Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Elblag

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,354 a month against $1,457 in Elblag, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Elblag outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Elblag
Learn more

Elblag Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Elblag

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,457

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Elblag

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,354 in Bucharest versus $1,457 in Elblag.

Bucharest $1,354
Elblag $1,457

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,043 in Bucharest versus $2,110 in Elblag.

Bucharest $2,043
Elblag $2,110

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,733 in Bucharest versus $2,762 in Elblag.

Bucharest $2,733
Elblag $2,762

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 7% less than in Elblag, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.66 RON 70.1

$12.10 zł 47.82

21.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 276

$27.08 zł 107

113.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 RON 35.97

$7.47 zł 29.52

0.67%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 17.01

$3.53 zł 13.94

0.85%

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

$2.47 RON 11.83

$2.17 zł 8.58

13.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.45

$1.64 zł 6.50

32.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 RON 17.65

$3.13 zł 12.38

17.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 RON 20.48

$3.76 zł 14.85

13.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 8.00

$0.99 zł 3.93

68.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.46

$1.62 zł 6.40

-16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.49

$0.91 zł 3.60

95.60%

Eggs

$3.56 RON 17.04

$3.70 zł 14.63

-3.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.12 RON 43.65

$8.91 zł 35.22

2.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.82 RON 32.62

$6.94 zł 27.43

-1.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.13 RON 58.0

$11.75 zł 46.47

3.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.05

$1.36 zł 5.36

-7.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.77

$1.73 zł 6.83

-6.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.45

$1.60 zł 6.34

-2.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.15

$3.20 zł 12.63

-20.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.74

$0.75 zł 2.95

4.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.71

$1.32 zł 5.20

-41.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 RON 4.25

$1.15 zł 4.56

-22.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 RON 4.30

$0.53 zł 2.11

69.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 RON 31.34

$4.21 zł 16.63

55.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.37 RON 30.46

$6.50 zł 25.69

-2.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 RON 5.95

$0.53 zł 2.08

133.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 RON 7.76

$1.35 zł 5.34

20.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 RON 4.09

$1.01 zł 3.98

-15.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 RON 99.1

$24.69 zł 97.6

-16.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.94

$2.10 zł 8.30

-70.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$0.78 zł 3.10

-21.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 RON 29.48

$10.19 zł 40.29

-39.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 RON 9.56

$1.53 zł 6.06

30.72%

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

$27.9K RON 133.7K

$30.8K zł 121.9K

-9.34%

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

$25.3K RON 121.2K

$25.3K zł 100.1K

-0.03%

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

$192 RON 919

$283 zł 1,120

-32.19%

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

$7.92 RON 37.88

$8.14 zł 32.19

-2.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.96 RON 42.86

$13.81 zł 54.6

-35.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.99 RON 239

$42.10 zł 166

18.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 RON 119

$21.62 zł 85.5

14.75%

Cinema Ticket

$8.51 RON 40.70

$5.47 zł 21.60

55.58%

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

$686 RON 3,282

$323 zł 1,278

112.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 69.0K

$1,952 zł 7,715

638.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.2 RON 432

$80.7 zł 319

11.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 RON 185

$36.60 zł 145

5.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 RON 378

$87.3 zł 345

-9.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 RON 440

$98.4 zł 389

-6.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$711 RON 3,403

$604 zł 2,388

17.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 RON 2,210

$513 zł 2,028

-9.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 5,040

$992 zł 3,923

6.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 RON 3,457

$896 zł 3,540

-19.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 RON 17.4K

$2,130 zł 8,420

70.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,173 RON 10.4K

$2,224 zł 8,791

-2.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,477

$1,295 zł 5,118

4.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

6.89

-2.03%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Last update for Elblag: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$462 34.1%

Elblag

$513 35.2% 11.1% $51

Eating Out

Bucharest

$228 16.9%

Elblag

$200 13.7% 12.4% $28

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.6%

Elblag

$215 14.8% 4.4% $9.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$209 15.4%

Elblag

$305 20.9% 46.1% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$135 10%

Elblag

$136 9.4% 1% $1.4

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Elblag

$53 3.6% 20.9% $14

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Elblag

$35 2.4% 24.9% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $711 in Bucharest and $604 in Elblag. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $58 in Bucharest vs $27 in Elblag for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $215 per month, with Elblag cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇵🇱 Elblag

🕒 Local time

03:40 3:40 AM

02:40 2:40 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

122,899

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 PLN = 0.253 USD

1 PLN = 0.227 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.95 PLN (1 PLN = 0.253 USD). 1 EUR = 4.41 PLN (1 PLN = 0.227 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Elblag 1,180 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Elblag

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 Elblag: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,354 in Bucharest and $1,457 in Elblag, so Bucharest is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 5% 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: $711 in Bucharest versus $604 in Elblag. 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 $1,457 in Elblag – Bucharest is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 16% less than in Elblag. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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.