Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and East London

For one person, living is cheaper in East London: $1,001 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in East London
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East London Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

East London

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,001

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in East London

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,001 in East London.

Bucharest $1,340
East London $1,001

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,632 in East London.

Bucharest $2,037
East London $1,632

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $2,262 in East London.

Bucharest $2,734
East London $2,262

Living in Bucharest is roughly 34% more expensive than in East London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, East London 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$9.27 R 153

56.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$38.10 R 628

52.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$5.73 R 94.4

30.54%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$2.07 R 34.16

66.18%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$1.02 R 16.79

132.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.78 R 12.92

194.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$2.71 R 44.62

36.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$3.16 R 52.1

31.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.17 R 19.32

42.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.94 R 15.51

45.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.52 R 24.99

13.16%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$2.29 R 37.81

58.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$8.72 R 144

4.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$5.36 R 88.3

27.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$6.64 R 109

80.72%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$1.55 R 25.49

-20.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.55 R 25.62

5.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.68 R 27.68

-6.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.51 R 24.83

68.21%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.67 R 27.53

-52.69%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.42 R 23.45

-45.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.12 R 18.49

-22.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.92 R 15.19

7.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$2.85 R 47.01

121.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$4.90 R 80.7

26.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.14 R 18.79

4.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$0.91 R 15.04

72.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$1.54 R 25.40

-44.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$46.97 R 774

-55.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$1.19 R 19.60

-46.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.49 R 8.11

22.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$8.55 R 141

-24.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.35 R 22.30

45.19%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$35.4K R 582.9K

-18.04%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$30.1K R 495.4K

-11.42%

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

$196 RON 927

$121 R 1,994

61.87%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$32.82 R 541

-75.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$44.33 R 730

-78.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$39.22 R 646

28.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$4.81 R 79.3

69.44%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$176 R 2,896

257.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,405 R 89.1K

160.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$57.3 R 944

56.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$33.61 R 554

14.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$73.7 R 1,214

7.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$95.2 R 1,568

-5.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$289 R 4,760

134.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$256 R 4,219

75.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$547 R 9,017

97.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$655 R 10.8K

10.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$1,657 R 27.3K

-19.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

-38.64%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for East London: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

East London

$256 25.6% 42.9% $192

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

East London

$143 14.3% 36.4% $82

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

East London

$181 18.1% 19.4% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

East London

$198 19.8% 7.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

East London

$117 11.7% 12.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

East London

$49 4.9% 26.6% $18

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

East London

$57 5.7% 101% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $289 in East London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

East London pays 25% 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 $38.00 in East London for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $181 per month, with East London cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇿🇦 East London

🕒 Local time

16:19 4:19 PM

15:19 3:19 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

267,007

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 East London 8,610 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
East London

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 East London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and East London differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,001 including rent). East London is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 25% lower in East London. 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 $289 in East London. 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 $1,001 in East London – a 34% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in East London runs roughly 123% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,001 in East London versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in East London but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes East London 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.

Expats usually find East London gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.