Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Elbasan

For one person, living is cheaper in Elbasan: $882 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Elbasan
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Elbasan Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Elbasan

🇦🇱 Albania

$882

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Elbasan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $882 in Elbasan.

Bucharest $1,340
Elbasan $882

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,391 in Elbasan.

Bucharest $2,037
Elbasan $1,391

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $1,901 in Elbasan.

Bucharest $2,734
Elbasan $1,901

Living in Bucharest is roughly 52% more expensive than in Elbasan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Elbasan 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$9.79 ALL 788

48.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$36.36 ALL 2,928

59.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$6.85 ALL 552

9.20%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$1.68 ALL 135

104.76%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$1.35 ALL 109

75.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.63 ALL 50.8

265.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$2.16 ALL 174

71.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$2.83 ALL 228

47.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.88 ALL 151

-11.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.91 ALL 73.4

50.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.62 ALL 131

6.17%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$2.70 ALL 218

34.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$9.98 ALL 804

-9.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$5.87 ALL 473

16.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$11.19 ALL 901

7.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$1.20 ALL 96.3

2.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.28 ALL 184

-28.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.36 ALL 109

15.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.07 ALL 86.1

137.38%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.98 ALL 79.0

-19.39%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.09 ALL 87.5

-29.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.81 ALL 65.1

7.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.65 ALL 52.1

52.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$4.38 ALL 353

44.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$8.07 ALL 649

-23.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.02 ALL 82.0

16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.85 ALL 149

-15.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.48 ALL 38.46

79.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$19.51 ALL 1,571

8.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$3.77 ALL 303

-83.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.51 ALL 122

-60.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$14.94 ALL 1,203

-56.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.15 ALL 173

-8.84%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$28.9K ALL 2.3M

0.25%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$29.9K ALL 2.4M

-10.91%

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

$196 RON 927

$61.1 ALL 4,918

220.76%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$15.20 ALL 1,224

-47.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$12.00 ALL 966

-22.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$56.6 ALL 4,558

-11.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$17.22 ALL 1,386

47.10%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$4.33 ALL 349

88.22%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$139 ALL 11.2K

352.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$1,835 ALL 147.8K

667.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$72.1 ALL 5,804

24.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$44.85 ALL 3,611

-14.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$94.8 ALL 7,630

-16.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$96.3 ALL 7,754

-6.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$299 ALL 24.1K

126.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$204 ALL 16.4K

119.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$442 ALL 35.6K

145.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$311 ALL 25.1K

132.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$1,361 ALL 109.6K

175.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$858 ALL 69.1K

155.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$539 ALL 43.4K

146.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

6.1

10.66%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Elbasan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Elbasan

$204 23.1% 54.5% $245

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Elbasan

$143 16.3% 36.3% $82

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Elbasan

$210 23.8% 6.9% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Elbasan

$88 10% 58.6% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Elbasan

$139 15.7% 3.5% $4.7

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Elbasan

$65 7.4% 1.9% $1.3

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Elbasan

$33 3.7% 16.1% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $299 in Elbasan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 147% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $36.00 in Elbasan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $210 per month, with Elbasan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇦🇱 Elbasan

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

03:32 3:32 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

78,703

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Elbasan 610 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Elbasan

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 Elbasan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Elbasan differ by about 52% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $882 including rent). Elbasan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 147% 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $299 in Elbasan. 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 $882 in Elbasan – a 52% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Elbasan runs roughly 8% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $882 in Elbasan versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Elbasan but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Elbasan 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 Elbasan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.