Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Athlone

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,542 in Athlone, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 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
124

Cost of Living Index in Athlone
Learn more

Athlone Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Athlone

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,542

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Athlone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,542 in Athlone.

Bucharest $1,340
Athlone $2,542

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $3,749 in Athlone.

Bucharest $2,037
Athlone $3,749

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $4,956 in Athlone.

Bucharest $2,734
Athlone $4,956

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 47% less than in Athlone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Athlone is 88% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$22.37 €19.90

-35.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$91.0 €81.0

-36.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$12.63 €11.23

-40.78%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$4.32 €3.85

-20.37%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.92 €2.60

-18.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$1.84 €1.64

25.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$7.41 €6.59

-50.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$6.55 €5.82

-36.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.46 €1.30

14.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.26 €1.12

8.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.66 €1.48

3.61%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.91 €3.48

-6.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$10.73 €9.55

-15.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$11.27 €10.02

-39.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$11.85 €10.54

1.27%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.55 €2.27

-51.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.56 €1.39

4.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.41 €2.14

-34.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$2.85 €2.53

-10.88%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$2.29 €2.03

-65.50%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.81 €1.61

-57.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.44 €1.28

-39.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.90 €1.69

-47.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$17.88 €15.90

-64.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$11.10 €9.88

-44.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$3.44 €3.06

-65.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.58 €3.18

-56.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$2.06 €1.83

-58.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$5.08 €4.52

-87.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.49 €1.32

-59.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$27.77 €24.70

-76.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.03 €1.80

-3.45%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$39.6K €35.2K

-26.75%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$36.8K €32.7K

-27.62%

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

$196 RON 927

$241 €214

-18.66%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$21.86 €19.45

-63.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$49.22 €43.78

-81.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$58.5 €52.1

-14.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$34.69 €30.85

-26.98%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$10.95 €9.74

-25.57%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$1,001 €891

-37.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,365 €4,772

162.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$92.9 €82.6

-3.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$40.88 €36.36

-6.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$83.6 €74.4

-5.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$77.7 €69.1

16.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,468 €1,306

-53.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$1,353 €1,203

-66.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$2,529 €2,249

-57.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$2,254 €2,005

-67.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$3,294 €2,930

13.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$3,340 €2,971

-34.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$3,153 €2,805

-57.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.73

80.97%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Athlone: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Athlone

$1.4K 53.2% 202% $905

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Athlone

$338 13.3% 50.1% $113

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Athlone

$305 12% 35.6% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Athlone

$312 12.3% 46.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Athlone

$133 5.2% 0.8% $1.1

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Athlone

$80 3.2% 20.9% $14

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Athlone

$21 * 0.8% 26.4% $7.5

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 $1,468 in Athlone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athlone pays 137% 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 $91.0 in Athlone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $305 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇮🇪 Athlone

🕒 Local time

18:28 6:28 PM

16:28 4:28 PM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

21,000

💱 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 17, 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Athlone 2,650 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Athlone

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 Athlone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest wins on cost – living expenses run 90% lower than in Athlone. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bucharest the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 137% lower in Athlone. 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 $1,468 in Athlone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Athlone. 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 $2,542 in Athlone – a 90% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,542 in Athlone, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Athlone. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bucharest delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,340 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bucharest hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bucharest and Athlone 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 90% less than in Athlone. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.