Cost of Living in Bucharest, 🇷🇴 Romania - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 $688 $634 $950 $449 $95

Utilities 14 11 — $211 $316 $195 —

Internet & Mobile 4 5 14 $32 $14 $20 $14 $0

Groceries 15 $125 $285 $680 $95 $7

Transportation 2 12 $64 $54 $147 $39 $15

Dining Out 11 15 $812 $266 $580 $118 $44

Leisure Activities 16 17 8 $85 $70 $1,580 $61 $22

Health Insurance 7 $63 $53 $212 — $2

Visa & Legal Fees 9 10 $28 $28 $56 — —

Total $1,897 $1,615 $4,541 $971 $185

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 $449.06 $371 – $775 per month

Coworking Space 6 $252.86 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 1 $688.17 $560 – $1,012 per month

Coliving Space 1 $506.15 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 19 $2.72 per cup

Beer 15 $3.16 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 11 15 $14.76 per meal

Fast Food Combo 15 11 $7.38 per meal

Apples 15 $0.71 per kg

Bread 15 $0.84 per loaf

Milk 15 $1.62 per liter

Rice 15 $2.11 per kg

Chicken Fillets 15 $6.32 per kg

Beef 15 $9.49 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 15 $6.33 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 11 $58.01 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 15 $0.44 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 12 13 $0.61 per trip

Taxi per km 12 13 $0.61 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 2 $33.74 per month

Gasoline 20 3 $2.12 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 12 $3.66 per trip

Scooter Rental 11 $18.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 4 5 $5.62 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 14 $8.58 per month

Gym Membership 16 $53.88 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 11 $25.31 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 4 $3.37 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 17 $7.38 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 11 $89.97 per pair

Summer Dress 11 $38.74 per dress

Running Shoes 11 $79.43 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 11 $11.10 per visit

Laundry 11 $6.33 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 18 $63.27 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 11 $6.99 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 4.7417 RON on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Sofia, Budapest, Berlin

OLX Bucharest apartment rents (EUR/month, Oct 2026 listings)Listings
STB metropolitan + metro monthly pass 160 leiOfficial
Romania gasoline RON 10.11/litre (19 Oct 2026)Index
Orange PrePay 3€ and 5€ euro-credit SIM/eSIM startersOfficial
Orange PrePay recharge bundles (4€–16€ credit)Official
Regus Anchor open desk 1,199 lei/month excl. taxOfficial
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
Bucharest international school fees 2026/27Secondary
Romania D/AS digital-nomad long-stay routeOfficial
Romania eVisa portal (D/AS long-stay fees)Official
Livingcost Bucharest GP, haircut, cold medicine, leisure cross-checkIndex
Meridian Taxi Bucharest 2.89 lei start and per kmOfficial
PMB HCGMB 91/2008 taxi distance tariff max 3.5 lei/kmOfficial
Digi FiberLink 1000 8.25 EUR/month (940 Mbps max)Official
Kaufland Romania leaflet KW43 (21–27 Oct 2026) grocery promosShop
World Class Bronze Loyalty €48/month (Bucharest clubs)Official
Cinema City ticket tables (2D adult category C 30–35 lei)Official
MedLife medicina de familie consultatie 300 leiOfficial
McDonald’s McCafé cappuccino 12.90 lei (Bucharest)Shop
Petrom gasoline avg 10.06 lei/L Bucharest (25 Oct 2026, ANPC feed)Secondary

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 1314.4 688.17
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 713.86 449.06
- Apples 1.18 0.71
- Beef 13.14 9.49
- Beer 3.17 3.16
40 more changes
- Bread 1.02 0.84
- Chicken Fillets 7.25 6.32
- Cinema Ticket 7.93 7.38
- Coffee 3.74 2.72
- Coliving Space 861.16 506.15
- Coworking Space 215.29 252.86
- Dining Out local 90.65, nomad 815.84, expat 271.95, family 498.57, tourist 49.86 local 118, nomad 812, expat 266, family 580, tourist 44
- Doctor Visit (GP) 45.32 63.27
- Fast Food Combo 8.61 7.38
- Gasoline 1.69 2.12
- Groceries local 249.28, nomad 135.97, expat 317.27, family 725.19, tourist 5.67 local 95, nomad 125, expat 285, family 680, tourist 6.5
- Gym Membership 49.86 53.88
- Haircut 19.26 11.1
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 79.32, expat 56.66, family 249.28 local 0, nomad 62.72, expat 53, family 212, tourist 2.2
- Housing local 396.59, nomad 1178.43, expat 725.19, family 1246.42, tourist 101.98 local 449.06, nomad 688.17, expat 633.51, family 950.27, tourist 95
- Internet & Mobile local 14.73, nomad 33.99, expat 18.13, family 40.79, tourist 2.72 local 14.2, nomad 32, family 19.8, tourist 0.34
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 10.2 8.58
- Jeans 72.52 89.97
- Laundry 14.73 6.33
- Leisure Activities local 56.66, nomad 249.28, expat 135.97, family 339.93, tourist 20.4 local 61, nomad 85, expat 70, family 1580, tourist 22
- Meal (Inexpensive) 10.2 14.76
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 56.66 58.01
- Milk 1.77 1.62
- Mobile Plan 9.06 5.62
- Monthly Transport Pass 18.13 33.74
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 7.93 6.99
- Rice 1.93 2.11
- Ride-hailing (5km) 6.35 3.66
- Running Shoes 92.91 79.43
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 6.8 3.37
- Scooter Rental 12.46 18
- Summer Dress 40.79 38.74
- Taxi Start 0.79 0.61
- Taxi per km 0.79 0.61
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 20.4 25.31
- Transportation local 18.13, nomad 101.98, expat 67.99, family 203.96, tourist 15.86 local 38.74, nomad 64, expat 54, family 147, tourist 15
- Utilities local 147.3, nomad 203.96, expat 192.63, family 317.27, tourist 0 local 195.21, nomad 0, expat 210.9, family 316.35, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 11.33, expat 33.99, family 67.99 local 0, nomad 28, expat 28, family 56
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.79 0.44
- Wine (Mid-range) 7.93 6.33
Coffee, Gym Membership, Cinema Ticket, Doctor Visit (GP), Gasoline, Leisure Activities (local) moved to McCafé/Wolt, World Class, Cinema City, MedLife and Petrom ANPC feed (wolt.com, worldclass.ro, cinemacity.ro, medlife.ro, pretcarburant.ro)

Bucharest cost of living