Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Abidjan and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Abidjan: $1,211 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Abidjan
Learn more

Abidjan Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Abidjan

🇨🇮 Ivory Coast

$1,211

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Abidjan 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 Abidjan and in Bucharest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,211 in Abidjan versus $1,371 in Bucharest.

Abidjan $1,211
Bucharest $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,096 in Abidjan versus $2,067 in Bucharest.

Abidjan $2,096
Bucharest $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,982 in Abidjan versus $2,764 in Bucharest.

Abidjan $2,982
Bucharest $2,764

Living in Abidjan costs roughly 12% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.53 F CFA 1,479

$14.51 RON 69.0

-82.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.1 F CFA 40.3K

$61.2 RON 291

12.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.33 F CFA 6,033

$7.46 RON 35.50

38.47%

Cappuccino

$1.86 F CFA 1,089

$3.64 RON 17.33

-48.90%

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

$0.72 F CFA 422

$2.62 RON 12.44

-72.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 F CFA 437

$2.36 RON 11.24

-68.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.00 F CFA 585

$3.78 RON 18.00

-73.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 F CFA 969

$4.11 RON 19.54

-59.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 F CFA 1,226

$1.66 RON 7.90

26.51%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 F CFA 318

$1.40 RON 6.64

-60.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 F CFA 667

$1.79 RON 8.54

-36.31%

Eggs

$2.22 F CFA 1,296

$3.63 RON 17.27

-38.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.58 F CFA 14.9K

$8.92 RON 42.43

186.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.92 F CFA 3,455

$6.86 RON 32.65

-13.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.00 F CFA 4,089

$11.99 RON 57.0

-41.62%

Apples (1kg)

$4.45 F CFA 2,601

$1.30 RON 6.17

242.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 F CFA 596

$1.63 RON 7.77

-37.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 F CFA 1,172

$1.49 RON 7.10

34.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 F CFA 1,356

$2.54 RON 12.09

-8.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 F CFA 1,027

$0.81 RON 3.86

117.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 F CFA 971

$0.80 RON 3.79

107.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.55 F CFA 318

$0.86 RON 4.07

-36.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 F CFA 472

$0.94 RON 4.46

-13.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.68 F CFA 980

$6.60 RON 31.42

-74.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.14 F CFA 3,587

$6.33 RON 30.11

-3.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 F CFA 605

$1.19 RON 5.64

-12.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 F CFA 654

$1.58 RON 7.54

-29.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 F CFA 575

$0.98 RON 4.64

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.94 F CFA 25.1K

$20.91 RON 99.5

105.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 F CFA 1,022

$0.60 RON 2.86

191.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.69 F CFA 988

$0.62 RON 2.93

172.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.84 F CFA 15.1K

$6.37 RON 30.28

305.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 F CFA 848

$2.02 RON 9.63

-28.22%

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

$28.2K F CFA 16.5M

$28.2K RON 134.1K

-0.10%

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

$26.7K F CFA 15.6M

$26.3K RON 125.0K

1.77%

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

$164 F CFA 95.8K

$196 RON 933

-16.42%

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

$21.00 F CFA 12.3K

$8.60 RON 40.89

144.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.61 F CFA 20.2K

$9.20 RON 43.74

276.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.9 F CFA 41.4K

$51.0 RON 243

38.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.94 F CFA 12.2K

$25.04 RON 119

-16.37%

Cinema Ticket

$8.71 F CFA 5,086

$8.26 RON 39.31

5.45%

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

$367 F CFA 214.2K

$681 RON 3,237

-46.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.2K F CFA 6.5M

$18.7K RON 89.1K

-40.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.6 F CFA 53.5K

$93.3 RON 444

-1.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.14 F CFA 21.7K

$39.87 RON 190

-6.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.5 F CFA 38.8K

$80.1 RON 381

-16.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 F CFA 82.2K

$90.6 RON 431

55.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 F CFA 483.7K

$731 RON 3,477

13.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$352 F CFA 205.3K

$470 RON 2,234

-25.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,835 F CFA 1.7M

$1,110 RON 5,282

155.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$979 F CFA 571.7K

$722 RON 3,435

35.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,039 F CFA 1.2M

$3,749 RON 17.8K

-45.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$523 F CFA 305.4K

$2,233 RON 10.6K

-76.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 F CFA 125.6K

$1,365 RON 6,494

-84.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.75

6.75

133.33%

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

Last update for Abidjan: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Abidjan

$352 29.1%

Bucharest

$470 34.3% 33.6% $118

Groceries & Markets

Abidjan

$255 21.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.4% 12% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Abidjan

$220 18.1%

Bucharest

$214 15.6% 2.6% $5.6

Clothing & Footwear

Abidjan

$151 12.5%

Bucharest

$137 10% 9.5% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Abidjan

$88 7.3%

Bucharest

$68 4.9% 23.5% $21

Eating Out

Abidjan

$88 7.3%

Bucharest

$229 16.7% 161% $141

Getting Around

Abidjan

$57 4.7%

Bucharest

$29 2.1% 50.1% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $828 in Abidjan and $731 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $69 in Abidjan vs $61 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇮 Abidjan

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

23:02 11:02 PM

01:02 1:02 AM

2 h ahead of Abidjan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,567,409

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to XOF – West African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 West African CFA Franc (Fr)

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 584 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to XOF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Abidjan Bucharest 5,240 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Abidjan
Bucharest

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

Abidjan vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Abidjan is about 12% cheaper overall, especially in eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Abidjan. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $828 in Abidjan versus $731 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bucharest – a meal for two runs $61 versus $69 in Abidjan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,211 per month in Abidjan versus $1,371 in Bucharest – Abidjan is about 12% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Abidjan wins on affordability, Bucharest on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.