St. Petersburg is a super interesting city to live in for an extended period of time so I wanted to break down the cost of living in St. Petersburg Russia
This past summer, I lived here for about 21 days (3 weeks), so I had a ton of time to check the prices on pretty much anything.
If you want to live in Eastern Europe for an extended period of time, St. Petersburg is a great city.
First of all, it’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world (especially in the summer). In fact, I think it could even topple Paris in that category.
Second of all, St. Petersburg is the “cultural” capital of Russia (Moscow is the “financial” capital).
You’ll see the best artists, writers, and much more congregate in this city. If you want to be inspired, spend a week in this city .
Finally, St. Petersburg is actually cheaper than what you might expect.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the cost of living in St. Petersburg Russia in 2019.
First impressions on cost of living
Overall, I’m fairly impressed about the cost of living in St. Petersburg. I thought it would have been MUCH higher than it is.
Although admittedly, a large part of the low cost of living has been the strong dollar.
Back in 2014 (nearly 5 years ago), the exchange rate was 30 rubles to 1 dollar. Now, it’s more like 60 rubles to one dollar.
Pretty insane, right? That’s why I love to earn in dollars and spend in other currencies.
Let’s start off with the expensive cost of living things first – and these things are all comparable to western prices.
First of all, rent is pretty expensive, especially if you’re staying in the city center.
Expect to pay at least $1,000 per month to live in a one bedroom or studio apartment in the city center.
Second, gym memberships (and fitness classes in general) are pretty expensive, even by western standards. Expect to pay at least $100 per month for a good gym.
That being said, everything else is MUCH cheaper than the states. Things like museums, entertainment, public transport, and groceries are all cheap by American standards.
Gym memberships and fitness classes
If you want to exercise in St. Petersburg, you better be making some decent money!
Gyms and fitness classes are expensive in this city – even by western standards. Note – I believe this is because most of the gyms I checked out were in the city center.
I’m sure they would be much cheaper outside of the city center.
It will be VERY hard to find a decent gym (clean, good equipment, good classes, and fit people) for less than $100 per month.
So if you’re used to spending $10 bucks per month at Crunch Fitness or Planet Fitness, you’re going to be in for a big sticker shock.
That being said, the gyms here are MASSIVE (usually 20,000+ square feet).
And the gyms that do cost $100+ per month all have great amenities. We’re talking about basketball courts, swimming pools, saunas, restaurants and cafes, and much more.
So that $100 dollars really does get you far.
The gym I chose to go to was called Fit Fashion near Kazan Cathedral.
I paid 8,000 rubles for a one month membership – which is around $130 per month based on current exchange rates.
By the way, if you want to sign up for a gym membership, be sure to bring your passport or they won’t sell it to you.
Food – much cheaper than I expected!
Eating out in St. Petersburg is actually MUCH more affordable than I expected.
I was expecting to pay $100+ per person at some nice restaurants. However, it is usually a third or half that amount!
I’m not sure why it is. I guess is they’re a more family oriented society, so maybe prices are low to encourage families to eat out together more often?
Anyways, I ate out multiple times at nice restaurants.
My meal typically consisted of:
- 1 – 2 drinks (beer or a liquor)
- One starter
- One entree
- and one desert
My bill (depending on the restaurant) averaged between $25 and $50 bucks per person!
Not bad if I say so myself! If I had the same type of food/drinks in places like Paris or Copenhagen, it would easily cost $100+!
That said, there are low cost food options in St. Petersburg as well. There is pretty much a shawarma restaurant on every corner. These restaurants are super cheap and you can get a meal for 100 – 250 rubles (less than $3 bucks).
Also, the city has a lot of these cafeteria style restaurants. They kind of remind me of Soviet food lines.
Anyways, they work just like a school cafeteria. You go in and tell them what you want. The food is very rustic and it’s more like a home cooked meal.
And best of all? Not many tourists go there because you’re eating very ethnic Russian food. And the prices are cheap too (you can get a meal for less than $300 rubles – $5 bucks).
