Cost of Living in Prague

#Anonymous - I look at numbers only, from Numbeo and other source:

Prague - Average Net salary 34920 CZK/month , Average Rent + Utilities for 3 bedroom is minimum 30-32000 CZK/month, and easily 40000 (I don't talk about house/dum, only flat/byt). So between 90% to 115% is the rent in a salary

Now let us to look other cities, same numbers:
Berlin - 68% of salary is rent (I think this is a bit exaggerate, but still, 68% is <100%)
Stockholm - 56%
Amsterdam - 77% (high, but still better than Prague)

Only crazy London I can find in West Europe which come to 105-140% of same numbers above BUT, if you compare, in London there is huge network of suburbs, with excellent connections, so can easily find decent just out of London but for much cheaper price. So overall, I say situation in Prague, by looking just at rental/property price situation, is still more worse than even London, because trend there is to go down for some time now, but in Prague the trend is like escalator to the skies :)

# Andriy I agree with government intervention but you obviously haven't clearly thought out the most important things.Ofcourse people will make more money living in other areas of Europe as you stated, however the extra money people make will be eaten up with rent or purchasing a house, utilities, transportation,food,and taxes etc.Bottom line nothing gained financially.

# Andriy The places you mentioned are no better than Prague.Its a mixed bag throughout Europe.Prices are even higher plus civil unrest abounds.

# Daniel good overview of costs in general for Prague.The way I see it is the market will be flooded with so many vacant houses for sale that sooner or later some income will be needed to offset the cost of so many properties being vacant.Its true many expats make 55k 65k and more mine being twice the amount you mentioned. Regardless of the amount most expats make in general the majority are careless with their surplus of money.The majority of expats are retired Americans, Aussies Brits,etc.Any retired expat that'd even consider buying an apartment or house that late in life doesn't make sense but many do just the same.I lived in Prague for five years and although it was nice I got tired of living in the freezer lol but I knew that before I moved there.

The main, no. 1 problem in Prague is the cost of real estate (buying, renting). For the average salary taker, it woudl “cost” you more than 20 years of your working life to payoff a modest new flat. You can draw your own conclusions from that.

If you want an accurate answer to any salary in Prague or throughout the Chezk republic look at current currency values after all that's truely what determines saleries.Heres an excellent answer to current currency fluctuations updated every 24 hours. Google whatever your currency is to CZK the money converter.Scroll down and highlite the heading.The Hays website is fine for general information but goggleing the above info I provided will give up to the minute accuracy.Currency valuations dictate ecomonys regardless of which country, always will.Hopefully this will help you.

The price of real estate quoted are quite off from the current prices. You cannot find any 3 bedrooms (4kk)in prague 1 for 31K, the real rent would be more from 45K minimum going upwards. The same for a 1 bedroom (2kk), a decent place would be impossible to find for less than 25K minimum in Prague 1.

I can confirm the cost here, for a single person for my experience in CZ for almost 2.5 years, it is around 14442 CZK, plus rent and bills... So, add other 14442 and you reach 28864 CZK = 1123 EUR, all this counting every monthly cost but WITHOUT THE CAR, that is a scandal considering a life of a foreigner, always trapped in the city centre because outside you find a lot of discrimination, it's impossible to go to live outside alone, forget it, with the consequence of high prices...
Furthermore, my price indicated for rent and bills is really hard to find, you will spend even more, let's say 12000 rent + 3000 bills to live alone in a 1+kk max 35 m2 in a decent zone.

Is 36K CZK per month net salary is low for a single person in Prague?
Thanks

Hello "NotDaniel" :)

Long time since I checked this page. I think you've misunderstood what I said. I haven't said that 40k Kc is for rent only, but rather for rent+utilities+food. People have to eat as well you know, as well as travel to work etc.

