So…whats it cost to live in Prague?

Czech Banknotes & Coins

After living here for almost 6 months, I’ve become quite adept to quickly converting prices from Czech Crowns (aka koruna) to American Dollars. And since I’ve been asked this question several times, I’d like to outline some typical costs a typical expat may face.

To note: at the time of this post, the current exchange rate was approximately 24.4 Czech Koruna (Kc) = $1USD. During my time here, it has fluctuated between 21.3 and 25Kc to the dollar,

Some costs have been covered in other articles but here is a rough run down:

Flat/Apartment: Monthly cost for a furnished flat, apartment fees (maintenance, heating, water, municipal services), electricity, and internet: 8200kc or is about $340 per person. Our flat is about 98 square meters, which is a relatively good size for the price, location, and condition.

Transportation: Monthly Cost: 550kc or about $23 for unlimited rides on the buses, trams, and metro system throughout Prague. I’ve stated before that it’s clean, efficient, and reliable with metro device during peak times every 90 seconds and trams coming every 5-7 minutes throughout the day and night service operating 7 days a week.

One of the above-ground trams

Average Week of Groceries: 700kc (~$25-30) is a good estimate if you shop at one of the main market stores (Tesco, Alberts, Lidl, Billa). Apparently the Czech Republic has one of the highest concentrations of grocery stores per capita. There was an explosion of retail changes following the Velvet Revolution, which leaves many consumers within walking distance to some type of grocery store.

Phone: As I previously wrote, your cost can vary on this but I pay about 400kc a month ($17) for credit that gives me plenty of bandwidth for texting, calling, and using internet (3G). I tend to use WIFI when possible (which it is in almost any cafe) and free apps to talk with family and friends (Skype, WhatsApp, FB Messenger, and Viber).

Average Meal at a restaurant: Between 150-400 kc ($6-17) with drinks included. The best meal of the day to eat at a restaurant is lunch since most places offer a “special of the day”. While it may be the same that is offered at dinner, the prices tend to be cheaper at lunchtime. For instance, one place in central Prague offers an appetizer (usually a soup) plus an entrée for under $5. Tack on a beer for 30 kc and you have a nice sit down meal for about $6.50. For dinner, as long as you stay away from the touristy places, you can find a hearty meal for between 200-300kc ($8-12). Beers run average 30-45kc ($1.25-$1.75). Fast food easily found, with McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and Subway being some of the most prolific chains. A combo meal will run you about 120kc. And if nothing suits your tastes, sample one of the many street vendors and little shops throughout the city.

Pork Knee- One of the traditional Czech Dishes you can find at many local restaurants

Coffee: Espresso, Cappuccino, Americano…each will run you somewhere between 45-60kc ($1.60-$2.50). Coffee vending machines are popular in many buildings, and are usually a fraction of the price…for instance, a “cappuccino” at my TEFL school was 12kc….while not necessary the best, it did the trick when I would hit the afternoon energy low (2:30pm)

Cappuccino at one of the dozens of Cafe’s around the city

Salaries are about 1/3 of what the average American earns per month. Typical monthly wage for an average worker is about 25,000kc (~900 Euro or $1000 USD) before tax. For most new teachers, they see their average salary around 20,000 for “Full Time” work, which is about 20 teaching hours per week. This does not include prep time, travel time to/from, etc.

So, at the end of the month, you have enough money to pay for your expenses and live a modest life here in Prague. You won’t be saving much, if any, but you will typically earn enough to live comfortably and enjoy all that this city and surroundings have to offer. The experience itself of living in Europe is well worth it for me and seems to resonate with many others as well who decide to come here to teach.

If you’re interested, the following website offers much more detail broken down by country. Also, a popular Expat website, expats.cz, publishes an annual article on the cost of living. While my figures agree with some of theirs, others do not.