Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Buochs

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $3,310 in Buochs, rent and utilities included – about $23,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
162

Cost of Living Index in Buochs
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Buochs Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Buochs

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,310

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Buochs

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $3,310 in Buochs.

Bucharest $1,340
Buochs $3,310

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $5,071 in Buochs.

Bucharest $2,037
Buochs $5,071

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $6,833 in Buochs.

Bucharest $2,734
Buochs $6,833

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 60% less than in Buochs, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Buochs is 145% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$30.34 CHF 24.99

-52.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$120 CHF 98.6

-51.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$16.23 CHF 13.37

-53.91%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$5.99 CHF 4.93

-42.57%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$5.52 CHF 4.55

-57.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$4.85 CHF 4.00

-52.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$8.46 CHF 6.97

-56.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$6.58 CHF 5.42

-36.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$2.12 CHF 1.74

-21.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$3.37 CHF 2.78

-59.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$4.41 CHF 3.63

-61.00%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$7.34 CHF 6.04

-50.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$26.77 CHF 22.05

-66.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$25.75 CHF 21.21

-73.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$40.23 CHF 33.13

-70.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.56 CHF 2.93

-65.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.12 CHF 1.75

-23.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.66 CHF 2.19

-40.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$4.80 CHF 3.95

-47.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.97 CHF 1.62

-59.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$2.19 CHF 1.81

-64.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$2.43 CHF 2.00

-64.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.21 CHF 1.00

-18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$10.73 CHF 8.84

-41.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$13.00 CHF 10.70

-52.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$2.36 CHF 1.94

-49.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.30 CHF 2.72

-52.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$4.62 CHF 3.80

-81.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$100 CHF 82.5

-78.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$5.45 CHF 4.49

-88.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$3.33 CHF 2.74

-81.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$59.4 CHF 48.94

-89.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.25 CHF 1.85

-12.89%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$43.0K CHF 35.4K

-32.63%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$39.5K CHF 32.6K

-32.63%

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

$196 RON 927

$228 CHF 188

-14.15%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$30.77 CHF 25.35

-73.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$63.9 CHF 52.6

-85.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$90.9 CHF 74.8

-44.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$44.40 CHF 36.57

-42.95%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$21.36 CHF 17.60

-61.84%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$1,839 CHF 1,515

-65.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$33.1K CHF 27.2K

-57.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$139 CHF 114

-35.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$87.6 CHF 72.1

-56.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$146 CHF 120

-45.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$185 CHF 153

-51.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,674 CHF 1,379

-59.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$1,426 CHF 1,175

-68.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$2,838 CHF 2,337

-61.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$2,426 CHF 1,998

-70.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$16.0K CHF 13.2K

-76.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$12.1K CHF 9,977

-81.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

1.72

292.44%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Buochs: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Buochs

$1.4K 43.1% 218% $978

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Buochs

$460 13.9% 104% $235

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Buochs

$576 17.4% 156% $351

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Buochs

$323 9.8% 51.4% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Buochs

$251 7.6% 87.2% $117

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Buochs

$134 4% 101% $67

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Buochs

$141 4.3% 399% $112

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $1,674 in Buochs. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $120 in Buochs for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $576 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇨🇭 Buochs

🕒 Local time

18:29 6:29 PM

17:29 5:29 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

5,500

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Buochs 1,400 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Buochs

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 Buochs: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Buochs differ by about 147% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $3,310 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,011 in Bucharest and $4,965 in Buochs to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $678 in Bucharest versus $1,674 in Buochs. 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 $3,310 in Buochs – a 147% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 374% less than in Buochs. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $3,310 in Buochs, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Buochs. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bucharest and Buochs 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 147% less than in Buochs. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.