As for your comment that "Absolute majority of people don't make that much money and get by just fine.", I don't know what is your definition of just fine, but I can see a helluva lot of young people sharing rooms in flats here, even cases with 2 families living in the same flat because they can't afford their own, which is a sad state of affairs. The worst part, in my humble opinion is just how fast things have precipitated towards the worse, meaning that the real-estate market has really gotten out of hands when prices are concerned, its very easy to observe if you keep an eye on the changes on simple search websites such as bezrealitky, but its also reflected in the official statistics. In my case, as I work for a company that kept expanding its base here, and hiring more people, I've helped many of the newcomers with the chore of settling in here, hence why I kept a keen eye on the rental prices for the last 2-3 years, and it is rather shocking to see that a flat which you could EASILY find for 15k Kc back in 2016, now commands more like 23-25k, as well as the numbers seem to be narrowing down, as I've had saved searches on multiple sites and I can see the number of results dwindling. Its even worse it seems for purchase prices, but at the same time that also reduced the rental yield on properties here to rather small figures, which should at least hopefully discourage some from investing in property here for the sake of renting it out.

I for one firmly believe that the property situation in Prague is a classic example of a bubble, even though 99.99% of the Czechs I've spoken say the property prices will keep going up, partly because it has definitely reached withering heights versus earnings, and also because any kind of upset that might be coming along (i.e. a crisis or major increase in interest rates) will probably find a lot of vulnerable people among those that have bought in the last couple of years at these "atmospheric" prices.

52000czk net salary is enough for living in Prague for two person?

hello ive been proposed a job that pays 428000 czk yearly + 2500 monthly bonus, is that enough for one person living in prague ?

Hi i have been offered job in Prague with 55 123 CZK net salary? i am single, would this be enough to live in a normal life and also save a money?

What is the minimum base salary for living two person (me and my wife) in Prague?

I don't need to live in luxury but I want to live good enough and maybe save money. Cost calculator says 43K, including 1 bedroom in city centre. It seems base salary should be higher than 60K. Waiting your comments. :)

Times has changed quite big time in the city over last 5 years. Unemployment is record low, but salaries against the growth of prices grew very slowly, don't be misled by averages. It became much more expensive.

I agree with Daniel in most of what he says.

Rent of 2 rooms flat (60-70sqm) equiped and in good condition, in the more central area is about 28,000-30,000 Czk with utilities per 1 person. If you want to eat outside and get reasonable quality so you don't risk any problems next day, it is for more or less same money as in the many other big cities in Western Europe. 60,000 Czk net per person is starting level for having good life so you can afford little savings, buy clothes etc.

Daniel's responses are completely unrealistic. Absolute majority of people don't make that much money and get by just fine.

Apartments in the absolute city center (read withing 2 minutes walk from Wenceslas square) will cost you maybe 25k for a single bedroom / some 2 bedroom.

I don't know what he means by "alright to get by" but for 40k you would live in a huge luxurious place.

Hi "Anonymous"

Is 40 000Kc a net/take home salary ,or the base/gross?

For a single person willing to live in a small (25-40sqm) flat, I would say its manageable, but not good enough to live the "good life" for sure. Depends a lot on what your living arrangements expectations are, as if you used to and willing to share a flat, than probably you will have a lot more money left over for fun stuff. Try to negotiate a higher salary as well, based on the increases of cost of living that shot up at least 20-30% in the last few years. Back in 2012-2013 for example, 40 000 would have been considered quite good, as it was easy to find accommodation for 12-15k or even up to 10k for a single person living in a small flat, however those days are long gone now, in some areas of Prague rent prices have gone 60-80% in the last 5 years.

Hello friends
I've written about Prague and its charm, it's better to print it in local Language or in English?Have a comment?
Thankful

I’m heading to Prague for 5 days,will 11,000kr be enough?? Flights and accommodation already paid

Hi, I have been offered a job position in Prague. The base neat salary to discuss is 60.000Kc, is it enough for living for me and my partner?

I have recently been in the city on vacations and I really loved it.

Thanks in advance.

Most of people who working in prague dont live there, cause it is too expensive to rent there. You will find cheaper rent in stredni cechy, severni cechy. And sometimes just take a train 1hour to work every day.but really depends where you working. Usually Praha 3 is cheaper to live and there is more people speak english, usualy Young people speak some english or germany. Prague is more expensive than other cities around, but also only multicultural place in Czech.

I WAS in prague this month and to be honest prices are much more higher than that in this table
for example three days public transportations costs around 330 crona .
ordinary meal in a resurant not less than 300 crona for one person .

How much does it cost to live in for 3days in Prague for holidays?

