Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Gampaha

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $450 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
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Gampaha Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$450

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Gampaha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $450 in Gampaha.

Bucharest $1,340
Gampaha $450

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $765 in Gampaha.

Bucharest $2,037
Gampaha $765

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $1,079 in Gampaha.

Bucharest $2,734
Gampaha $1,079

Living in Bucharest is roughly 198% more expensive than in Gampaha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Gampaha 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$1.81 LKR 600

700.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$18.00 LKR 5,961

222.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$5.20 LKR 1,723

43.85%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$1.25 LKR 414

175.20%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.54 LKR 178

338.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.27 LKR 89.7

751.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$2.13 LKR 705

73.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$3.04 LKR 1,007

36.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.62 LKR 538

3.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.43 LKR 144

218.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$0.73 LKR 241

135.62%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$1.72 LKR 569

111.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$13.52 LKR 4,480

-32.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$3.96 LKR 1,312

72.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$7.23 LKR 2,394

65.98%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$5.92 LKR 1,961

-79.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$0.81 LKR 269

101.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$4.41 LKR 1,461

-64.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.27 LKR 420

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.96 LKR 318

-17.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.78 LKR 257

-1.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.29 LKR 95.7

200.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.32 LKR 104

209.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$9.94 LKR 3,294

-36.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$12.77 LKR 4,231

-51.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.38 LKR 457

-13.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.37 LKR 784

-33.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.31 LKR 103

177.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.29 LKR 95.8

120.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.36 LKR 120

66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$0.90 LKR 297

614.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.18 LKR 390

66.10%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$29.9K LKR 9.9M

-2.96%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$40.2K LKR 13.3M

-33.72%

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

$196 RON 927

$27.63 LKR 9,153

608.98%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$2.98 LKR 985

169.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$10.84 LKR 3,591

-13.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$7.56 LKR 2,504

564.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$4.44 LKR 1,472

83.56%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$15.07 LKR 4,991

4067.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$122 LKR 40.4K

11460.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$17.88 LKR 5,924

401.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$8.90 LKR 2,948

330.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$61.4 LKR 20.3K

29.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$24.29 LKR 8,044

272.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$89.4 LKR 29.6K

658.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$55.5 LKR 18.4K

708.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$301 LKR 99.8K

259.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$167 LKR 55.4K

333.69%

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

$225 LKR 74.4K

491.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

-32.50%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Gampaha: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Gampaha

$55 12.3% 87.6% $393

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Gampaha

$65 14.5% 71.1% $160

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Gampaha

$217 48.4% 3.4% $7.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Gampaha

$41 9.2% 80.6% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Gampaha

$51 11.3% 62.2% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Gampaha

$16 3.7% 75.3% $50

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Gampaha

$3.3 * 0.7% 88.2% $25

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $89.4 in Gampaha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 492% 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 $18.00 in Gampaha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $217 per month, with Gampaha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🕒 Local time

14:25 2:25 PM

16:55 4:55 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

20,000

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, 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).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Gampaha 6,640 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Gampaha

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 Gampaha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Gampaha differ by about 198% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $450 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 492% 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 $89.4 in Gampaha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $450 in Gampaha – a 198% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $450 in Gampaha versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gampaha but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Gampaha 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 Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 198% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.