How much does it cost to live in Sarajevo?
Typical Month (Mid Range)
$1,392 (BAM 2,360)
Housing, food, transport, mobile, coworking and gym.
Updated September 2026 · Sources cited: flatio.com, sarajevo.expatsforexpats.net
- Typical Month (Lower End)
- $629 (BAM 1,067)
- Typical Month (Premium)
- $2,058 (BAM 3,489)
Good to know
Good to Know
- The Bosnian convertible mark (BAM/KM) is fixed to the euro under a currency board, so prices are very stable — no need to watch for currency swings during a stay.
- Numbeo's own Sarajevo cost-of-living page notes that menus are unavailable at most places, and prices can change based on the season and of course if you are a foreigner — worth asking for a price before ordering, especially in touristy Baščaršija.
- Restaurant and grocery prices in Sarajevo are genuinely low by European standards — Numbeo puts an inexpensive restaurant meal at 15 KM and a three-course meal for two at a mid-range spot at 67.50 KM without drinks.
- Housing figures for Sarajevo are thinner than for bigger nomad hubs — most usable data comes from cost-of-living aggregators rather than live short-term furnished listings, so treat the housing numbers here as a starting budget and always check current listings for the specific neighborhood before committing.
- Sarajevo's public transport is split between two separate operators (GRAS trams/trolleybuses/most buses, and Centrotrans buses/minibuses) whose tickets generally cannot be used on each other's vehicles, which trips up newcomers.
- Public transport tickets are cash-only in practice — carry small BAM coins/notes since credit card payment is not widely supported on trams and buses.
- The 90-day visa-free allowance for most Western passports is separate from and does not count against the Schengen 90/180-day limit, but it does run on its own 90/180 clock, so track your days carefully on a longer Balkan trip.
- Coworking membership pricing for spaces like Mikrohub is often quoted in BAM for local plans but many spaces also market to international freelancers in EUR — check which currency you're actually being billed in before committing.
Monthly Totals
- Mid-range month
- BAM 2,360
Includes 4 estimated components
- Lean month
- BAM 1,067
Includes 3 estimated components
- Comfortable month
- BAM 3,489
Includes 6 estimated components
Living Costs
- Where nomads live
- No single 'nomad district' is documented with hard listing data, but expat/nomad guides consistently name Baščaršija (Old Town), Marijin Dvor, Grbavica and Skenderija as the areas where expats and remote workers concentrate — Marijin Dvor and Skenderija for their central location, malls and coworking-adjacent cafés, Baščaršija for the historic-core lifestyle, and Grbavica as a greener, cheaper option just south of the center. Housing figures below reflect this general cluster rather than one single street.
Housing (per month)
- Mid-range 1-bed
- BAM 1,270
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio states a single person's average rent in Sarajevo is $749/month.
Published in USD
- Budget studio / 1-bed
- BAM 839
Estimated
Nomadlio's cost-of-living page states single-person rent in Sarajevo ranges $495–$1258/month with an average of $749; $495 is the low end of that stated range, used here as the budget-tier figure (picking an endpoint from a range = estimated per methodology).
Published in USD
- Premium apartment
- BAM 2,133
Estimated
Nomadlio's stated single-person rent range for Sarajevo tops out at $1258/month; used as the premium-tier figure (range endpoint = estimated per methodology).
Published in USD
- Private room in a shared home
- BAM 509
Estimated
No direct shared-room listing data was retrieved for Sarajevo; estimated as roughly half of the budget-tier full-apartment figure, consistent with typical private-room-vs-studio ratios in this rent bracket.
Published in USD
Groceries
- What the basket assumes
- Covers one person cooking most meals at home using a standard supermarket, not specialty/import stores.
- Groceries for one (month)
- BAM 371
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio states monthly groceries for one person in Sarajevo cost $219.
Published in USD
Sample prices
Milk, Regular, 1 Liter
- Milk, Regular, 1 Liter
- BAM 2.27
Survey / cost-of-living site
Numbeo's Sarajevo price rankings list regular milk (1L) at 2.27 KM.
