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Cost of Living in Bucharest

Whether you’re retiring, temporarily relocating, or moving to Bucharest for good, it’s helpful to have a picture of what life there will cost as an expat. Using Wise could help you reduce your overall costs. Now you can send, receive, and organise your money internationally, without hefty fees.

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Compare the cost of living by city in Romania

This is a breakdown showing the living expenses in Romania by city. Major cities usually have a higher cost of living than smaller cities. The average cost of living is about 37.2 as of August 2024, taking into account the most common and unavoidable costs such as housing, food, transport and more.

CityCOL IndexRent Index

42.6

11.8

42.2

12.8

40.2

13.4

38.7

11.3

37.9

9.2

37.5

8.3

36.8

9

35.6

8.5

Calculate the cost for living in Romania

Use our currency exchange calculator to figure out your costs in your preferred currency. Understand the mid-market exchange rate for your currency pair to make sure you get a fair deal when you send, spend or convert currencies.

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Average living cost in Bucharest

CategoryLocal currencyRange

Restaurants

Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant

55.00 lei

40.00-100.00

Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course

250.00 lei

200.00-449.90

McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)

35.00 lei

30.00-45.00

Domestic Beer (1 pint draught)

15.00 lei

8.00-20.00

Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle)

18.00 lei

12.00-22.00

Cappuccino (regular)

14.36 lei

10.00-20.00

Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle)

9.56 lei

5.00-15.00

Water (12 oz small bottle)

9.77 lei

7.00-13.00

Markets

Milk (regular), (1 gallon)

29.78 lei

18.93-37.85

Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb)

4.90 lei

2.72-8.16

Rice (white), (1 lb)

3.65 lei

2.27-5.44

Eggs (regular) (12)

15.07 lei

9.60-19.20

Local Cheese (1 lb)

19.12 lei

11.34-31.75

Chicken Fillets (1 lb)

14.15 lei

9.07-18.14

Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat)

23.05 lei

15.79-36.29

Apples (1 lb)

2.62 lei

1.36-4.54

Banana (1 lb)

3.51 lei

2.72-5.00

Oranges (1 lb)

3.36 lei

2.27-5.00

Tomato (1 lb)

4.20 lei

2.27-7.71

Potato (1 lb)

2.30 lei

1.13-3.63

Onion (1 lb)

2.04 lei

1.13-3.63

Lettuce (1 head)

3.92 lei

2.50-7.00

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

3.75 lei

2.50-5.00

Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range)

31.00 lei

18.00-41.00

Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

5.35 lei

3.50-9.00

Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle)

7.97 lei

5.00-12.00

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro)

27.00 lei

25.00-29.99

Transportation

One-way Ticket (Local Transport)

3.00 lei

3.00-4.00

Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

80.00 lei

80.00-140.00

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

3.00 lei

2.50-4.50

Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff)

4.83 lei

4.02-6.04

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

30.00 lei

25.00-40.00

Gasoline (1 gallon)

27.25 lei

24.64-30.28

Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car)

120,655.90 lei

116,000.00-125,000.00

Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car)

121,659.15 lei

113,446.48-135,000.00

Utilities (Monthly)

Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment

771.68 lei

510.00-1,100.00

Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data

43.73 lei

20.00-100.00

Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL)

40.01 lei

30.00-60.00

Sports And Leisure

Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult

228.96 lei

150.00-350.00

Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend)

99.81 lei

60.00-150.00

Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat

38.89 lei

30.00-50.00

Childcare

Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child

2,324.93 lei

1,900.00-3,888.00

International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child

44,379.45 lei

30,000.00-80,000.00

1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

350.78 lei

160.00-600.00

1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...)

190.48 lei

100.00-300.00

1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range)

385.45 lei

300.00-600.00

1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes

470.81 lei

300.00-800.00

Rent per month

Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre

2,737.74 lei

2,000.00-3,500.00

Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre

1,817.29 lei

1,491.91-2,500.00

Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre

4,519.53 lei

3,500.00-7,459.56

Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre

3,181.17 lei

2,486.52-4,500.00

Buy Apartment Price

Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre

1,152.13 lei

739.21-1,579.34

Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre

730.28 lei

554.41-1,108.82

Salaries And Financing

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

5,575.60 lei

Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate

7.21

5.90-9.70

Source: Numbeo, Cost of living comparison. Checked August 2024.

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