Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Birzebbuga

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,666 in Birzebbuga, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 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
81

Cost of Living Index in Birzebbuga
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Birzebbuga Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Birzebbuga

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,666

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Birzebbuga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,666 in Birzebbuga.

Bucharest $1,340
Birzebbuga $1,666

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,645 in Birzebbuga.

Bucharest $2,037
Birzebbuga $2,645

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $3,625 in Birzebbuga.

Bucharest $2,734
Birzebbuga $3,625

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 20% less than in Birzebbuga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Birzebbuga is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$14.85 €13.21

-2.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$87.8 €78.1

-33.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$11.82 €10.51

-36.72%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$2.61 €2.32

31.80%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.07 €1.84

14.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$1.96 €1.74

17.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$2.24 €1.99

65.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$3.38 €3.01

23.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.24 €1.11

34.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.32 €1.17

3.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$3.12 €2.78

-44.87%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.61 €3.21

0.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$8.45 €7.52

7.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$9.96 €8.86

-31.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$18.08 €16.08

-33.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.51 €2.23

-51.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.96 €1.74

-16.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.13 €2.79

-49.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$2.91 €2.59

-12.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.57 €1.40

-49.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.85 €1.65

-58.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.48 €1.31

-41.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.76 €0.67

30.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$6.31 €5.61

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$6.49 €5.78

-4.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.56 €1.39

-23.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.35 €2.09

-33.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$2.44 €2.17

-64.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$14.57 €12.96

44.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$5.51 €4.90

-88.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$2.17 €1.93

-72.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$26.41 €23.49

-75.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.48 €1.31

32.43%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$29.8K €26.5K

-2.56%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$32.5K €28.9K

-18.01%

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

$196 RON 927

$95.2 €84.6

105.87%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$24.84 €22.10

-67.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$41.98 €37.34

-77.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$55.6 €49.45

-9.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$22.03 €19.60

14.98%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$9.98 €8.88

-18.34%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$368 €328

70.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$8,911 €7,926

58.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$85.7 €76.2

4.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$38.86 €34.57

-1.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$88.9 €79.1

-10.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$77.0 €68.5

17.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,184 €1,053

-42.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$756 €672

-40.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,729 €1,538

-37.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,336 €1,189

-45.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$3,932 €3,498

-4.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$2,809 €2,498

-21.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$1,771 €1,575

-24.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

2.9

132.76%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Birzebbuga: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Birzebbuga

$756 45.4% 68.5% $307

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Birzebbuga

$220 13.2% 2.5% $5.5

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Birzebbuga

$282 16.9% 25.4% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Birzebbuga

$162 9.7% 24.1% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Birzebbuga

$131 7.8% 2.4% $3.2

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Birzebbuga

$76 4.5% 13.6% $9

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Birzebbuga

$41 2.4% 44.3% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $1,184 in Birzebbuga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Birzebbuga pays 33% 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 $88.0 in Birzebbuga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $282 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇲🇹 Birzebbuga

🕒 Local time

19:13 7:13 PM

18:13 6:13 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

10,000

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Birzebbuga 1,370 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Birzebbuga

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 Birzebbuga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 24% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 33% lower in Birzebbuga. 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 $1,184 in Birzebbuga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bucharest – a meal for two runs $58.0 versus $88.0 in Birzebbuga. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $1,666 in Birzebbuga – a 24% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,666 in Birzebbuga, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Birzebbuga. 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 Birzebbuga, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Birzebbuga. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.