Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aalst and in Bucharest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aalst and in Bucharest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Aalst $2,067
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Aalst $3,086
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Aalst $4,105
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Aalst is roughly 54% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aalst is 53% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.10

$14.49 RON 69.0

55.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.3

$58.1 RON 277

81.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.99

$7.48 RON 35.64

79.55%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.95

$3.44 RON 16.40

28.78%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 €3.24

$2.37 RON 11.29

53.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.83

$2.30 RON 10.96

37.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.96

$3.70 RON 17.63

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$4.16 RON 19.83

32.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.67 RON 7.95

-21.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.51

$1.37 RON 6.54

105.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.72 RON 8.19

23.84%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.42

$3.64 RON 17.33

5.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.52

$9.08 RON 43.27

91.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.59

$6.84 RON 32.57

73.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.90

$12.00 RON 57.2

85.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.23 RON 5.84

143.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.63 RON 7.78

49.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.57 RON 7.50

70.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.88

$2.54 RON 12.09

27.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.21

$0.79 RON 3.77

212.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$0.77 RON 3.68

153.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$0.87 RON 4.16

77.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$0.99 RON 4.73

6.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.54

$6.31 RON 30.06

104.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.80

$6.20 RON 29.54

40.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.19 RON 5.66

44.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.57 RON 7.50

32.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.76

$0.86 RON 4.10

259.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 101

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$0.64 RON 3.07

346.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.60 RON 2.87

291.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €36.05

$6.43 RON 30.64

528.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.96 RON 9.32

8.16%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.7K €30.9K

$29.0K RON 138.1K

19.54%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.8K €29.3K

$26.6K RON 126.9K

23.18%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$203 €181

$196 RON 933

3.53%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.94 €19.58

$8.04 RON 38.30

172.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.37

$9.35 RON 44.51

443.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.32

$50.2 RON 239

-27.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.77

$25.33 RON 121

-16.98%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.55

$8.15 RON 38.81

86.26%

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

$1,605 €1,433

$628 RON 2,991

155.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.1K

$14.1K RON 67.1K

139.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$89.6 RON 427

26.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.21

$38.32 RON 183

20.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.9

$79.3 RON 378

28.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €146

$90.4 RON 431

80.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €813

$678 RON 3,231

34.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €721

$448 RON 2,136

80.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,236

$1,083 RON 5,159

27.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €985

$725 RON 3,453

52.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,714

$3,751 RON 17.9K

10.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,580

$2,195 RON 10.5K

31.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,483

$1,329 RON 6,332

109.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

6.75

-48.74%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 44.5% $359

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 37.5% $135

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 33.7% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 22.6% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Bucharest

$134 10% 29.9% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 0.1% $0

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 4.7% $1.3

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in Aalst and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 109% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $106 in Aalst vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

05:55 5:55 AM

06:55 6:55 AM

1 h ahead of Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Aalst Bucharest 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Aalst
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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aalst vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aalst and Bucharest differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 109% higher in Aalst, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $911 in Aalst versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Aalst and Bucharest are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.