@mojomo mojomo

I myself do not live in the center, far from it (I live in Dolni Chabry) and my apartment could in no way be considered luxurious in comparison with other places I lived, but it is decent, and large enough, as I simply could not accept to live in a 40-50m2 flat (ours is slightly over 100m2). And the rent + poplatky is around 25k Kc. Also, I live pretty much like the locals, shop where the locals shop, eat out at places popular with the locals etc., not because I'm purposely trying to save but simply because I don't particularly enjoy the "expat" lifestyle (after living abroad for more than 15 years in various countries, I'm a sort of "permanent expat" :)

I find your statement that "only a foreigner would pay 20k for rent" extremely misleading and challenge you to go ahead and post a few links to decent 3kk or 3+1 flats, anywhere in Prague, let alone near the centre for the 10-12k you are referring to. As a matter of fact we were considering to maybe find a bigger 4kk flat, but after some weeks of searching and realizing just how much prices went up in the last year alone, I've decided it would be foolish to give this one up since right now there is a very thin to none offer of similar quality&size flats for the price.

Yes, the public transport is amazing, I've heard this like a popular tune here from all the Czechs, and that's very good, but people cannot live on public transport and cheap beer/klobasa alone :) The reality, harsh as it might sound, is that local Czech people are struggling the hardest here I would say, and unlike most expats, they can't just pack up and go at anytime - well, they can, but most wouldn't. As for those salary increases you are mentioning, yes, fully agree that there have been salary increases, but if you look at the past 2-3 years, the prices of securing a dwelling (renting or buying) as well as other prices, have gone up a lot more than salaries, by a factor of 2-3 both here and in Brno and other major cities, just look at various statistics available online, don't take my word for it.

Czech Republic as a whole, and the main cities in particular appear in the 1st or top 3 positions of "least affordable housing" across the EU, which of course can't be good, here's a link as well:
https://goo.gl/WUiXW4 (not only is the price of a 70m2 flat the most expensive from the countries listed, requiring 11 years of GROSS annual salaries of a family to acquire, but you will also notice if you read the report that the Czech Republic also scores very low for newly built dwellings, Prague in particular is in dire straits when it comes to not building enough to sustain the increase in population, which can only point to higher and higher prices to come. Even if the elected officials here eventually get their head out of the sand and find solutions for this housing crisis/scarcity, by the time any effects of such measures that might be implemented can be seen, you are still looking at many years of struggle. Of course Mr. Market could come along and induce a powerful enough crash to slow down or halt the attractiveness of Czech Rep. or Prague to incoming work force, but I highly doubt that, as there is plenty inertia to keep it from tumbling, as well as a very resilient attitude among locals that would literally do anything and everything, slaving multiple jobs in some cases, only to afford getting that mortgage; others especially in Western countries would never fathom spending such a high % of income on housing, because luckily they haven't been pushed to, whereas here it seems to become norm.

@Daniel: spot on regarding Prague situation. As I wrote in October last year - it is really the rents and housing situation that is completely out of control. I lived in Prague for more than a decade but decided enough is enough and voted with my feet. If I had 110k net/mo then I would care less (conrats on that btw), but as someone who had around 100k gross/mo it slowly but surely stopped making financial sense to stay in Prague over the years.

It is otherwise a good place, but housing (rent and buy) is extremely overpriced and not worth it considering the low average salaries and also crappy quality compared to e.g. Western Europe. Case in point: I live in a building built by Skanska here and also back in Prague - night and day difference in temrs of materials, floors, sound insulation, etc. Maybe cause they aren't as stingy and don't hire dodgy Ukranian labor at the lowest price here.
The only thing I really miss is the cheap and good public transport and relatively cheap restaurants. You don't realize how ridiculously cheap it is until you pay 3-4x the amount elsewhere :)

@##wanderer on
"How can one find local fully furnished apartment prices that locals use?"

I'm afraid such things do not exist anymore here. If you are under the belief that locals have access to much lower rents in places foreigners do not know about...no such thing.

Prices have gone really CRAZILY up in the past 2-3 years, in the past 2 years alone about 30-32% increase in rents/prices in Prague.

