Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Aalst

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
Learn more

Aalst Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Aalst

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,067 in Aalst.

Bucharest $1,340
Aalst $2,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $3,086 in Aalst.

Bucharest $2,037
Aalst $3,086

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $4,105 in Aalst.

Bucharest $2,734
Aalst $4,105

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 35% less than in Aalst, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Aalst is 53% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 69.0

$22.53 €20.10

-35.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 277

$106 €94.3

-45.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.64

$13.43 €11.99

-44.30%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.40

$4.43 €3.95

-22.35%

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

$2.37 RON 11.29

$3.63 €3.24

-34.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.96

$3.17 €2.83

-27.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.63

$5.55 €4.96

-33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.83

$5.53 €4.93

-24.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.95

$1.31 €1.17

27.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.54

$2.81 €2.51

-51.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.19

$2.13 €1.90

-19.25%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.33

$3.83 €3.42

-4.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 43.27

$17.39 €15.52

-47.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.57

$11.87 €10.59

-42.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 57.2

$22.29 €19.90

-46.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.84

$2.99 €2.67

-58.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.78

$2.43 €2.17

-32.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.50

$2.67 €2.38

-41.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.09

$3.23 €2.88

-21.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.77

$2.47 €2.21

-68.02%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.68

$1.95 €1.74

-60.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.16

$1.54 €1.37

-43.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.73

$1.05 €0.94

-5.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 30.06

$12.93 €11.54

-51.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.54

$8.74 €7.80

-29.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.66

$1.72 €1.54

-30.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.50

$2.08 €1.85

-24.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.10

$3.09 €2.76

-72.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 101

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.07

$2.86 €2.55

-77.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.87

$2.35 €2.09

-74.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.64

$40.40 €36.05

-84.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.32

$2.12 €1.89

-7.55%

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

$29.0K RON 138.1K

$34.7K €30.9K

-16.35%

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

$26.6K RON 126.9K

$32.8K €29.3K

-18.82%

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

$196 RON 933

$203 €181

-3.41%

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

$8.04 RON 38.30

$21.94 €19.58

-63.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.51

$50.8 €45.37

-81.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 239

$36.21 €32.32

38.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 121

$21.03 €18.77

20.45%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.81

$15.18 €13.55

-46.31%

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

$628 RON 2,991

$1,605 €1,433

-60.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 67.1K

$33.7K €30.1K

-58.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 427

$113 €101

-20.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 183

$46.17 €41.21

-17.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 378

$102 €90.9

-22.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 431

$163 €146

-44.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,231

$911 €813

-25.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,136

$808 €721

-44.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,159

$1,384 €1,236

-21.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,453

$1,104 €985

-34.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.9K

$4,162 €3,714

-9.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.5K

$2,890 €2,580

-24.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,332

$2,782 €2,483

-52.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.46

95.09%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Aalst

$807 39.1% 80.1% $359

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Aalst

$340 16.4% 50.8% $114

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Aalst

$360 17.4% 60% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Aalst

$276 13.3% 29.2% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Aalst

$191 9.2% 42.6% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Aalst

$67 3.2% 0.1% $0

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Aalst

$27 * 1.3% 4.5% $1.3

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 $678 in Bucharest and $911 in Aalst. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 109% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $106 in Aalst for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $360 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇧🇪 Aalst

🕒 Local time

08:10 8:10 AM

07:10 7:10 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

78,271

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.33 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Aalst 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Aalst

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

Bucharest vs Aalst: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Aalst differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $2,067 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 109% lower in Aalst. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $678 in Bucharest versus $911 in Aalst. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $2,067 in Aalst – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bucharest and Aalst are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.