Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Butare

For one person, living is cheaper in Butare: $368 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Butare
Learn more

Butare Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Butare

🇷🇼 Rwanda

$368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Butare

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $368 in Butare.

Bucharest $1,351
Butare $368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $581 in Butare.

Bucharest $2,033
Butare $581

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $795 in Butare.

Bucharest $2,715
Butare $795

Living in Bucharest is roughly 267% more expensive than in Butare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% above, Butare is 73% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$2.73 RWF 4,020

429.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$30.92 RWF 45.5K

86.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$6.65 RWF 9,779

12.78%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$2.45 RWF 3,594

40.00%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$0.76 RWF 1,112

223.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$0.58 RWF 850

301.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$1.04 RWF 1,532

265.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$2.38 RWF 3,505

72.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$0.33 RWF 485

400.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$0.82 RWF 1,208

64.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$0.92 RWF 1,357

93.48%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$1.66 RWF 2,438

120.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$1.65 RWF 2,420

419.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$2.35 RWF 3,455

189.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$3.01 RWF 4,421

289.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$2.08 RWF 3,059

-37.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$0.81 RWF 1,196

92.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$1.17 RWF 1,726

31.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$0.79 RWF 1,155

213.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$0.43 RWF 630

93.02%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$0.26 RWF 378

207.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$0.12 RWF 179

600.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$0.82 RWF 1,201

13.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$1.99 RWF 2,923

223.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$10.21 RWF 15.0K

-38.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$1.03 RWF 1,515

22.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$1.57 RWF 2,314

1.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$2.69 RWF 3,958

-77.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$2.00 RWF 2,936

-69.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$3.34 RWF 4,911

84.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$1.81 RWF 2,663

8.29%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$26.6K RWF 39.0M

6.00%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$29.2K RWF 43.0M

-10.12%

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

$197 RON 931

$82.4 RWF 121.1K

138.90%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$7.20 RWF 10.6K

15.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$20.81 RWF 30.6K

-55.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$3.43 RWF 5,036

146.65%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$113 RWF 166.0K

465.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$9,518 RWF 14.0M

51.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$17.04 RWF 25.1K

431.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$15.65 RWF 23.0K

143.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$22.66 RWF 33.3K

251.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$34.40 RWF 50.6K

171.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

16.2

-58.40%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Butare: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Butare

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Butare

$86 23.4% 61.7% $139

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Butare

$112 30.4% 49.4% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Butare

$110 29.9% 48.5% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Butare

$40 10.9% 70.2% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Butare

$6.9 * 1.9% 89.7% $60

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Butare

$13 * 3.4% 54.8% $15

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $31.00 in Butare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $112 per month, with Butare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇷🇼 Butare

🕒 Local time

08:23 8:23 AM

07:23 7:23 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

62,823

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Rwandan Franc RWF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RWF, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

Rwandan Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,470 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD). 1 EUR = 1,649 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Butare 5,240 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Butare

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 Butare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Butare differ by about 267% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $368 including rent). Butare is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,027 in Bucharest and $552 in Butare 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 97% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,351 per month in Bucharest versus $368 in Butare – a 267% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $368 in Butare versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Butare but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Butare 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 Butare 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 Butare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 267% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.