Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Ballerup

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,158 in Ballerup, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
105

Cost of Living Index in Ballerup
Learn more

Ballerup Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Ballerup

🇩🇰 Denmark

$2,158

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Ballerup

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,158 in Ballerup.

Bucharest $1,340
Ballerup $2,158

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $3,441 in Ballerup.

Bucharest $2,037
Ballerup $3,441

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $4,724 in Ballerup.

Bucharest $2,734
Ballerup $4,724

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 38% less than in Ballerup, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Ballerup is 60% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$22.73 DKK 151

-36.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$118 DKK 788

-50.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$14.86 DKK 98.8

-49.66%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$7.21 DKK 47.95

-52.29%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$4.24 DKK 28.21

-44.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$3.48 DKK 23.15

-33.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$8.80 DKK 58.5

-57.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$7.56 DKK 50.3

-44.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.99 DKK 13.23

-16.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$3.76 DKK 24.99

-63.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$2.40 DKK 15.95

-28.33%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$4.78 DKK 31.80

-23.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$15.75 DKK 105

-42.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$11.53 DKK 76.7

-40.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$18.08 DKK 120

-33.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.24 DKK 21.55

-62.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$3.11 DKK 20.67

-47.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.83 DKK 25.47

-59.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$5.06 DKK 33.63

-49.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$2.34 DKK 15.53

-66.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$2.01 DKK 13.34

-61.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$2.04 DKK 13.54

-57.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.34 DKK 8.92

-26.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$9.46 DKK 62.9

-33.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$10.18 DKK 67.7

-39.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.87 DKK 12.45

-36.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.47 DKK 16.45

-36.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$3.79 DKK 25.22

-77.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$81.9 DKK 544

-74.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$5.87 DKK 39.02

-89.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.68 DKK 11.17

-64.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$62.4 DKK 415

-89.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.54 DKK 16.92

-22.83%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$50.9K DKK 338.2K

-42.97%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$52.9K DKK 351.9K

-49.65%

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

$196 RON 927

$184 DKK 1,223

6.50%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$11.49 DKK 76.4

-30.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$37.96 DKK 252

-75.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$40.81 DKK 271

23.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$27.75 DKK 185

-8.72%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$19.75 DKK 131

-58.73%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$718 DKK 4,773

-12.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,842 DKK 38.9K

141.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$107 DKK 713

-16.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$46.73 DKK 311

-18.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$127 DKK 843

-37.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$193 DKK 1,283

-53.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$885 DKK 5,888

-23.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$726 DKK 4,828

-38.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,630 DKK 10.8K

-33.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,275 DKK 8,477

-43.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$4,825 DKK 32.1K

-22.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$3,451 DKK 22.9K

-36.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$5,893 DKK 39.2K

-77.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.67

83.92%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Ballerup: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Ballerup

$726 33.6% 61.9% $278

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Ballerup

$403 18.7% 78.9% $178

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Ballerup

$391 18.1% 73.6% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Ballerup

$233 10.8% 9.4% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Ballerup

$213 9.9% 59.2% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Ballerup

$80 3.7% 20.7% $14

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Ballerup

$111 5.2% 295% $83

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $885 in Ballerup. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ballerup pays 343% 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 $118 in Ballerup for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $391 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇩🇰 Ballerup

🕒 Local time

11:15 11:15 AM

10:15 10:15 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

39,087

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Danish Krone DKK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 DKK = 0.15 USD

1 DKK = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DKK, 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).

Danish Krone exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 DKK (1 DKK = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 DKK (1 DKK = 0.134 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Ballerup 1,590 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Ballerup

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 Ballerup: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 61% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 343% lower in Ballerup. 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 $885 in Ballerup. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $628 in Bucharest versus $718 in Ballerup. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 74% higher in Ballerup. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,158 in Ballerup, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Ballerup. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Bucharest and Ballerup 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 61% less than in Ballerup. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.