Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bacau and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Bacau: $913 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Bacau
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Bacau Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Bacau

🇷🇴 Romania

$913

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bacau and in Cape Town

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

A single person spends $913 per month in Bacau vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Bacau $913
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $1,548 per month in Bacau vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Bacau $1,548
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $2,182 per month in Bacau vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Bacau $2,182
Cape Town $3,263

Bacau is about 42% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Bacau sits 32% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.05 RON 66.5

$12.14 R 200

15.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.1 RON 402

$45.34 R 747

87.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.39 RON 34.96

$5.88 R 96.9

25.68%

Cappuccino

$1.98 RON 9.37

$2.50 R 41.18

-20.80%

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

$1.94 RON 9.16

$1.27 R 20.94

52.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 RON 8.97

$0.98 R 16.14

93.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$2.99 R 49.33

-17.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 RON 14.96

$3.72 R 61.4

-15.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 RON 5.76

$1.30 R 21.40

-6.15%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 RON 3.09

$1.25 R 20.68

-48.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 RON 7.74

$2.23 R 36.76

-26.46%

Eggs

$3.39 RON 16.03

$3.11 R 51.2

9.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.79 RON 36.87

$9.06 R 149

-14.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.43 RON 25.67

$6.92 R 114

-21.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.42 RON 39.86

$9.30 R 153

-9.46%

Apples (1kg)

$1.14 RON 5.41

$1.84 R 30.25

-38.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.06

$1.96 R 32.29

-23.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 RON 7.32

$1.67 R 27.45

-7.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 RON 8.24

$2.17 R 35.70

-19.82%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 RON 3.43

$1.57 R 25.81

-54.14%

Onion (1kg)

$0.65 RON 3.07

$1.48 R 24.45

-56.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 RON 3.59

$1.30 R 21.41

-41.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 RON 3.23

$1.13 R 18.60

-39.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.47 RON 25.87

$3.60 R 59.3

51.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.08 RON 24.02

$6.15 R 101

-17.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$1.38 R 22.66

-31.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 RON 5.78

$2.14 R 35.20

-42.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 RON 3.51

$1.50 R 24.65

-50.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.14 RON 138

$60.8 R 1,001

-52.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.62 RON 2.92

$0.59 R 9.71

5.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 RON 3.17

$1.50 R 24.65

-55.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.08 RON 33.51

$5.11 R 84.2

38.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 RON 8.50

$1.55 R 25.50

16.13%

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

$28.9K RON 136.6K

$36.2K R 596.5K

-20.26%

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

$24.9K RON 117.9K

$31.2K R 514.8K

-20.28%

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

$106 RON 502

$114 R 1,883

-7.15%

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

$7.51 RON 35.53

$28.91 R 476

-74.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$4.83 RON 22.86

$39.73 R 654

-87.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.72 RON 122

$49.01 R 808

-47.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.83 RON 74.9

$10.99 R 181

44.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.44 RON 30.45

$9.15 R 151

-29.62%

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

$591 RON 2,794

$259 R 4,264

128.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,858 RON 23.0K

$6,794 R 111.9K

-28.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.9 RON 392

$56.2 R 926

47.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.49 RON 149

$32.41 R 534

-2.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.6 RON 282

$121 R 1,987

-50.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.6 RON 395

$108 R 1,781

-22.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$400 RON 1,891

$1,021 R 16.8K

-60.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$235 RON 1,113

$717 R 11.8K

-67.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$546 RON 2,584

$1,824 R 30.1K

-70.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$399 RON 1,889

$1,327 R 21.9K

-69.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,818 RON 8,604

$2,391 R 39.4K

-23.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,199 RON 5,673

$1,542 R 25.4K

-22.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$933 RON 4,415

$1,639 R 27.0K

-43.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.97

10.97

-36.46%

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

Last update for Bacau: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bacau

$235 25.8%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 205% $482

Eating Out

Bacau

$192 21.1%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 8.4% $16

Groceries & Markets

Bacau

$176 19.3%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 27.7% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bacau

$118 13%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 54.4% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Bacau

$116 12.7%

Cape Town

$143 9% 23.2% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Bacau

$39 4.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 74.4% $29

Getting Around

Bacau

$36 4%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 107% $39

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $400 in Bacau versus $1,021 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 76% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Bacau versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $176 in Bacau vs $225 in Cape Town – so Bacau wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bacau

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:21 1:21 AM

00:21 12:21 AM

1 h behind Bacau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

144,307

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bacau Cape Town 8,990 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bacau
Cape Town

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

Bacau vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cape Town is pricier by about 74%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,369 per month in Bacau and $2,379 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Bacau and $45.00 in Cape Town. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $913 in Bacau and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 74%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Bacau, where all-in costs run around $913, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Bacau it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Bacau – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Bacau. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.