Cost of Museums in Saint Petersburg
Museums are also very cheap in the city no matter where you go.
I think this is awesome because it incentivizes people to explore and experience the history that Piter has to offer.
In general, most museums visits will cost less than 1,000 rubles. In fact, most of them cost around 300 – 500 rubles (which is less than $5 bucks).
Pretty incredible, right? Just before I arrived in St. Petersburg, I went to the History of the American Revolution museum in Philly.
Guess how much that cost? $21 BUCKS!
Museums in St. Petersburg are MUCH cheaper than western standards. Also, don’t be surprised, but Russian residents get favorable pricing when it comes to museums – nothing to get upset about since it’s so cheap already.
So if you want to explore all of the city’s museums, don’t fear. It won’t burn a hole in your wallet.
Cost of transport in St. Petersburg
Public transport is GREAT in St. Petersburg. They have a great subway system (much better than what you’re used to if you live in SF, LA, or San Diego).
A one way subway ride currently costs 45 rubles (around 75 cents) – and this includes as many line changes as you want.
A bus ride is pretty much the same price.
I didn’t really use the bus when I was in the city as I found the subway to be a more pleasant experience and it got me wherever I wanted to go.
Also, Piter does have its own rideshare program. It’s called Yandex. Uber doesn’t exist here because they combined their business with Yandex (which is the “Google” of Russia).
But don’t worry, even though they have a big monopoly, prices are still cheap. You can get anywhere in the city center for around 250 rubles (around $4 bucks).
Cost of Rent in St. Petersburg Russia
Rent is probably the largest expense for most people living in the city.
In fact, I found out that many Russians still live with their parents into their late 20’s and early 30’s.
Rent is obviously going to be vastly more expensive in the city center.
I rented a place on AirBnb for around $30 bucks per night next to the Zvenigorodskaya subway station.
If you’re planning on staying in the city center, I would suggest you stay as close to Nevskiy Prospekt as possible.
Anyways, rent in the city center will be around $900 – $1200 per month depending on which district you are in (this is for a studio or one bedroom apartment).
Drinks and cocktails
Drinks and cocktails are much cheaper than I expected in St. Petersburg Russia.
Beer at most restaurants will cost less than $5 bucks for a half liter (16 – 17 ounce) portion.
Hard liquor (i.e. vodka, whiskey, cognac, etc.) will go for around 300 – 500 rubles depending on the quality.
And cocktails will average around 300 – 800 rubles depending on where you go.
Obviously you can also go to the grocery store and pick up bottles and beer for much cheaper than restaurants.
Overall, a night out drinking in St. Petersburg Russia is actually a lot more affordable than in the states.
Further, the city has many self-cost bars. I’ve never been to one of these places before so it was really interesting.
These are bars where they charge you an hourly fee for being there (typically 150 – 200 rubles an hour).
However, they keep the drinks cheap (touting they sell them to you “at cost”). Anyways, drinks here typically cost less than 200 rubles.
Grocery shopping
Groceries in St. Petersburg are really cheap. So if you want to save money by cooking your own food, that is a great option.
Remember, they weigh things on the metric system here (by kilograms) – so take that into consideration when you’re comparing the prices to things back home.
Overall, fruits and vegetables are super cheap here – typically costing less than 150 rubles per kilo.
Things like meat (chicken, pork, etc.) are a bit more expensive, but still cheap by western standards.
I would say it would cost no more than $30 – $40 bucks per week to feed one person VERY well on groceries.
Cost of living estimates of St. Petersburg Russia
So, my general opinion of St. Petersburg is a very affordable city and you can really have a wide budget range depending on what you want to do here.
Here are my estimates for the cost of living in St. Petersburg for:
- 1. Frugal low cost of living
- 2. High quality of life
Frugal living
This is my budget for “frugal living” if you’re on a lower budget.
Rent:
I’ll assume you live on the outskirts of the city center or outside the city center. Rent drops tremendously in those areas.