For a furnished 2kk flat (40-55m2) in a rather central area, not the most popular like Vihohrady which is even pricier, but close enough, prepare to spend around 25000Kc or more including expensed. For a 3KK (60-80m2) in the same areas its more like 35000Kc.

If you are living to live on the outskirts, like Prague 11, 15, 8, 9, about 35-45 min away from the center by public transport, you are looking at 16-20000Kc for a 2kk flat and 23-25000Kc for a 3kk

These prices above are certainly not for luxury-finished apartments or some with amazing views, as those will go even higher.

2kk = 1 bedroom flat
3kk = 2 bedroom flat

Hi, I would like to know is 2500$ enough for good life in Prague for family with 3 year old child ?
I have to pay for insurance for wife and child and rent 2KK apartment
Thanks

AMEN! Daniel you're so right about the current situation in Prague. As a post-communist society, the Czechs will tolerate things which would not be tolerated elsewhere (Germany, Austria etc...). The current system does serve the elites and not the average citizen thus making Prague very unattractive for life compared to other cities.

And just to make things clear, I didn't write the below post out of spite or regret...luckily my job still pays way above the local averages or even expat salaries for that matter (around 110k net/month) so I consider myself rather fortunate while seeing others struggle, but at the same time, I would not touch the real-estate in Prague with a 10 foot pole! I would much rather put my savings in other investment vehicles, since I see real-estate in Prague as a very poor investment at these current levels, and if someone would come right now to the city expecting a worry-free life, as a single person renting a flat I would say you need to earn at least 50-55k net per month, because at least 25k out of that will go for rent+utilities for a 2KK, 2+1, and if you're coming with family, kids, probably more like 70-75k net/month for a couple to live on and add another 10-15k/month on top for each child, of course not including private school or other things considered high-luxuries here but just basic decent living, with accommodation in a flat. If you want to rent an actual house, those numbers will be 2-3x higher, as having your own house is seen as some sort of uber-luxury here.

You could save money for accommodation when you will live 20-30 minutes from the old town center.
Prague has very good public transportation and annual ticket cost 3650 CZK.
http://www.myczechrepublic.com/prague/prague_metro.html
https://czech-transport.com/index.php?id=38
Intervals
metro operates daily 5:00am – midnight
two to three minutes between trains during peak hours
four to nine minutes in off peak hours (after 7:00 pm).

Prague is getting increasingly expensive. I wanted to switch my flat, but after awhile I realised that I won't get a better deal. It wasn't that bad 4 years ago. Like others have noted, don't move for anything less than 50-60k gross.

Lars Jakobsson the prices you saw were tourist restaurants. I just spent two months in Prague and I was eating lunch with my coworkers in a restaurant on a daily basis with 100-140 CZK. The prices mentioned are quite correct for restaurants that offer daily menus for people taking lunch breaks (not high end tourist restaurants.

I can remember a few short years ago, you could supposedly live "comfortably" in Prague for $400 a month...looks like that isn't the case any more. What a shame. I can't afford to go to Europe anyways, but this looks like a beautiful city, I guess it will remain only a dream.

Zorana, zivim u Pragu 25 godina, oko informacija me kontaktiraj na ars@seznam.cz
Ako bis dobila platu 33 hiljade kruna, to znaci nekih 24 hiljada netto. Sa tim se moze u Pragu ziveti, za mali stan ces platiti nekih 13-14 hiljada mesecno, hrana ce ispasti oko 4 hiljade i ostatak imas na potrosnu :)

Hello everyone!

I am at the final stage of my selection in the interview and my company is located in Praha (Prague) 4. Can anyone please let me know what would be the cost of living for me and my spouse to stay near by my job location?

I really do not know the taxation system in Prague, hence I would appreciate if someone suggests me that how much should I earn minimum to survive there?

Guys please respond.... THANKS A LOT.
-Vicky

Hello Imran.
Have u accepted the offer? Have u moved there or not?

Hi everyone.
I wonder if czk14,000 per month for my scholarship would be enough to live in Prague. This has to include the room rental fee. What is the cheapest room?
Thank you.

Hi All, I got an offer in Prague for 70,000 gross salary. I am a SQL DB admin. Me and my wife will be staying there. Can someone tell me if this is good salary for 2 people? Please help guys.

