Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bistrita and Cluj-Napoca

For one person, living is cheaper in Bistrita: $849 a month against $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bistrita
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Bistrita Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index

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Bistrita

🇷🇴 Romania

$849

/mo nomad

Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,423

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bistrita and in Cluj-Napoca

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

A single person spends $849 per month in Bistrita vs $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca, rent included.

Bistrita $849
Cluj-Napoca $1,423

A couple spends around $1,284 per month in Bistrita vs $2,126 in Cluj-Napoca, rent included.

Bistrita $1,284
Cluj-Napoca $2,126

A family of three spends $1,720 per month in Bistrita vs $2,830 in Cluj-Napoca, rent included.

Bistrita $1,720
Cluj-Napoca $2,830

Bistrita is about 40% cheaper than Cluj-Napoca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bistrita sits 38% below the global median, while Cluj-Napoca is 5% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.29 RON 30.05

$12.58 RON 60.1

-50.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.15 RON 149

$54.8 RON 262

-43.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.30 RON 30.09

$9.59 RON 45.85

-34.31%

Cappuccino

$2.22 RON 10.61

$3.78 RON 18.05

-41.27%

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

$1.63 RON 7.79

$2.30 RON 11.01

-29.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 RON 6.47

$2.22 RON 10.62

-39.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 RON 9.83

$3.32 RON 15.85

-37.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 RON 15.13

$4.20 RON 20.06

-24.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 RON 5.86

$1.60 RON 7.66

-23.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 RON 5.03

$1.44 RON 6.89

-27.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 RON 4.97

$1.69 RON 8.09

-38.46%

Eggs

$2.57 RON 12.30

$3.76 RON 17.95

-31.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.21 RON 29.69

$9.07 RON 43.33

-31.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.99 RON 28.64

$7.14 RON 34.11

-16.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.03 RON 52.7

$11.46 RON 54.7

-3.75%

Apples (1kg)

$0.87 RON 4.17

$1.39 RON 6.62

-37.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 RON 6.90

$1.58 RON 7.55

-8.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 RON 7.41

$1.88 RON 8.99

-17.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 RON 9.66

$2.37 RON 11.32

-14.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.63

$0.92 RON 4.40

-17.39%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 RON 3.07

$0.90 RON 4.29

-28.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 RON 4.92

$0.90 RON 4.32

14.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 RON 2.99

$1.01 RON 4.81

-37.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.37 RON 25.64

$6.42 RON 30.68

-16.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.38 RON 25.73

$7.41 RON 35.42

-27.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 RON 4.34

$1.25 RON 5.95

-27.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 RON 5.12

$1.73 RON 8.27

-38.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 RON 2.09

$0.76 RON 3.63

-42.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.03 RON 101

$44.23 RON 211

-52.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.69 RON 3.32

$0.84 RON 3.99

-17.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 RON 3.55

$0.96 RON 4.60

-22.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.35 RON 35.13

$8.27 RON 39.51

-11.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 RON 7.35

$1.94 RON 9.26

-20.62%

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

$27.3K RON 130.6K

$28.3K RON 135.4K

-3.54%

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

$24.1K RON 115.2K

$24.7K RON 118.2K

-2.57%

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

$175 RON 835

$151 RON 721

15.87%

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

$5.75 RON 27.46

$8.44 RON 40.32

-31.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.00 RON 28.67

$9.16 RON 43.79

-34.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.70 RON 190

$47.36 RON 226

-16.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.80 RON 147

$22.01 RON 105

39.94%

Cinema Ticket

$6.19 RON 29.59

$9.35 RON 44.70

-33.80%

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

$305 RON 1,457

$577 RON 2,758

-47.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,850 RON 42.3K

$9,450 RON 45.2K

-6.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.24 RON 178

$87.1 RON 416

-57.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.70 RON 128

$44.26 RON 211

-39.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.0 RON 301

$98.8 RON 472

-36.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.2 RON 354

$107 RON 510

-30.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$217 RON 1,037

$668 RON 3,193

-67.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$187 RON 894

$536 RON 2,560

-65.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 RON 1,876

$1,227 RON 5,861

-68.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 RON 1,478

$807 RON 3,859

-61.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,477 RON 7,060

$4,568 RON 21.8K

-67.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,155 RON 5,517

$3,342 RON 16.0K

-65.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$985 RON 4,709

$1,241 RON 5,928

-20.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.73

6.65

1.20%

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

Last update for Bistrita: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bistrita

$187 22%

Cluj-Napoca

$536 37.7% 187% $349

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bistrita

$187 22%

Cluj-Napoca

$168 11.8% 9.7% $18

Groceries & Markets

Bistrita

$181 21.3%

Cluj-Napoca

$230 16.2% 27.1% $49

Eating Out

Bistrita

$124 14.7%

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.3% 75.1% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Bistrita

$91 10.7%

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7% 67.5% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Bistrita

$52 6.1%

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.6% 26.8% $14

Getting Around

Bistrita

$27 3.2%

Cluj-Napoca

$53 3.7% 94.6% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $217 in Bistrita versus $668 in Cluj-Napoca. 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 26% higher in Cluj-Napoca, 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 $31 in Bistrita versus $55 in Cluj-Napoca. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $181 vs $230 – making Bistrita the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bistrita

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🕒 Local time

06:24 6:24 AM

Same time as Bistrita

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,076

324,576

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Bistrita Cluj-Napoca 80 km

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Bistrita
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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

Bistrita vs Cluj-Napoca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cluj-Napoca costs about 68% more than Bistrita, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,273 per month in Bistrita and $2,134 in Cluj-Napoca. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bistrita, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $217 there versus $668 in Cluj-Napoca.

Groceries cost about 27% more in Cluj-Napoca, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31 in Bistrita and $55 in Cluj-Napoca. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $849 in Bistrita and $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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