Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Brcko

For one person, living is cheaper in Brcko: $962 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Brcko
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Brcko Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Brcko

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$962

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Brcko

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $962 in Brcko.

Bucharest $1,340
Brcko $962

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,387 in Brcko.

Bucharest $2,037
Brcko $1,387

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $1,812 in Brcko.

Bucharest $2,734
Brcko $1,812

Living in Bucharest is roughly 39% more expensive than in Brcko, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Brcko 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$6.98 BAM 12.14

107.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$37.27 BAM 64.8

55.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$6.66 BAM 11.58

12.31%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$1.71 BAM 2.97

101.17%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$1.66 BAM 2.89

42.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$1.23 BAM 2.14

86.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$0.84 BAM 1.46

340.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$2.32 BAM 4.03

79.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.45 BAM 2.52

15.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.17 BAM 2.03

17.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$2.44 BAM 4.24

-29.51%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.18 BAM 5.53

14.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$10.30 BAM 17.90

-11.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$7.20 BAM 12.51

-5.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$14.45 BAM 25.13

-16.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$1.16 BAM 2.02

6.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.60 BAM 2.79

1.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.12 BAM 1.95

-22.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.92 BAM 1.60

7.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$3.09 BAM 5.37

104.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$8.55 BAM 14.87

-27.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.11 BAM 1.93

7.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.24 BAM 3.90

-29.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$1.11 BAM 1.93

-22.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$1.12 BAM 1.94

-42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.54 BAM 0.95

11.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$10.20 BAM 17.73

-36.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.40 BAM 2.44

40.00%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$29.9K BAM 52.0K

-3.08%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$21.8K BAM 37.9K

22.29%

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

$196 RON 927

$176 BAM 306

11.40%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$11.32 BAM 19.69

-28.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$40.75 BAM 70.9

-77.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$26.22 BAM 45.59

91.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$5.66 BAM 9.84

43.99%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$137 BAM 238

358.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$18.7K BAM 32.6K

-24.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$22.82 BAM 39.69

292.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$17.37 BAM 30.20

120.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$84.9 BAM 148

-6.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$86.1 BAM 150

4.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$340 BAM 591

99.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$260 BAM 451

72.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$505 BAM 878

114.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$347 BAM 604

108.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$1,496 BAM 2,601

150.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$1,170 BAM 2,035

87.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$493 BAM 857

169.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.3

56.98%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Brcko: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Brcko

$260 27% 42.1% $189

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Brcko

$117 12.1% 48.2% $109

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Brcko

$217 * 22.6% 3.6% $8.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Brcko

$228 23.7% 6.9% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Brcko

$95 9.9% 29% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Brcko

$38 3.9% 43.6% $29

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Brcko

$8.3 * 0.9% 70.6% $20

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 $340 in Brcko. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 170% 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 $37.00 in Brcko for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $217 per month, with Brcko cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇧🇦 Brcko

🕒 Local time

23:41 11:41 PM

22:41 10:41 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

39,893

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 BAM = 0.575 USD

1 BAM = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR 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).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.511 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Brcko 580 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Brcko

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 Brcko: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brcko is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 39% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 170% 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 $340 in Brcko. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $628 in Bucharest versus $137 in Brcko. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brcko – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $58.0 in Bucharest. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $962 in Brcko versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Brcko but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Brcko the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Brcko 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.

Expats usually find Brcko gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.