Thanks

I just spent 4 days in prague. I would say that a meal for two, just a main course, costs 900kc.i never saw food for 130kc anywhere

Hi,

I am going to study my master degree in September in Prague and I am looking for an apartment in Prague 1 or 2.

Please let me know if you have something

To Tony Elkin:
Can you please describe a little further the home you have - is it rented or owned and how much did it cost, if I may ask? I am looking to find somewhere to retire where approximately $1,700 USD monthly will provide me with a decent lifestyle.

Thank you for your help!

to #Pablo: 60k for 2 is absolutely OK to live with if you have moderate tastes. Appartment for 23k plus utilities sound as too much to me, you can absolutely find better. Usually the rent should already contain the costs, only exception is internet connection - this is always stated extra.
Other costs are very low though, public transport good, so you can be searching farther away (but close to metro) to get to work in 30 minutes.

Do you think is enough to live in Prague with 30.000 Czech Crown?

Best part of Praha are its people, its food and its pivo (beer), the finest beer in the world! Get a SMALL apartment and spend most of your time OUTSIDE walking around, talking to people, getting a used car and going places in The Czech Republic. Also, get a motor scooter or small motorcycle. DO THINGS. Low priced health care better than any other country - except Cuba. Forget the US "health care." A terrific country in which to retire. Look for smaller, better apartments along the Number 3 Tram across the Karlov Most (Charles Bridge). About 1 mile along the tram's route the apartments are terrific! Learn their language! Americans who are worried about getting a modern, large apartment should stay home. Europeans live a much different - and FAR BETTER - life than
Americans do. People of Praha are the best in the world. They've been though a lot since '65 and have suffered and survived more than most in Europe. They love their country, and if you respect their country, they will love you, too. The Square in Praha is much different today than when I lived there in '65 to '68. Don't worry about the small stuff. Enjoy life and the freedoms that THEY have which Americans no longer have.
I'm now retired and will return to Prague to live a great life.

@Joseph :

Why do you say that the healthcare in Czech Republic(or just in Prague?) is one of the best in the world? Only because it's universal healthcare like the NHS in Britain? I would appreciate it if you could elaborate please.

I'm going for two job interviews this week, can anybody tell me what's the average salary for a pastry cook at a high quality restaurant? I mean in the most expensive restaurants in Prague. I have an idea of how much I would spend already because I've lived in Prague as a student

Hi,
I am thinking on moving to Prague. I am alone and I made two intervies with a company there , propably they will get me. From what I can see the rents for an apartmenta are too high. Can you tell me which areas are normall and which are expensive for renting an apartment? The company's adress is in the area 'prague 5'.
Also, in the interview , they asked me the amount of money , the salary , i would like to have. I did not answer the question but they insist. I have a degree in marketing and a master in business administration. Can you help me by telling me an idea about the amount of money i will ask with my qualifications?

Thank you in advance.

Hi Jell,

no that is not possible, sorry to say that. I have 50k net(nearly tripple of average salary here), 2 kids and hell we are struggling. Rent + car leasing + necessities + kids needs and we are in minus more or less every single month. Czech republic is not a place to make money. In Germany, I'd have double to tripple salary when compared to here. Then one man can provide for big family. Actualy thinking of moving abroad for these reasons.

Hi all,
was offered 50,000 CZK (gross) monthly salary in Prague (Tech industry) - We are a family of 4.
Will I be able to support all of us on this salary? We are aiming for decent standard of living, comfortable, but not fancy.
Is this doable?

Also, I am a no-citizen. Will my approved work status enable my wife to work too?

