Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Chur

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $3,235 in Chur, rent and utilities included – about $22,700 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
158

Cost of Living Index in Chur
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Chur Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Chur

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Chur

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $3,235 in Chur.

Bucharest $1,340
Chur $3,235

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

Bucharest $2,037
Chur $5,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $6,840 in Chur.

Bucharest $2,734
Chur $6,840

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 59% less than in Chur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Chur is 140% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$28.57 CHF 23.53

-49.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$107 CHF 87.7

-45.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$16.08 CHF 13.24

-53.48%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$5.56 CHF 4.58

-38.13%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$5.73 CHF 4.72

-58.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$5.18 CHF 4.26

-55.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$8.23 CHF 6.78

-55.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$8.28 CHF 6.82

-49.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$2.20 CHF 1.81

-24.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$3.42 CHF 2.81

-59.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$4.21 CHF 3.47

-59.14%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$7.49 CHF 6.17

-51.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$26.47 CHF 21.80

-65.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$25.86 CHF 21.30

-73.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$38.41 CHF 31.64

-68.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.58 CHF 2.95

-65.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.04 CHF 1.68

-20.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.60 CHF 2.14

-39.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$4.74 CHF 3.90

-46.41%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.91 CHF 1.57

-58.64%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$2.24 CHF 1.84

-65.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$2.42 CHF 1.99

-64.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.41 CHF 1.16

-29.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$10.64 CHF 8.76

-40.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$12.92 CHF 10.64

-52.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$2.23 CHF 1.84

-46.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.42 CHF 2.82

-54.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$5.31 CHF 4.38

-83.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$184 CHF 151

-88.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$7.49 CHF 6.17

-91.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$4.89 CHF 4.03

-87.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$87.1 CHF 71.8

-92.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.10 CHF 1.73

-6.67%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$40.9K CHF 33.7K

-29.14%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$37.6K CHF 31.0K

-29.18%

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

$196 RON 927

$232 CHF 191

-15.59%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$32.08 CHF 26.42

-74.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$53.3 CHF 43.87

-82.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$78.6 CHF 64.8

-36.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$33.32 CHF 27.44

-23.98%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$21.55 CHF 17.75

-62.18%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$2,424 CHF 1,997

-74.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$44.7K CHF 36.8K

-68.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$89.0 CHF 73.3

0.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$48.89 CHF 40.27

-21.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$120 CHF 98.4

-33.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$172 CHF 142

-47.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,709 CHF 1,407

-60.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$1,349 CHF 1,111

-66.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$2,988 CHF 2,461

-63.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$2,517 CHF 2,073

-71.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$7,198 CHF 5,929

-47.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$5,335 CHF 4,394

-58.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$8,475 CHF 6,980

-84.31%

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 Chur: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Chur

$1.3K 41.7% 201% $900

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Chur

$445 13.8% 97.5% $220

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Chur

$572 17.7% 154% $347

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Chur

$317 9.8% 48.8% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Chur

$193 6% 44.4% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Chur

$122 3.8% 83% $55

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Chur

$237 7.3% 740% $209

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $1,709 in Chur. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chur pays 538% 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 $107 in Chur for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $572 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇨🇭 Chur

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

07:36 7:36 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

37,082

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Chur 1,310 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Chur

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 Chur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Chur differ by about 141% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $3,235 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 538% lower in Chur. 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 $1,709 in Chur. 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 $3,235 in Chur – a 141% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 771% less than in Chur. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $3,235 in Chur, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Chur. 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 Chur 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 141% less than in Chur. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.