Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bistrita and Phnom Penh

For one person, living is cheaper in Bistrita: $845 a month against $1,035 in Phnom Penh, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
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Phnom Penh Living Index

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Bistrita

🇷🇴 Romania

$845

/mo nomad

Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,035

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bistrita and in Phnom Penh

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 Phnom Penh actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $845 per month in Bistrita vs $1,035 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Bistrita $845
Phnom Penh $1,035

A couple spends around $1,288 per month in Bistrita vs $1,675 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Bistrita $1,288
Phnom Penh $1,675

A family of three spends $1,730 per month in Bistrita vs $2,315 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Bistrita $1,730
Phnom Penh $2,315

Bistrita is about 18% cheaper than Phnom Penh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Bistrita and Phnom Penh are more affordable than the global median – Bistrita 37% lower, Phnom Penh 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.22 RON 29.44

$4.09 ៛16.6K

52.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.58 RON 149

$39.96 ៛162.3K

-20.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$6.93 ៛28.2K

-10.68%

Cappuccino

$2.23 RON 10.55

$2.97 ៛12.1K

-24.92%

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

$1.56 RON 7.38

$1.78 ៛7,248

-12.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 RON 6.47

$0.66 ៛2,695

107.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.13 RON 10.06

$1.03 ៛4,176

106.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 RON 15.09

$2.95 ៛12.0K

8.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 RON 5.82

$2.19 ៛8,876

-43.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 RON 4.95

$1.66 ៛6,757

-36.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 RON 4.90

$1.11 ៛4,518

-6.31%

Eggs

$2.67 RON 12.62

$1.70 ៛6,899

57.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.36 RON 30.08

$15.06 ៛61.2K

-57.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 RON 29.47

$4.13 ៛16.8K

50.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.19 RON 53.0

$9.00 ៛36.5K

24.33%

Apples (1kg)

$0.87 RON 4.12

$4.04 ៛16.4K

-78.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 RON 6.88

$1.78 ៛7,228

-18.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.57

$4.35 ៛17.7K

-63.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.07 RON 9.78

$2.10 ៛8,529

-1.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.80

$1.57 ៛6,391

-49.04%

Onion (1kg)

$0.65 RON 3.06

$1.23 ៛4,990

-47.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 RON 5.02

$1.18 ៛4,801

-10.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 RON 3.20

$0.77 ៛3,128

-11.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 RON 25.92

$1.86 ៛7,555

194.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.15 RON 24.35

$11.01 ៛44.7K

-53.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$1.00 ៛4,082

-9.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 RON 5.11

$1.73 ៛7,042

-37.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 RON 1.90

$0.43 ៛1,741

-6.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.19 RON 100

$9.58 ៛38.9K

121.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 RON 3.58

$1.09 ៛4,428

-30.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 RON 3.55

$1.03 ៛4,179

-27.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.37 RON 34.88

$5.13 ៛20.9K

43.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 RON 7.29

$1.30 ៛5,284

18.46%

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

$27.3K RON 129.0K

$34.4K ៛139.7M

-20.68%

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

$24.1K RON 114.2K

$44.9K ៛182.4M

-46.24%

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

$172 RON 812

$104 ៛424.3K

64.28%

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

$5.53 RON 26.16

$7.48 ៛30.4K

-26.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$5.82 RON 27.54

$24.51 ៛99.6K

-76.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.75 RON 188

$41.31 ៛167.8K

-3.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.96 RON 146

$10.87 ៛44.2K

184.82%

Cinema Ticket

$6.20 RON 29.33

$4.86 ៛19.7K

27.57%

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

$314 RON 1,485

$669 ៛2.7M

-53.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,963 RON 42.4K

$11.0K ៛44.7M

-18.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.77 RON 179

$28.43 ៛115.5K

32.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.48 RON 125

$23.93 ៛97.2K

10.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.4 RON 295

$91.7 ៛372.5K

-31.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.6 RON 343

$59.8 ៛242.7K

21.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 RON 1,055

$658 ៛2.7M

-66.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 RON 875

$375 ៛1.5M

-50.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 RON 1,868

$1,145 ៛4.6M

-65.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$315 RON 1,490

$818 ៛3.3M

-61.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,510 RON 7,146

$2,870 ៛11.7M

-47.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,175 RON 5,558

$1,519 ៛6.2M

-22.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,016 RON 4,805

$325 ៛1.3M

212.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.73

8.07

-16.60%

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

Last update for Bistrita: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bistrita

$185 21.9%

Phnom Penh

$375 36.3% 103% $190

Groceries & Markets

Bistrita

$184 21.8%

Phnom Penh

$253 24.4% 37.3% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bistrita

$183 21.7%

Phnom Penh

$136 13.2% 25.4% $47

Eating Out

Bistrita

$124 14.7%

Phnom Penh

$110 10.6% 11.2% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Bistrita

$90 10.6%

Phnom Penh

$92 8.9% 2.3% $2.1

Sport & Entertainment

Bistrita

$52 6.2%

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9% 2.1% $1.1

Getting Around

Bistrita

$27 3.2%

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7% 35.8% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $223 in Bistrita versus $658 in Phnom Penh. 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 213% higher in Bistrita, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Bistrita versus $40.00 in Phnom Penh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $184 vs $253 – making Bistrita the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bistrita

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🕒 Local time

13:05 1:05 PM

17:05 5:05 PM

4 h ahead of Bistrita

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,076

2,009,264 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bistrita Phnom Penh 8,350 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bistrita
Phnom Penh

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 Phnom Penh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phnom Penh costs about 22% more than Bistrita, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,268 per month in Bistrita and $1,553 in Phnom Penh. 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 37% more in Phnom Penh, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Bistrita and $40.00 in Phnom Penh. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Bistrita, where all-in costs run around $845, than in Phnom Penh at $1,035. In Bistrita it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phnom Penh it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Bistrita costs $845 versus $1,035 in Phnom Penh. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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