Appreciate your answers,
great site,
take care,

David

I was hoping to put an update to my previous comments with big concerns to report that the mood of atmosphere for foreigners in Praha and this nation in general is gladly improving for good but I'm very afraid and it's so distressing that I've definitely noticed recently that it's unfortunately getting far more worse, for especially those expat people with dark afrcan complexion or near middle eastrn backgrounds.
In the past, I’ve always talked to Czech people how the negative dislike mood towards Roma or gypsie people could very well expand to other groups of foreigners in a matter of time but they always had brushed me off saying that’s not happening at a large scale. Granted, back then while foreigners especially two groups of people I mention above may not had the most favorable treatment but it also wasn't so negative either, would agree it was more of a so-so at least.
However, the first significant direction towards such negative atmosphere I sensed was when there were Ebola crisis back in 2014 where local people started talking about it as if how the dark foreigners from the continent were all carrying the epidemic disease, therefore should be cautious around them. I was deeply concerned with talks like that and of course I was extremely shocked when one dark exchange student was completely mistreated for suspicion that they covered the whole student in a garbage bag in transit to the hospital a couple of years ago. I know a human wrapped in a garbage bag, I'm lost for words what to say even to this day.
I really thought and hoped it was to do with the disease crisis and that's it but I'm so afraid to dare to say that it might have well been only the very beginning of it. I do not fully understand what latest global events or phenomena in Europe have triggered the local people in this nation, whether a turning point was due to the horrific events in the French capital, never ending boat arrivals on the shores of Sicily, such dramatic Merkel welcoming of so many migrants to her nation, new year horrendous incidents in Cologne as well as many other cities in northern and western Europe or a number of recent barbaric incidents across much of Bavaria.
It might have been the combination of all those incidents but the Czechs almost every person I speak to, they talk like the people going to parts of northern and western Europe are all illegal trespassing law breakers, once again lost for words all the time. They talk about the huge fear of these groups of people arriving from afrca and the middle east but of all the years I’ve been in Czech Rep to this day, I’ve only managed to meet political refuge dissenters from Belarus and Ukraine in countable numbers with my own hand. Due to the nature of my work, I get to travel a lot around this nation meeting lots of people so it’s not like I’m missing out on the population. So no one gets to this nation but the local people are endlessly speaking about some sort of like a flood ‘gate’ opening, which is utterly unbelievable.
I never thought the mood of tension and general dislike towards certain groups of people can happen this quickly and this strongly on a nationwide level. There are virtually no people with afrcan or middle eastrn background in this nation, only very very small negligible and even those very few who are in this nation are almost 99% middle class students who stay as short-term exchange or studies for a couple of years so I find the reasons for this whole such panic negative national mood now and highly unfortunate continuous build-up of atmosphere to be downright absurd. Of the so few afrcan american expats among US citizens in this nation, I know a couple of them and it’s so disheartening that both of them, already one from Texas went home two months ago and other from Florida is planning to return home next month, largely due to the fact that they got fed up with constant mistreatments so bad thus they have completely given up on the possible positive improvements in the near foreseeable future.
It seems almost as though there’s some kind of mistreatment witch-hunt going on in this nation, the problem is, there are no ‘witch’ to be found that they’re looking for because all of the arrival of migrants are all in the other far places in the northern and the western Europe. All the energy that used to be spent on gypsies have basically found the new targets and are redirected towards the so-called the new threats, and that is unbelievably worrying from anybody’s point of view. And to make matters only worse, if there’s Hungarian pm Orban, there’s equally concerning Czech president Zeman and potentially soon to be Czech pm Babis who’s often compared to Trump of Europe. So politics are not in any help, in fact it only fuels and accelerates the problems for the worst possible outcomes.
The neighboring Germany recently a year or two ago even stopped charging tuition fees as far as I know, so I’m just puzzled how the Czechs are going to persuade people to study in this nation given the ever-increasingly toxic and highly intensified mood of environment for foreigners. Based on the current atmosphere in the Czech Rep due to the events happening in other parts of Europe and around the globe, I’m enormously sad that it may take at least 5 years to even well over 10 years to let this such negative mood of atmosphere to cool down a little and hopefully normalize as a result.
However in the meantime, I believe no people with dark afrcan complexion or middle to near middle eastrn background in their proper mind should even think about studying or be as an expat in this nation because these people simply do not deserved to be mistreated so badly, constantly looked with suspicions, met with skepticisms and overall make them totally uncomfortable with their stays. It’s definitely not the right choice for these groups of people and there’s absolutely no reason to go through such hardships far away from home, friends and family as there are plenty of much better places elsewhere and as we know the life doesn’t go on forever to spoil it with such misery which surely can be avoided with the right decisions. My apologies for the lengthy criticisms but I still cannot believe what is happening now with so many ordinary Czechs across all generations including the young and how much more awful it will become for some groups of people, only that the circumstances are getting unfortunately worse by day in this nation.