Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Bålsta

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,547 in Bålsta, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Bålsta
Learn more

Bålsta Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Bålsta

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,547

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Bålsta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,547 in Bålsta.

Bucharest $1,340
Bålsta $1,547

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,416 in Bålsta.

Bucharest $2,037
Bålsta $2,416

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $3,286 in Bålsta.

Bucharest $2,734
Bålsta $3,286

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 13% less than in Bålsta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Bålsta is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$13.80 SEK 137

5.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$65.1 SEK 645

-10.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$8.62 SEK 85.5

-13.23%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$3.89 SEK 38.56

-11.57%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.65 SEK 26.21

-10.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$2.22 SEK 22.00

3.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$6.90 SEK 68.4

-46.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$6.82 SEK 67.6

-39.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.53 SEK 15.16

9.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$2.02 SEK 20.04

-32.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$3.56 SEK 35.31

-51.69%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.62 SEK 35.86

0.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$10.93 SEK 108

-16.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$12.00 SEK 119

-43.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$10.92 SEK 108

9.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.44 SEK 24.15

-49.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.55 SEK 25.30

-36.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.93 SEK 19.13

-18.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$2.73 SEK 27.06

-6.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.46 SEK 14.42

-45.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.22 SEK 12.07

-36.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.51 SEK 14.94

-42.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.98 SEK 9.70

1.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$7.18 SEK 71.2

-12.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$9.74 SEK 96.5

-36.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.53 SEK 15.16

-22.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.01 SEK 19.88

-21.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$3.19 SEK 31.62

-73.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$78.0 SEK 773

-72.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$5.81 SEK 57.6

-88.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.51 SEK 15.00

-60.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$78.0 SEK 773

-91.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.75 SEK 17.37

12.00%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$32.9K SEK 325.8K

-11.81%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$32.0K SEK 317.3K

-16.82%

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

$196 RON 927

$49.58 SEK 491

295.10%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$20.01 SEK 198

-59.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$39.64 SEK 393

-76.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$38.01 SEK 377

32.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$25.77 SEK 255

-1.71%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$12.98 SEK 129

-37.21%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$121 SEK 1,194

421.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$4,908 SEK 48.6K

186.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$70.8 SEK 701

26.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$10.12 SEK 100

278.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$81.0 SEK 803

-2.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$110 SEK 1,087

-17.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$794 SEK 7,862

-14.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$602 SEK 5,966

-25.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,359 SEK 13.5K

-20.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,014 SEK 10.1K

-28.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$3,972 SEK 39.4K

-5.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$2,805 SEK 27.8K

-21.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$3,866 SEK 38.3K

-65.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

2.8

141.07%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bålsta: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Bålsta

$602 38.9% 34.3% $154

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Bålsta

$251 16.2% 11.3% $25

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Bålsta

$294 19% 30.8% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Bålsta

$109 7.1% 48.8% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Bålsta

$122 7.9% 8.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Bålsta

$64 4.1% 3.9% $2.6

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Bålsta

$104 6.7% 269% $76

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $794 in Bålsta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bålsta pays 191% 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 $65.0 in Bålsta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $294 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Bålsta

🕒 Local time

11:15 11:15 AM

10:15 10:15 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

13,138

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Bålsta 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Bålsta

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 Bålsta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Bålsta. 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 191% lower in Bålsta. 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 $794 in Bålsta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $1,547 in Bålsta – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 270% less than in Bålsta. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,547 in Bålsta, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Bålsta. 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 Bålsta 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 15% less than in Bålsta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.