Budget around 30,000 – 36,000 rubles ($500 – $600)
You can get even cheaper places than that if you room with someone or go to a hostel – although I’m not a big fan of hostels for obvious reasons.
Groceries:
Let’s assume you get groceries and cook most of the time. You would be able to get a decent amount of food for one person for $20 per week (1,200 rubles) or $80 per month (4,800 rubles)
Gym memberships:
Very standard cheap gym memberships can be found for around 3,000 rubles or less ($50 or less)
Public transport/ride share:
I’ll assume you’re taking the bus or metro everywhere. Let’s say you take 4 round trips a day. That would cost 180 rubles per day (or $3 bucks).
So on a monthly basis, that would cost 5,400 rubles or $90 bucks.
Entertainment (food, museums, drinks, etc.):
I’m assuming you’re going to dine out every weekend (Sat/Sun) and go to museums every weekend too.
You can eat a very good meal for around $30 bucks per person at any restaurant. Also, most museum tickets will cost less than $10 bucks.
Budget for 18,000 rubles for entertainment or around $300 bucks.
Frugal living – St. Petersburg Russia cost of living:
Rent: 30,000 – 36,000 rubles ($500 – $600)
Groceries: 4,800 rubles ($80 bucks)
Gym: 4,800 rubles ($80)
Transport: 5,400 rubles ($90)
Entertainment: 18,000 rubles ($300)
Total cost of living in St. Petersburg: 63,000 rubles – 69,000 rubles ($1,050- $1,150 bucks)
High quality of life
As you can see based on my cost of living estimates, it doesn’t cost much (by western standards) to have a great life in St. Petersburg.
Here is my estimate to achieve a great life that most people would dream of in the west:
Rent:
I’ll assume you live somewhere in the city center. This is great because it means you are close to all of the historic sites.
Budget around 60,000 – 80,000 rubles ($1,000– $1,300) for a one bedroom apartment.
You can get even cheaper places than that if you room with someone.
Groceries:
Let’s assume you get groceries/cook maybe 7 – 10 days out of the month.
The groceries are cheap, so you wouldn’t be spending more than 1,800 rubles per month ($30 bucks) on this.
Gym memberships:
Let’s say you decide to go to a nicer gym (one with a pool, sauna, cafe, etc). It’ll cost you around 8,000 rubles ($130 bucks).
Public transport/ride share:
I’ll assume you’re taking the bus or metro everywhere. Let’s say you take 4 round trips a day. That would cost 180 rubles per day (or $3 bucks).
So on a monthly basis, that would cost 5,400 rubles or $90 bucks.
But let’s also budget in 1,800 rubles per month ($30 bucks) for rideshare.
Entertainment (food, museums, drinks, etc.):
I’m assuming you’re going to dine out most of the time.
You can eat a very good meal for around $30 bucks per person at any restaurant. Also, most museum tickets will cost less than $10 bucks.
Budget for 50,000 rubles for entertainment or around $850 bucks.
High quality of living in St. Petersburg Russia estimate
Rent: 60,000 rubles – 80,000 rubles ($1,000 – $1,300)
Groceries: 1,800 rubles ($30)
Gym: 8,000 rubles ($130)
Transport: 7,200 rubles ($120)
Entertainment: 50,000 rubles ($850)
Total cost of living in St. Petersburg: 127,000 rubles – 147,000 rubles ($2,100 – $2,450 bucks)
Cost of living in St. Petersburg Russia 2019 – Final Thoughts
Overall, the cost of living in St. Petersburg Russia is a lot less than I initially expected.
You can live a good quality of life (by western standards) here for less than $3,000 per month. Of course, that will depend on exchange rates.
But regardless, you can eat out a lot, go to lots of world class museums, and drink like a sailor on those budgets.
Further, St. Petersburg is a VERY safe city for tourists and expats.
So if you want to experience the good life, St. Petersburg Russia is definitely for you. And it’s A LOT more cultured than 90% of U.S. cities.
Readers, have any of you been in St. Petersburg Russia too? Do you agree with my cost of living estimates? Let me know in the comments!