Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Calella

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $1,596 in Calella, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 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
77

Cost of Living Index in Calella
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Calella Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Calella

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,596

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Calella

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,596 in Calella.

Bucharest $1,337
Calella $1,596

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $2,366 in Calella.

Bucharest $2,029
Calella $2,366

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $3,137 in Calella.

Bucharest $2,721
Calella $3,137

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 16% less than in Calella, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.45 RON 68.8

$14.73 €13.13

-1.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 277

$56.4 €50.3

2.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 RON 35.91

$8.03 €7.15

-6.23%

Cappuccino

$3.45 RON 16.45

$2.49 €2.22

38.55%

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

$2.46 RON 11.73

$2.33 €2.08

5.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 RON 10.62

$1.79 €1.59

24.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.76 RON 17.91

$3.46 €3.08

8.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 RON 19.98

$3.31 €2.95

26.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 RON 7.72

$1.11 €0.99

45.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$2.09 €1.86

-37.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.10

$2.88 €2.57

-40.97%

Eggs

$3.79 RON 18.06

$3.03 €2.70

25.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 RON 42.20

$14.61 €13.03

-39.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.90 RON 32.90

$8.31 €7.41

-16.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.14 RON 57.8

$15.33 €13.66

-20.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.21

$2.48 €2.21

-47.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.60

$1.97 €1.76

-18.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.47

$1.58 €1.41

-0.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 RON 12.76

$2.42 €2.15

10.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.85

$1.79 €1.60

-54.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.76

$1.86 €1.65

-57.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 RON 4.33

$1.38 €1.23

-34.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.61

$0.62 €0.55

56.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 RON 30.56

$6.96 €6.21

-7.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 RON 29.45

$5.56 €4.96

11.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.88

$1.07 €0.95

14.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 RON 7.97

$2.43 €2.17

-31.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.46 €1.30

-40.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.98 RON 100

$31.71 €28.26

-33.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.12

$3.77 €3.36

-82.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.87

$1.24 €1.11

-51.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 RON 29.49

$14.51 €12.93

-57.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.21

$1.83 €1.63

5.46%

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

$28.7K RON 136.9K

$39.4K €35.1K

-27.08%

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

$26.3K RON 125.5K

$31.0K €27.6K

-15.12%

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

$196 RON 932

$117 €104

67.31%

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

$8.49 RON 40.48

$13.52 €12.05

-37.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.05 RON 43.15

$25.05 €22.32

-63.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.54 RON 236

$46.23 €41.20

7.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.03 RON 119

$17.63 €15.71

41.97%

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 RON 39.29

$8.35 €7.44

-1.32%

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

$636 RON 3,029

$560 €499

13.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K RON 69.5K

$9,945 €8,864

46.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 422

$62.6 €55.8

41.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 RON 185

$21.12 €18.82

83.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 RON 375

$114 €101

-30.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 432

$160 €143

-43.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 RON 3,311

$904 €805

-23.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 RON 2,124

$684 €610

-34.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 RON 5,167

$1,356 €1,208

-20.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 RON 3,393

$1,011 €901

-29.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,797 RON 18.1K

$3,081 €2,746

23.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 RON 10.5K

$1,932 €1,722

13.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,452

$1,725 €1,537

-21.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.3

104.55%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Calella: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$446 33.3%

Calella

$684 42.9% 53.5% $238

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.9%

Calella

$212 13.3% 5.9% $13

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.9%

Calella

$273 17.1% 21% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Calella

$155 9.7% 27.1% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$133 10%

Calella

$161 10.1% 20.6% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$66 4.9%

Calella

$63 3.9% 4.7% $3.1

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Calella

$48 3% 69.1% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Bucharest and $904 in Calella. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calella pays 27% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Bucharest vs $56 in Calella. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $273, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇪🇸 Calella

🕒 Local time

12:22 12:22 PM

11:22 11:22 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

19,862

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 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 26, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Calella 1,920 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Calella

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 Calella: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Calella differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $1,596 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 21% lower in Bucharest. 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: $695 in Bucharest versus $904 in Calella. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,337 per month in Bucharest versus $1,596 in Calella – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 34% less than in Calella. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Bucharest gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Bucharest wins on affordability, Calella on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.