Bread, 500g Loaf
- Bread, 500g Loaf
- BAM 1.50
Estimated
No specific bread-price source was retrieved; estimated in line with the general Sarajevo grocery-price level shown by Numbeo's other market items.
Eggs, Dozen
- Eggs, Dozen
- BAM 4.50
Estimated
No specific egg-price source was retrieved; estimated in line with the general Sarajevo grocery-price level shown by Numbeo's other market items.
Eating out
- Cheap meal
- BAM 11
Estimated
Numbeo lists 'Meal at an Inexpensive Restaurant' at 15.00 KM for Sarajevo. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 15 BAM reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
- High-end meal
- BAM 70
Estimated
No direct fine-dining price source was retrieved; estimated by extrapolating upward from Numbeo's mid-range per-person figure, consistent with the general gap between mid-range and high-end restaurant pricing in the city.
- Mid-range meal
- BAM 25
Estimated
Numbeo states a three-course meal for TWO at a mid-range restaurant (without drinks) is 67.50 KM; halved here to approximate a single-person cost, per methodology for two-person source figures. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 33.75 BAM reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Work, Transport & Essentials
Coworking
- Day pass
- BAM 25
Estimated
No coworking space in Sarajevo published an explicit day-pass price in local currency in the sources found; estimated from regional coworking day-pass norms in the Western Balkans and Mikrohub's own monthly desk rate. Named space: HUB387 (offers passes from single days to monthly memberships, but its site did not list numeric day-pass pricing in the sources we checked).
- Monthly hot desk
- BAM 320
Operator's own price
Mikrohub's own site lists a dedicated-desk plan at 320 BAM/month, including 24/7 access for 30 days, meeting room use, and kitchen access.
Transport
- Single ride
- BAM 1.80
Survey / cost-of-living site
Local transport guide states single tram/bus tickets typically cost around 1.80 BAM, validated onboard.
- Monthly pass
- Not available
Could not confirm a current, reliable monthly pass price. Sarajevo's transit system is split between two incompatible operators (GRAS and Centrotrans) with separate ticketing, and forum discussion suggests monthly-pass availability/pricing is inconsistently documented online.
Mobile & data
- Monthly plan
- BAM 25
Estimated
Not directly sourced at the time of research; estimated based on general knowledge of BH Telecom/m:tel prepaid data plan pricing in Bosnia. Needs verification against the carrier's current published tariffs.
Short Stays (per night)
- Seasonal pricing
- Yes
- Why
- Summer (June-August) sees sustained peak tourism driven by warm weather and the Sarajevo Film Festival (mid-August), with hotel rates jumping approximately 87% from low-season winter averages ($46/night off-season to $86/night peak summer).
Low season
- Budget
- BAM 85
Budget hotels February ~$45-$50/night per KAYAK, Booking.com; Airbnb private rooms ~$40-$50/night per World Travel Index
- Luxury
- BAM 195
5-star hotels ~$110-$130/night off-season per luxury hotel listings; ~40% reduction from summer rates
- Premium
- BAM 153
4-star hotels ~$90-$100/night low season estimate (40% discount from peak per Momondo)
- Standard
- BAM 119
3-star hotels February ~$60-$75/night per hotel aggregators; low season discount from high season rates
High season
- Budget
- BAM 135
2-star hotels average ~$79-$86/night June-August per Trivago; Airbnb summer rates ~$89/night per Likibu
- Luxury
- BAM 339
5-star hotels Swissotel/Hotel Europe segment ~$167-$200/night per Momondo, Expedia luxury listings; mid-range luxury estimate for summer
- Premium
- BAM 237
4-star hotels ~$140/night typical rate per KAYAK; summer peak multiplier applied
- Standard
- BAM 200
3-star hotels mid-range ~$100-$120/night high season per hotel aggregators; comparable 1BR Airbnb summer rates
Low-season months
- February
- November
- December
High-season months
- June
- July
- August
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this cost of living research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Sarajevo
Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.