Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bournemouth and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,509 in Bournemouth, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Bournemouth
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Bournemouth Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Bournemouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,509

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,509 per month in Bournemouth vs $1,340 in Bucharest, rent included.

Bournemouth $2,509
Bucharest $1,340

A couple spends around $3,689 per month in Bournemouth vs $2,037 in Bucharest, rent included.

Bournemouth $3,689
Bucharest $2,037

A family of three spends $4,870 per month in Bournemouth vs $2,734 in Bucharest, rent included.

Bournemouth $4,870
Bucharest $2,734

Bournemouth costs about 87% more than Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bournemouth sits 86% above the global median, while Bucharest is 1% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.33 £15.25

$14.49 RON 68.6

40.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £75.6

$58.1 RON 275

73.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$7.48 RON 35.40

56.15%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.57

$3.44 RON 16.29

38.37%

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

$3.21 £2.41

$2.37 RON 11.22

35.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.53

$2.30 RON 10.88

-11.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.09

$3.70 RON 17.51

83.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.19 £5.39

$4.16 RON 19.69

72.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.67 RON 7.90

-3.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.37 RON 6.50

12.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.72 RON 8.14

4.65%

Eggs

$4.32 £3.24

$3.64 RON 17.22

18.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.23 £4.68

$9.08 RON 42.98

-31.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 £6.96

$6.84 RON 32.35

35.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 £9.51

$12.00 RON 56.8

5.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 £1.67

$1.23 RON 5.80

80.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.63 RON 7.73

7.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.57 RON 7.45

23.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.11 £1.58

$2.54 RON 12.01

-16.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$0.79 RON 3.75

156.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 £0.95

$0.77 RON 3.66

63.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 £1.42

$0.87 RON 4.13

117.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 £1.27

$0.99 RON 4.70

70.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.60 £17.71

$6.31 RON 29.86

274.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.36 £7.02

$6.20 RON 29.34

50.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.19 RON 5.63

135.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 £1.87

$1.57 RON 7.45

58.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.64 £2.73

$0.86 RON 4.08

323.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.8 £68.1

$21.10 RON 99.8

330.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 £2.42

$0.64 RON 3.05

404.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 £1.72

$0.60 RON 2.86

281.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.25 £24.20

$6.43 RON 30.43

401.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.96 RON 9.25

1.53%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

31.63%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

49.99%

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

$353 £265

$196 RON 927

80.18%

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

$16.19 £12.14

$8.04 RON 38.04

101.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.90 £32.18

$9.35 RON 44.21

358.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.33 £28.00

$50.2 RON 238

-25.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.71 £8.78

$25.33 RON 120

-53.77%

Cinema Ticket

$17.19 £12.90

$8.15 RON 38.55

110.92%

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

$2,218 £1,664

$628 RON 2,971

253.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.8K £25.4K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

140.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.8 £66.6

$89.6 RON 424

-0.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.86 £32.90

$38.32 RON 181

14.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.6 £62.0

$79.3 RON 375

4.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 £107

$90.4 RON 428

58.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,258 £944

$678 RON 3,209

85.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,146 £860

$448 RON 2,121

155.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,670 £2,003

$1,083 RON 5,125

146.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,898 £1,424

$725 RON 3,430

161.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,662 £4,998

$3,751 RON 17.7K

77.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,474 £4,107

$2,195 RON 10.4K

149.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,920 £2,191

$1,329 RON 6,290

119.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

6.75

-26.52%

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

Last update for Bournemouth: 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

Bournemouth

$1.1K 45.7%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 60.9% $698

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bournemouth

$412 16.4%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 48.2% $199

Eating Out

Bournemouth

$324 12.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 30.5% $99

Groceries & Markets

Bournemouth

$273 10.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 17.6% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Bournemouth

$161 6.4%

Bucharest

$134 10% 17% $27

Getting Around

Bournemouth

$120 4.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 76.5% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Bournemouth

$72 2.9%

Bucharest

$67 5% 7.2% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,258 in Bournemouth 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.

Salaries run about 120% higher in Bournemouth, 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 $101 in Bournemouth versus $58.0 in Bucharest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $273 vs $225 – making Bucharest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bournemouth

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

05:22 5:22 AM

07:22 7:22 AM

2 h ahead of Bournemouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,491

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

Lowest

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Between locations

Bournemouth Bucharest 2,200 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bournemouth
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

Bournemouth vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bournemouth costs about 87% more than Bucharest, 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 $3,763 per month in Bournemouth 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.

Groceries cost about 21% more in Bournemouth, 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 $101 in Bournemouth and $58.0 in Bucharest. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Bucharest, where all-in costs run around $1,340, than in Bournemouth at $2,509. In Bucharest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bournemouth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Bucharest costs $1,340 versus $2,509 in Bournemouth. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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