4000 net retirement.
    Is that enough to live well.

  24. Hello,
    I was wondering if someone can answer me if 1300 eur monthly is enough money to live in Brno, and support my family back home with couple hundreds a month.

  25. Hello,

    I understand how much I’d need to rent an apartment in Brno as well as the amount for the monthly pass for public transportation.
    What I’d like to know is how much approximately does one person spend monthly in food always prepared at home.
    Can anyone tell me, please?

    Thank you.

    Paula

  26. Hello
    I have accepted in Masaryk University as PhD student, I am married and we need to rent a private place for ourselves, I would like to ask How much we need for our life cost (minimum) in Brno?
    So many thanks

    1. Hello Sajjad,

      the life costs always depend on many factors – what part of the city one intends to live in, favorite hobbies and leisure activities, the distance between home and the workplace, etc. However, if you want to discuss this in-depth, I recommend you either get in touch with my colleagues at brno@foreigners.cz or schedule a consultation 🙂

      Kind regards,

      Anna

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