Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and El Jadida

For one person, living is cheaper in El Jadida: $609 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in El Jadida
Learn more

El Jadida Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

El Jadida

🇲🇦 Morocco

$609

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in El Jadida

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Bucharest versus $609 in El Jadida.

Bucharest $1,371
El Jadida $609

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,067 in Bucharest versus $917 in El Jadida.

Bucharest $2,067
El Jadida $917

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,764 in Bucharest versus $1,226 in El Jadida.

Bucharest $2,764
El Jadida $1,226

Living in Bucharest is roughly 125% more expensive than in El Jadida, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.51 RON 69.0

$2.83 MAD 27.62

412.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 RON 291

$20.26 MAD 198

202.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 RON 35.50

$5.97 MAD 58.3

24.96%

Cappuccino

$3.64 RON 17.33

$1.45 MAD 14.10

151.03%

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

$2.62 RON 12.44

$0.44 MAD 4.32

495.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 RON 11.24

$0.30 MAD 2.96

686.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.78 RON 18.00

$2.66 MAD 25.94

42.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.54

$2.99 MAD 29.14

37.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 RON 7.90

$0.81 MAD 7.88

104.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 RON 6.64

$0.40 MAD 3.87

250.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 RON 8.54

$1.54 MAD 15.06

16.23%

Eggs

$3.63 RON 17.27

$1.86 MAD 18.14

95.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 RON 42.43

$6.17 MAD 60.1

44.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.86 RON 32.65

$3.91 MAD 38.12

75.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 RON 57.0

$7.60 MAD 74.1

57.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$1.55 MAD 15.11

-16.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.77

$1.36 MAD 13.23

19.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.10

$0.84 MAD 8.18

77.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.09

$0.73 MAD 7.09

247.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$0.71 MAD 6.89

14.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$0.46 MAD 4.53

73.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 RON 4.07

$0.25 MAD 2.45

244.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$0.55 MAD 5.35

70.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 RON 31.42

$3.84 MAD 37.47

71.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.33 RON 30.11

$4.53 MAD 44.11

39.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.64

$2.26 MAD 22.07

-47.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 RON 7.54

$2.79 MAD 27.19

-43.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 RON 4.64

$0.49 MAD 4.75

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.5

$20.06 MAD 196

4.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.83 MAD 8.07

-27.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.93

$0.59 MAD 5.73

5.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.28

$5.17 MAD 50.4

23.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 RON 9.63

$1.43 MAD 13.93

41.26%

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

$28.2K RON 134.1K

$30.9K MAD 300.8K

-8.61%

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

$26.3K RON 125.0K

$29.8K MAD 290.1K

-11.69%

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

$196 RON 933

$28.51 MAD 278

588.11%

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

$8.60 RON 40.89

$9.22 MAD 89.9

-6.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.20 RON 43.74

$31.09 MAD 303

-70.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 RON 243

$27.72 MAD 270

84.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.04 RON 119

$11.99 MAD 117

108.84%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 RON 39.31

$5.97 MAD 58.2

38.36%

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

$681 RON 3,237

$99.6 MAD 971

583.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K RON 89.1K

$3,081 MAD 30.0K

508.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 444

$26.72 MAD 261

249.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.87 RON 190

$35.44 MAD 345

12.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

$63.8 MAD 622

25.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 431

$70.3 MAD 685

28.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 RON 3,477

$203 MAD 1,980

259.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 RON 2,234

$160 MAD 1,562

193.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 RON 5,282

$353 MAD 3,442

214.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 RON 3,435

$221 MAD 2,152

227.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,749 RON 17.8K

$1,538 MAD 15.0K

143.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,233 RON 10.6K

$781 MAD 7,609

186.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,365 RON 6,494

$448 MAD 4,363

205.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

5.5

22.73%

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

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Last update for El Jadida: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$470 34.3%

El Jadida

$160 26.3% 65.9% $309

Eating Out

Bucharest

$229 16.7%

El Jadida

$80 13.2% 65% $149

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.4%

El Jadida

$146 24% 35% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 15.6%

El Jadida

$69 11.3% 67.8% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$137 10%

El Jadida

$88 14.5% 35.4% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$68 4.9%

El Jadida

$40 6.5% 41.3% $28

Getting Around

Bucharest

$29 2.1%

El Jadida

$26 4.2% 9.5% $2.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $731 in Bucharest and $203 in El Jadida. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Bucharest vs $20 in El Jadida for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $146 per month, with El Jadida cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇲🇦 El Jadida

🕒 Local time

02:43 2:43 AM

00:43 12:43 AM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

237,464

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.14 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.94 MAD (100 MAD = 9.14 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest El Jadida 3,220 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
El Jadida

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 El Jadida: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,371 in Bucharest and $609 in El Jadida, so El Jadida is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bucharest is about 3.1 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 $203 in El Jadida. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,371 per month in Bucharest versus $609 in El Jadida – El Jadida is about 56% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in El Jadida runs roughly 4% less than in Bucharest. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $609 in El Jadida versus $1,371 in Bucharest, a $800 budget is realistic in El Jadida but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes El Jadida 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 El Jadida gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.