Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $910 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
Learn more

Cluj-Napoca Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,413

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Cluj-Napoca

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 Cluj-Napoca actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca.

Bucharest $1,337
Cluj-Napoca $1,413

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $2,122 in Cluj-Napoca.

Bucharest $2,029
Cluj-Napoca $2,122

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $2,831 in Cluj-Napoca.

Bucharest $2,721
Cluj-Napoca $2,831

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 5% less than in Cluj-Napoca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Cluj-Napoca is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.45 RON 68.4

$12.53 RON 59.3

15.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$54.5 RON 258

6.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 RON 35.65

$9.73 RON 46.01

-22.61%

Cappuccino

$3.45 RON 16.33

$3.68 RON 17.42

-6.25%

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

$2.46 RON 11.65

$2.31 RON 10.92

6.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 RON 10.54

$2.31 RON 10.93

-3.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.76 RON 17.78

$3.22 RON 15.24

16.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 RON 19.84

$4.26 RON 20.14

-1.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 RON 7.67

$1.63 RON 7.69

-0.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 RON 6.13

$1.43 RON 6.78

-9.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.05

$1.82 RON 8.63

-6.59%

Eggs

$3.79 RON 17.93

$3.82 RON 18.08

-0.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 RON 41.90

$9.16 RON 43.34

-3.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.90 RON 32.67

$7.08 RON 33.50

-2.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.14 RON 57.4

$11.76 RON 55.7

3.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$1.40 RON 6.64

-7.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.55

$1.70 RON 8.03

-5.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.42

$1.89 RON 8.96

-16.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 RON 12.67

$2.42 RON 11.43

10.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.82

$0.92 RON 4.36

-11.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.73

$0.88 RON 4.15

-10.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$0.97 RON 4.59

-6.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.58

$0.97 RON 4.61

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 RON 30.34

$6.21 RON 29.39

3.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 RON 29.24

$7.54 RON 35.66

-18.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.83

$1.26 RON 5.96

-2.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 RON 7.91

$1.70 RON 8.05

-1.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.10

$0.72 RON 3.42

20.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.98 RON 99.3

$31.02 RON 147

-32.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.10

$0.88 RON 4.17

-25.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.85

$0.93 RON 4.40

-35.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$8.51 RON 40.26

-27.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.15

$1.92 RON 9.08

0.52%

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

$28.7K RON 135.9K

$28.9K RON 136.7K

-0.58%

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

$26.3K RON 124.6K

$24.4K RON 115.2K

8.11%

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

$196 RON 926

$156 RON 739

25.27%

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

$8.49 RON 40.19

$8.74 RON 41.34

-2.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.05 RON 42.84

$9.61 RON 45.46

-5.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.54 RON 234

$46.29 RON 219

7.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.03 RON 118

$21.98 RON 104

13.88%

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 RON 39.01

$9.27 RON 43.87

-11.11%

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

$636 RON 3,007

$587 RON 2,775

8.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K RON 69.0K

$9,749 RON 46.1K

49.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 419

$90.1 RON 426

-1.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 RON 183

$46.13 RON 218

-15.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 RON 373

$98.2 RON 465

-19.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 428

$110 RON 522

-17.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 RON 3,288

$623 RON 2,950

11.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 RON 2,109

$529 RON 2,502

-15.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 RON 5,130

$1,143 RON 5,407

-5.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 RON 3,368

$820 RON 3,881

-13.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,797 RON 18.0K

$4,578 RON 21.7K

-17.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 RON 10.4K

$3,358 RON 15.9K

-34.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,406

$1,261 RON 5,964

7.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

6.65

1.50%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$446 33.3%

Cluj-Napoca

$529 37.5% 18.7% $83

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.9%

Cluj-Napoca

$217 15.3% 3.9% $8.8

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.9%

Cluj-Napoca

$233 16.5% 3.4% $7.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Cluj-Napoca

$175 12.4% 18.1% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$133 10%

Cluj-Napoca

$155 11% 16.2% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$66 4.9%

Cluj-Napoca

$65 4.6% 1.8% $1.2

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Cluj-Napoca

$39 2.8% 40.3% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Bucharest and $623 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $54.0 in Cluj-Napoca. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $233, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🕒 Local time

18:19 6:19 PM

Same time as Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

324,576

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Cluj-Napoca 320 km

From you

Bucharest
Cluj-Napoca

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 Cluj-Napoca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $1,413 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Bucharest, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $695 in Bucharest versus $623 in Cluj-Napoca. 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 $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 48% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Cluj-Napoca. 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 Cluj-Napoca 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 6% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.