Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bentota and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bentota: $774 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Bentota
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Bentota Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Bentota

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$774

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $774 in Bentota versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Bentota $774
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $896 in Bentota versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Bentota $896
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Bentota versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Bentota $1,018
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Bentota costs roughly 42% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bentota 43% lower, Bucharest 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.29 LKR 1,421

$14.49 RON 68.6

-70.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.97 LKR 3,965

$58.1 RON 275

-79.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.73 LKR 2,560

$7.48 RON 35.40

3.34%

Cappuccino

$2.46 LKR 815

$3.44 RON 16.29

-28.49%

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

$0.68 LKR 225

$2.37 RON 11.22

-71.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 82.2

$2.30 RON 10.88

-89.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 LKR 742

$3.70 RON 17.51

-39.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,016

$4.16 RON 19.69

-26.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 LKR 535

$1.67 RON 7.90

-2.99%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 176

$1.37 RON 6.50

-61.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 LKR 244

$1.72 RON 8.14

-56.98%

Eggs

$1.56 LKR 518

$3.64 RON 17.22

-57.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.03 LKR 4,648

$9.08 RON 42.98

54.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.32 LKR 1,099

$6.84 RON 32.35

-51.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.62 LKR 1,529

$12.00 RON 56.8

-61.50%

Apples (1kg)

$6.81 LKR 2,257

$1.23 RON 5.80

453.66%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 LKR 241

$1.63 RON 7.73

-55.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.59 LKR 1,519

$1.57 RON 7.45

192.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.90 LKR 297

$2.54 RON 12.01

-64.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 331

$0.79 RON 3.75

26.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 LKR 263

$0.77 RON 3.66

2.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 LKR 312

$0.87 RON 4.13

8.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 LKR 143

$0.99 RON 4.70

-56.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.13 LKR 3,356

$6.31 RON 29.86

60.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.36 LKR 4,424

$6.20 RON 29.34

115.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 LKR 645

$1.19 RON 5.63

63.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 LKR 963

$1.57 RON 7.45

85.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 LKR 61.0

$0.86 RON 4.08

-79.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 133

$0.64 RON 3.05

-37.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 LKR 103

$0.60 RON 2.86

-48.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 LKR 289

$6.43 RON 30.43

-86.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 LKR 461

$1.96 RON 9.25

-29.08%

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

$37.2K LKR 12.3M

$29.0K RON 137.2K

28.16%

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

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

$26.6K RON 126.0K

50.63%

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

$54.0 LKR 17.9K

$196 RON 927

-72.41%

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

$2.23 LKR 739

$8.04 RON 38.04

-72.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.03 LKR 2,990

$9.35 RON 44.21

-3.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$4.28 LKR 1,417

$8.15 RON 38.55

-47.48%

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

$38.08 LKR 12.6K

$628 RON 2,971

-93.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,230 LKR 407.3K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-91.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.80 LKR 5,897

$89.6 RON 424

-80.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.82 LKR 5,573

$38.32 RON 181

-56.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.4 LKR 26.6K

$79.3 RON 375

1.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.09 LKR 13.9K

$90.4 RON 428

-53.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$541 LKR 179.2K

$678 RON 3,209

-20.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 LKR 98.7K

$448 RON 2,121

-33.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

6.75

88.00%

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

Last update for Bentota: 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

Bentota

$298 38.5%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 50.4% $150

Groceries & Markets

Bentota

$220 28.5%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 2.2% $4.8

Eating Out

Bentota

$108 14%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 108% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Bentota

$71 9.1%

Bucharest

$134 10% 89.4% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bentota

$65 8.4%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 227% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Bentota

$8.6 * 1.1%

Bucharest

$67 5% 677% $58

Getting Around

Bentota

$2.7 * 0.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 945% $26

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 $541 in Bentota and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Bentota vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $220 vs $225 per month, with Bentota cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Bentota

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

04:10 4:10 AM

01:40 1:40 AM

2 h 30 min behind Bentota

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,000

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

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).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bentota Bucharest 6,700 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bentota
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

Bentota vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bentota is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 73% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,160 in Bentota and $2,011 in Bucharest to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $541 in Bentota versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $774 per month in Bentota versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 73% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $774 in Bentota versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bentota but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Bentota the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bentota is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bucharest, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Bentota gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.