Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Alcala de Guadaira

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,567 in Alcala de Guadaira, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Alcala de Guadaira
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Alcala de Guadaira Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Alcala de Guadaira

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Alcala de Guadaira

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 Alcala de Guadaira actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,567 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Bucharest $1,340
Alcala de Guadaira $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,323 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Bucharest $2,037
Alcala de Guadaira $2,323

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $3,079 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Bucharest $2,734
Alcala de Guadaira $3,079

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 14% less than in Alcala de Guadaira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Alcala de Guadaira is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$13.70 €12.19

5.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$55.3 €49.16

5.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$9.14 €8.13

-18.16%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$1.88 €1.67

82.98%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.12 €1.89

11.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$1.53 €1.36

50.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$3.05 €2.71

21.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$3.45 €3.07

20.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.11 €0.99

50.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.63 €1.45

-15.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.37 €1.22

25.55%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.31 €2.95

9.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$13.61 €12.10

-33.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$8.52 €7.58

-19.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$15.77 €14.03

-23.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.45 €2.18

-49.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.09 €1.85

-22.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.86 €1.65

-15.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$2.48 €2.21

2.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.79 €1.60

-55.87%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$2.06 €1.83

-62.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.45 €1.29

-40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.73 €0.65

35.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$6.50 €5.78

-2.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$5.87 €5.22

5.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.15 €1.02

3.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.94 €1.73

-19.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$1.61 €1.43

-46.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$32.47 €28.89

-35.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$1.69 €1.50

-62.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.07 €0.95

-43.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$13.36 €11.89

-51.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.75 €1.56

12.00%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$36.0K €32.0K

-19.44%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$28.9K €25.7K

-7.96%

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

$196 RON 927

$116 €103

68.48%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$16.02 €14.25

-49.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$28.91 €25.71

-67.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$45.05 €40.07

11.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$15.81 €14.06

60.22%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$7.89 €7.02

3.30%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$543 €483

15.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$8,094 €7,199

74.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$90.8 €80.8

-1.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$39.00 €34.69

-1.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$93.6 €83.3

-15.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$116 €103

-21.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$894 €795

-24.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$683 €608

-34.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,345 €1,196

-19.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,021 €908

-28.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$3,304 €2,939

13.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$2,229 €1,983

-1.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.34

102.10%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Alcala de Guadaira: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Alcala de Guadaira

$683 43.6% 52.4% $235

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Alcala de Guadaira

$196 12.5% 12.8% $29

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Alcala de Guadaira

$267 17% 18.6% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Alcala de Guadaira

$161 10.3% 24.4% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Alcala de Guadaira

$153 9.7% 13.9% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Alcala de Guadaira

$61 3.9% 8.6% $5.7

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Alcala de Guadaira

$46 2.9% 62.9% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $894 in Alcala de Guadaira. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $55.0 in Alcala de Guadaira. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $267, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇪🇸 Alcala de Guadaira

🕒 Local time

00:07 12:07 AM

23:07 11:07 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

76,547

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Alcala de Guadaira 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Alcala de Guadaira

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 Alcala de Guadaira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Alcala de Guadaira differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,567 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,011 in Bucharest and $2,351 in Alcala de Guadaira 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $894 in Alcala de Guadaira. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Alcala de Guadaira. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bucharest – a meal for two runs $58.0 versus $55.0 in Alcala de Guadaira. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,567 in Alcala de Guadaira, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Alcala de Guadaira. 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 Alcala de Guadaira 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 17% less than in Alcala de Guadaira. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.