Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Badulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $543 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 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
26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
Learn more

Badulla Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$543

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Badulla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $543 in Badulla.

Bucharest $1,340
Badulla $543

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $877 in Badulla.

Bucharest $2,037
Badulla $877

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $1,211 in Badulla.

Bucharest $2,734
Badulla $1,211

Living in Bucharest is roughly 147% more expensive than in Badulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Badulla 60% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$3.88 LKR 1,287

273.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$25.05 LKR 8,298

131.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$7.37 LKR 2,442

1.49%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$2.55 LKR 844

34.90%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.71 LKR 236

233.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.27 LKR 89.5

751.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$2.22 LKR 735

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$3.07 LKR 1,015

35.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.55 LKR 514

7.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.53 LKR 174

158.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$0.60 LKR 199

186.67%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$1.66 LKR 551

119.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$13.97 LKR 4,627

-35.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$3.56 LKR 1,178

92.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$7.62 LKR 2,522

57.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$6.65 LKR 2,202

-81.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$0.87 LKR 288

87.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$4.35 LKR 1,440

-63.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.33 LKR 439

90.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.99 LKR 329

-20.20%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.77 LKR 255

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.87 LKR 287

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.45 LKR 151

120.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$10.13 LKR 3,354

-37.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$12.74 LKR 4,221

-51.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.90 LKR 628

-37.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.93 LKR 971

-46.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.38 LKR 125

68.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.37 LKR 123

62.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$0.88 LKR 293

630.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.38 LKR 456

42.03%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$36.5K LKR 12.1M

-20.59%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$40.7K LKR 13.5M

-34.58%

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

$196 RON 927

$57.9 LKR 19.2K

238.62%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$4.31 LKR 1,429

86.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$21.13 LKR 6,998

-55.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$4.49 LKR 1,488

81.51%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$38.34 LKR 12.7K

1537.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$1,205 LKR 399.2K

1068.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$18.44 LKR 6,108

385.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$16.32 LKR 5,405

134.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$80.2 LKR 26.6K

-1.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$41.30 LKR 13.7K

118.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$76.1 LKR 25.2K

791.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$44.45 LKR 14.7K

908.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$89.9 LKR 29.8K

706.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$4,542 LKR 1.5M

-17.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$742 LKR 245.8K

195.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$224 LKR 74.3K

492.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

12.69

-46.81%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Badulla: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Badulla

$44 8.2% 90.1% $404

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Badulla

$105 19.3% 53.4% $120

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Badulla

$229 42.2% 1.8% $4.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Badulla

$83 15.3% 60.9% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Badulla

$70 12.9% 47.5% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Badulla

$9 * 1.7% 86.5% $58

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Badulla

$2.2 * 0.4% 92.1% $26

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 $76.1 in Badulla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 492% 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 $25.00 in Badulla. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $229, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇱🇰 Badulla

🕒 Local time

09:01 9:01 AM

11:31 11:31 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

110,000

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR 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).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Badulla 6,730 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Badulla

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 Badulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. The 147% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 492% higher in Bucharest, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $678 in Bucharest versus $76.1 in Badulla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $628 in Bucharest versus $38.34 in Badulla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $58.0 in Bucharest. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $543 in Badulla versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Badulla is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bucharest, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Bucharest and Badulla 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 Badulla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 147% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.