Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Centurion

For one person, living costs are similar in Bucharest and in Centurion: $1,340 and $1,377 a month, rent and utilities included.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Centurion
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Centurion Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Centurion

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,377

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Centurion

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,377 in Centurion.

Bucharest $1,340
Centurion $1,377

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,224 in Centurion.

Bucharest $2,037
Centurion $2,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $3,071 in Centurion.

Bucharest $2,734
Centurion $3,071

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 3% less than in Centurion, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Centurion is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$22.13 R 365

-34.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$40.73 R 671

42.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$5.76 R 95.0

29.86%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$2.57 R 42.33

33.85%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.94 R 15.52

152.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.87 R 14.35

164.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$2.10 R 34.57

76.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$2.45 R 40.42

69.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.23 R 20.27

35.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.22 R 20.11

12.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$2.17 R 35.83

-20.74%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.07 R 50.6

18.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$9.79 R 161

-7.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$6.92 R 114

-1.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$7.29 R 120

64.61%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$1.82 R 29.92

-32.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.80 R 29.64

-9.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.12 R 34.88

-25.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$2.08 R 34.20

22.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.52 R 24.98

-48.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.85 R 30.44

-58.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.35 R 22.24

-35.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.46 R 23.99

-32.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$3.77 R 62.1

67.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$5.90 R 97.1

5.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.59 R 26.20

-25.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.02 R 33.27

-22.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$2.47 R 40.75

-65.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$97.9 R 1,613

-78.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$1.22 R 20.14

-47.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.23 R 20.20

-51.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$8.89 R 146

-27.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.50 R 24.75

30.67%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$35.9K R 591.7K

-19.25%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$32.1K R 528.7K

-16.99%

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

$196 RON 927

$137 R 2,260

42.77%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$30.65 R 505

-73.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$40.07 R 660

-76.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$43.79 R 721

14.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$10.73 R 177

-24.04%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$314 R 5,174

99.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$4,299 R 70.8K

227.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$58.5 R 965

53.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$43.75 R 721

-12.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$117 R 1,925

-32.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$103 R 1,699

-12.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$345 R 5,689

96.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$371 R 6,115

20.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$575 R 9,479

88.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$896 R 14.8K

-19.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$518 R 8,536

624.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$612 R 10.1K

258.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$2,342 R 38.6K

-43.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

10.5

-35.71%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Centurion: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Centurion

$371 27% 17.2% $77

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Centurion

$248 18% 10.1% $23

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Centurion

$225 16.3% 0% $0.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Centurion

$208 15.1% 2.5% $5.3

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Centurion

$145 10.5% 8.3% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Centurion

$65 4.7% 1.9% $1.3

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Centurion

$115 8.4% 308% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $345 in Centurion. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Centurion pays 76% 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 $41.00 in Centurion. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇿🇦 Centurion

🕒 Local time

23:09 11:09 PM

22:09 10:09 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

236,580

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Centurion 7,820 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Centurion

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 Centurion: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Centurion differ by about 3% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,377 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 76% lower in Centurion. 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 $345 in Centurion. 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 $1,377 in Centurion – a 3% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 364% less than in Centurion. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,377 in Centurion, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Centurion. 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 Centurion 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 3% less than in Centurion. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.