Is Vilnius still the least expensive Baltic capital?

Lrytas.lt journalists used the Numbeo.com system and compared the price of the most important products and services for consumers, as well as fuel and rental costs in the three Baltic capital cities – Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn.

According to Numbeo.com data, an inexpensive lunch in a café in Vilnius costs €5, in Riga – a little over €6, in Tallinn – €7. If two people had three courses at a mid-range restaurant in Vilnius, it would cost them €3, the same as in Riga, in Tallinn it would cost €5 extra.

A half-litre glass of beer would cost €2 in Riga and Vilnius, but €3 in Tallinn. A cup of cappuccino in Vilnius will cost a little more than €1.80. In Riga and Tallinn, the same product will cost 27 cents and 53 cents more respectively.

The general costs of goods in the stores of the three capitals are similar, with the exception of a few products. If milk in Vilnius and Riga costs about the same, in Tallinn, one litre of milk is actually 27 cents cheaper than in Vilnius.

A kilo of local cheese in Tallinn would cost a little more than €5, in Riga – more than €6, but in Vilnius it costs almost €7. A pack of cigarettes costs 30 cents more in Riga and 50 cents more in Tallinn than in Vilnius.

Basic utilities (electricity, heating, water, garbage collection) for a 85 square metre apartment would cost €150 in Vilnius, €183 in Riga, €156 in Tallinn.

For internet, 10 Mbps of unlimited internet access in Vilnius costs more than €8, in Riga – more than €11 and in Tallinn – more than €15.

According to data from Numbeo.com, average salaries in Vilnius and Riga are essentially the same, in Tallinn citizens earn €211 more.

If Vilnius residents wanted to have the same standards of life in Riga, they would need to earn almost €13 more, but in Tallinn they would have to earn €172 more than what they earn in Vilnius to match that standard.

Lrytas.lt