Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Dakar

For one person, living costs are similar in Bucharest and in Dakar: $1,371 and $1,385 a month, rent and utilities included.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Dakar
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Dakar Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Dakar

🇸🇳 Senegal

$1,385

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Dakar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Bucharest versus $1,385 in Dakar.

Bucharest $1,371
Dakar $1,385

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,067 in Bucharest versus $2,180 in Dakar.

Bucharest $2,067
Dakar $2,180

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,764 in Bucharest versus $2,974 in Dakar.

Bucharest $2,764
Dakar $2,974

Monthly costs are close between Bucharest and Dakar; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.51 RON 69.0

$5.04 F CFA 2,941

187.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 RON 291

$52.6 F CFA 30.7K

16.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 RON 35.50

$11.11 F CFA 6,486

-32.85%

Cappuccino

$3.64 RON 17.33

$3.43 F CFA 2,005

6.12%

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

$2.62 RON 12.44

$1.19 F CFA 698

120.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 RON 11.24

$0.83 F CFA 484

184.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.78 RON 18.00

$2.50 F CFA 1,460

51.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.54

$4.21 F CFA 2,461

-2.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 RON 7.90

$2.61 F CFA 1,526

-36.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 RON 6.64

$0.86 F CFA 504

62.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 RON 8.54

$1.55 F CFA 904

15.48%

Eggs

$3.63 RON 17.27

$2.49 F CFA 1,454

45.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 RON 42.43

$17.62 F CFA 10.3K

-49.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.86 RON 32.65

$9.18 F CFA 5,363

-25.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 RON 57.0

$11.02 F CFA 6,435

8.80%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$3.19 F CFA 1,861

-59.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.77

$1.94 F CFA 1,135

-15.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.10

$2.93 F CFA 1,714

-49.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.09

$1.79 F CFA 1,044

41.90%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$1.35 F CFA 786

-40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$0.91 F CFA 533

-12.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 RON 4.07

$1.13 F CFA 662

-23.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$0.65 F CFA 379

44.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 RON 31.42

$2.09 F CFA 1,222

215.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.33 RON 30.11

$14.72 F CFA 8,594

-57.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.64

$1.54 F CFA 899

-22.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 RON 7.54

$3.33 F CFA 1,942

-52.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 RON 4.64

$0.65 F CFA 378

50.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.5

$52.8 F CFA 30.8K

-60.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$2.14 F CFA 1,251

-71.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.93

$2.07 F CFA 1,209

-70.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.28

$16.72 F CFA 9,765

-61.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 RON 9.63

$1.65 F CFA 963

22.42%

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

$28.2K RON 134.1K

$50.5K F CFA 29.5M

-44.12%

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

$26.3K RON 125.0K

$48.6K F CFA 28.4M

-45.91%

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

$196 RON 933

$201 F CFA 117.5K

-2.50%

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

$8.60 RON 40.89

$11.62 F CFA 6,786

-25.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.20 RON 43.74

$46.23 F CFA 27.0K

-80.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 RON 243

$43.88 F CFA 25.6K

16.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.04 RON 119

$23.27 F CFA 13.6K

7.61%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 RON 39.31

$8.58 F CFA 5,012

-3.73%

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

$681 RON 3,237

$325 F CFA 189.6K

109.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K RON 89.1K

$12.2K F CFA 7.1M

53.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 444

$57.5 F CFA 33.6K

62.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.87 RON 190

$45.37 F CFA 26.5K

-12.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

$83.8 F CFA 49.0K

-4.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 431

$96.3 F CFA 56.2K

-5.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 RON 3,477

$807 F CFA 471.1K

-9.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 RON 2,234

$433 F CFA 252.9K

8.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 RON 5,282

$1,722 F CFA 1.0M

-35.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 RON 3,435

$923 F CFA 538.9K

-21.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,749 RON 17.8K

$4,921 F CFA 2.9M

-23.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,233 RON 10.6K

$1,514 F CFA 884.3K

47.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,365 RON 6,494

$341 F CFA 199.4K

299.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

8.75

-22.86%

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

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Last update for Dakar: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$470 34.3%

Dakar

$433 31.3% 7.8% $37

Eating Out

Bucharest

$229 16.7%

Dakar

$144 10.4% 37.3% $85

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.4%

Dakar

$293 21.2% 30.3% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 15.6%

Dakar

$259 18.7% 21.1% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$137 10%

Dakar

$127 9.2% 6.9% $9.4

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$68 4.9%

Dakar

$61 4.4% 9.6% $6.5

Getting Around

Bucharest

$29 2.1%

Dakar

$68 4.9% 138% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $731 in Bucharest and $807 in Dakar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Bucharest vs $53 in Dakar. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $293, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇳 Dakar

🕒 Local time

20:36 8:36 PM

18:36 6:36 PM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

2,396,800 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 584 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Dakar 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Dakar

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 Dakar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay in Bucharest is about 4 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: $731 in Bucharest versus $807 in Dakar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 60% less than in Dakar. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Dakar. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.