Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Cugir

For one person, living is cheaper in Cugir: $879 a month against $1,354 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Cugir
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Cugir Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Cugir

🇷🇴 Romania

$879

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Cugir

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,354 in Bucharest versus $879 in Cugir.

Bucharest $1,354
Cugir $879

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,043 in Bucharest versus $1,300 in Cugir.

Bucharest $2,043
Cugir $1,300

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,733 in Bucharest versus $1,721 in Cugir.

Bucharest $2,733
Cugir $1,721

Living in Bucharest is roughly 54% more expensive than in Cugir, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.66 RON 70.5

$5.85 RON 28.11

150.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 277

$21.39 RON 103

169.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 RON 36.13

$7.55 RON 36.31

-0.40%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 17.09

$1.50 RON 7.22

137.33%

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

$2.47 RON 11.88

$1.29 RON 6.20

91.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.50

$1.17 RON 5.65

86.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 RON 17.72

$1.51 RON 7.27

144.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 RON 20.57

$2.13 RON 10.23

100.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 8.04

$1.15 RON 5.53

45.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.49

$1.23 RON 5.90

9.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.53

$1.75 RON 8.41

1.71%

Eggs

$3.56 RON 17.12

$2.70 RON 13.00

31.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.12 RON 43.84

$6.97 RON 33.50

30.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.82 RON 32.76

$4.85 RON 23.32

40.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.13 RON 58.3

$10.51 RON 50.5

15.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.08

$1.62 RON 7.77

-22.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.80

$1.76 RON 8.48

-7.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.49

$1.64 RON 7.91

-4.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.21

$1.41 RON 6.77

80.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.76

$0.78 RON 3.77

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.72

$0.82 RON 3.93

-6.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 RON 4.27

$1.19 RON 5.73

-25.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 RON 4.32

$0.76 RON 3.67

18.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 RON 31.48

$5.46 RON 26.22

19.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.37 RON 30.60

$5.78 RON 27.76

10.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 RON 5.97

$1.22 RON 5.87

1.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 RON 7.79

$1.70 RON 8.18

-4.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 RON 4.10

$0.72 RON 3.47

18.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 RON 99.6

$21.74 RON 105

-4.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.95

$0.54 RON 2.62

12.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.95

$0.54 RON 2.61

12.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 RON 29.62

$5.32 RON 25.55

15.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 RON 9.60

$1.35 RON 6.50

48.15%

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

$27.9K RON 134.3K

$28.1K RON 135.0K

-0.51%

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

$25.3K RON 121.7K

$24.9K RON 119.9K

1.53%

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

$192 RON 923

$124 RON 595

55.16%

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

$7.92 RON 38.05

$7.97 RON 38.32

-0.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.96 RON 43.05

$7.31 RON 35.12

22.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.99 RON 240

$38.47 RON 185

29.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 RON 119

$20.29 RON 97.5

22.28%

Cinema Ticket

$8.51 RON 40.88

$5.41 RON 26.00

57.30%

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

$686 RON 3,296

$155 RON 746

342.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 69.3K

$3,824 RON 18.4K

276.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.2 RON 434

$31.46 RON 151

186.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 RON 186

$8.30 RON 39.88

366.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 RON 379

$69.8 RON 336

13.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 RON 442

$74.1 RON 356

24.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$711 RON 3,418

$379 RON 1,824

87.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 RON 2,220

$281 RON 1,352

64.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 5,063

$585 RON 2,813

79.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 RON 3,473

$451 RON 2,167

60.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 RON 17.5K

$1,831 RON 8,799

98.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,173 RON 10.4K

$1,352 RON 6,499

60.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,506

$519 RON 2,493

161.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

7.35

-8.16%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cugir: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$462 34.1%

Cugir

$281 32% 39.1% $181

Eating Out

Bucharest

$228 16.9%

Cugir

$109 12.4% 52.2% $119

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.6%

Cugir

$190 21.6% 15.7% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$209 15.4%

Cugir

$139 15.8% 33.4% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$135 10%

Cugir

$83 9.4% 38.8% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Cugir

$49 5.6% 26.4% $18

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Cugir

$28 3.2% 0.3% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $711 in Bucharest and $379 in Cugir. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Bucharest vs $21 in Cugir for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $190 per month, with Cugir cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇷🇴 Cugir

🕒 Local time

15:00 3:00 PM

Same time as Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

28,780

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Bucharest Cugir 260 km

From you

Bucharest
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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 Cugir: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Cugir differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($1,354 vs $879 including rent). Cugir is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bucharest is about 2.6 times higher, 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: $711 in Bucharest versus $379 in Cugir. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,354 per month in Bucharest versus $879 in Cugir – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 5% less than in Cugir. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $879 in Cugir versus $1,354 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cugir but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Cugir 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.

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