Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alton and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,530 in Alton, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Alton
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Alton Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Alton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,530

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,530 per month in Alton vs $1,340 in Bucharest, rent included.

Alton $2,530
Bucharest $1,340

A couple spends around $3,777 per month in Alton vs $2,037 in Bucharest, rent included.

Alton $3,777
Bucharest $2,037

A family of three spends $5,024 per month in Alton vs $2,734 in Bucharest, rent included.

Alton $5,024
Bucharest $2,734

Alton costs about 89% more than Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Alton sits 87% above the global median, while Bucharest is 1% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.36 £19.78

$14.49 RON 68.6

81.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £78.8

$58.1 RON 275

80.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 £8.00

$7.48 RON 35.40

42.51%

Cappuccino

$5.55 £4.17

$3.44 RON 16.29

61.34%

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

$3.00 £2.25

$2.37 RON 11.22

26.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 £1.58

$2.30 RON 10.88

-8.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.03 £6.77

$3.70 RON 17.51

144.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.83 £5.87

$4.16 RON 19.69

88.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 £1.41

$1.67 RON 7.90

12.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.37 RON 6.50

52.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 £1.78

$1.72 RON 8.14

37.79%

Eggs

$3.37 £2.53

$3.64 RON 17.22

-7.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.69 £9.52

$9.08 RON 42.98

39.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.83 £8.12

$6.84 RON 32.35

58.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.10 £12.83

$12.00 RON 56.8

42.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.23 RON 5.80

152.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.63 RON 7.73

-14.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 £2.25

$1.57 RON 7.45

91.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.33 £2.49

$2.54 RON 12.01

31.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$0.79 RON 3.75

111.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$0.77 RON 3.66

135.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 £1.09

$0.87 RON 4.13

66.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 £1.40

$0.99 RON 4.70

88.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.32 £17.49

$6.31 RON 29.86

269.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 £7.98

$6.20 RON 29.34

71.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 £1.76

$1.19 RON 5.63

96.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 £2.01

$1.57 RON 7.45

70.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.34 £2.51

$0.86 RON 4.08

288.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.8 £72.6

$21.10 RON 99.8

358.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.49 £4.12

$0.64 RON 3.05

757.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.37 £2.53

$0.60 RON 2.86

461.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.82 £19.37

$6.43 RON 30.43

301.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.96 RON 9.25

8.16%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

33.81%

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

$40.6K £30.4K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

52.29%

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

$366 £275

$196 RON 927

86.84%

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

$17.92 £13.44

$8.04 RON 38.04

122.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.71 £30.54

$9.35 RON 44.21

335.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.21 £33.92

$50.2 RON 238

-9.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$17.61 £13.21

$8.15 RON 38.55

116.07%

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

$2,896 £2,173

$628 RON 2,971

361.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.1K £26.3K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

149.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 £84.6

$89.6 RON 424

25.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.4 £40.77

$38.32 RON 181

41.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$125 £94.1

$79.3 RON 375

58.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.4 £73.0

$90.4 RON 428

7.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 £931

$678 RON 3,209

82.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$992 £744

$448 RON 2,121

121.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,118 £1,589

$1,083 RON 5,125

95.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,668 £1,252

$725 RON 3,430

130.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,099 £3,825

$3,751 RON 17.7K

35.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,932 £2,950

$2,195 RON 10.4K

79.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

6.75

-31.11%

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

Last update for Alton: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Alton

$992 39.2%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 54.8% $544

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alton

$425 16.8%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 49.8% $211

Eating Out

Alton

$391 15.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 42.4% $166

Groceries & Markets

Alton

$334 13.2%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 32.6% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Alton

$175 6.9%

Bucharest

$134 10% 23.7% $42

Getting Around

Alton

$133 5.2%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 78.7% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Alton

$80 3.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 17.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,241 in Alton versus $678 in Bucharest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $105 in Alton versus $58.0 in Bucharest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $334 vs $225 – making Bucharest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Alton

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

03:44 3:44 AM

05:44 5:44 AM

2 h ahead of Alton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,816

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alton Bucharest 2,140 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Alton
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

Alton vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,530 in Alton, $1,340 in Bucharest – roughly 89% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,795 per month in Alton and $2,011 in Bucharest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bucharest, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 359% less in Bucharest. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,896 per month in Alton and $628 in Bucharest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Bucharest, where all-in costs run around $1,340, than in Alton at $2,530. In Bucharest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Alton it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Bucharest has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,340 in Bucharest to $2,530 in Alton. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Bucharest. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Alton makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.