Croatia's anchor price: two prices on every tag from 1 October

From 1 October 2026 a new rule applies to almost every price you see in Croatia. Shops, market stalls, cafés, restaurants, hairdressers, repair services and online shops must show, next to the current price, the price the same product or service had on 10 September 2026. Croatians call it the "sidrena cijena", the anchor price; the official term is "dodatna cijena", the additional price. The government introduced it as a direct price-control measure so that customers can see at a glance whether a price has gone up. For food, drinks, cosmetics, cleaning products, toiletries and household goods, which have carried such a second price since 2 May 2025, nothing changes: their reference date stays 2 May 2025.

What you will see on price tags and menus

The second price must stand in the same place as the current one: on the same shelf label, on the same menu or price list. A separate sheet with old prices is not allowed. Businesses may choose the font size and whether the anchor price sits above, below or next to the current price, but it has to be clear and legible for an average customer. The Ministry of Economy recommends writing only the reference date next to it, for example "Cijena na 10.09.2026.", without the words "sidrena" or "dodatna cijena", so on most tags and menus you will see a date rather than a label.

The anchor price has to be shown even when nothing has changed. A coffee that cost the same on 10 September and today carries the same amount twice, once as today's price and once with the date 10 September 2026. Products and services first offered after 10 September show the price from the day they were first put on sale, with that date. A new internal code or a new name for the same product does not make it new, and a product that was temporarily out of stock on 10 September keeps the price recorded in the system for that day.

Sales: three prices on one tag

During a sale or promotion the anchor price comes on top of the rule that already existed: the tag then shows the reduced price, the lowest price of the last 30 days and the anchor price, and the unit price may be left out. If a product happened to be on promotion on 10 September, its anchor price is the regular price before the promotion, not the reduced one. Prices for particular groups, such as cash discounts, pensioner discounts, loyalty apps and member programmes, are not used as anchor prices.

What changes for travellers

• Cafés, bars and restaurants: menus and drinks lists must show both prices for every item, on the same list.
• Hairdressers, repair shops, telecom operators and other services: the price list shows the price valid on 10 September 2026 next to the current one.
• Holiday apartments and hotels: accommodation prices shown in the host's own booking system or on booking platforms are exempt.
• Booking and delivery platforms: dishes, rooms or tickets sold for third parties are exempt; only the platform's own charges, such as a delivery or service fee, a platform ticket or a cloakroom fee, must show the anchor price.
• Pharmacies: the rule covers non-prescription products such as sun cream, vitamins, supplements and pastilles.
• Services priced by demand, route or algorithm: the anchor price applies to the individual price components that were valid on 10 September 2026.
• Adverts: flyers, posters, in-store screens and websites must include the anchor price; TV, radio and loyalty-programme adverts are exempt, and flyers printed after 1 October must already carry it.

Price lists online

A second decision published the same day extends a rule that until now applied only to large supermarkets. Every retailer and service provider with its own website, even a simple presentation page, must publish its price list there as a machine-readable .csv or .xml file. Shops update it every working day by 8:00, service providers by 8:00 on the day a price changes, and older lists stay online for at least 30 days. For goods the list also shows whether an item is in stock in that particular shop. A social-media profile does not count as a website. Price-comparison sites and apps can read these files automatically, which is the point of the format.

Checks and fines

The State Inspectorate (Državni inspektorat) supervises the rules. Under Article 20 of the Law on Exceptional Price Control Measures, a company that does not show the prices clearly, visibly and legibly faces a fine of 3,000 to 30,000 euros and the responsible person within it 1,000 to 4,000 euros; craftsmen and self-employed people face 1,000 to 20,000 euros and traders who are natural persons 1,000 to 6,000 euros. Any financial gain from the violation is confiscated.

How to use the two prices

• Compare the two amounts: if today's price is higher than the one dated 10 September, it has gone up since then; for food and household goods the comparison goes back to 2 May 2025.
• If a tag, menu or price list shows only one price after 1 October, ask for the full price list: both prices have to be on the same list.
• Missing or unclear prices can be reported to the State Inspectorate, which supervises the rule (dirh.gov.hr).
• Before a big shop, check the supermarkets' online price lists or a comparison app built on them.

Why Croatia is doing this

The two decisions were adopted at the 201st session of the Croatian government as part of its eleventh package of measures to protect households and businesses from rising prices, and were published in the Official Gazette, Narodne novine no. 101/2026, on 11 September 2026. They rest on the Law on Exceptional Price Control Measures of March 2025. According to the Ministry of Economy, the aim is to ease inflationary pressure, make prices more transparent, follow the effect of price changes and help consumers make informed decisions. The first version of the rule, in force since 2 May 2025, covered only everyday goods such as food and drinks and only large store formats for the online price lists; from 1 October it covers all products and all services.