Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Gliwice

For one person, living costs are similar in Bucharest and in Gliwice: $1,351 and $1,315 a month, rent and utilities included.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Gliwice
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Gliwice Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Gliwice

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,315

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Gliwice

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $1,315 in Gliwice.

Bucharest $1,351
Gliwice $1,315

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $1,934 in Gliwice.

Bucharest $2,033
Gliwice $1,934

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $2,553 in Gliwice.

Bucharest $2,715
Gliwice $2,553

Living in Bucharest is roughly 3% more expensive than in Gliwice, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% above, Gliwice is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$12.94 zł 50.6

11.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$40.22 zł 157

43.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$9.14 zł 35.72

-17.94%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$2.89 zł 11.30

18.69%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$1.13 zł 4.43

117.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$1.63 zł 6.39

42.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$2.87 zł 11.23

32.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$3.04 zł 11.90

34.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$1.04 zł 4.06

58.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$1.32 zł 5.18

2.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$1.81 zł 7.07

-1.66%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$2.88 zł 11.26

27.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$7.82 zł 30.56

9.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$6.36 zł 24.86

6.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$9.70 zł 37.90

20.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$0.99 zł 3.86

30.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$1.89 zł 7.39

-17.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$1.61 zł 6.29

-4.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$2.61 zł 10.22

-4.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$0.88 zł 3.46

-5.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$1.13 zł 4.41

-29.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$1.40 zł 5.47

-40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$0.66 zł 2.58

40.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$4.89 zł 19.10

31.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$7.58 zł 29.64

-16.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$1.04 zł 4.07

21.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$1.52 zł 5.96

5.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

$1.06 zł 4.16

-23.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

$30.50 zł 119

-30.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.99 zł 7.79

-69.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$0.61 zł 2.39

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$10.12 zł 39.54

-39.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$1.71 zł 6.69

14.62%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$31.4K zł 122.8K

-10.43%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$26.7K zł 104.2K

-1.39%

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

$197 RON 931

$226 zł 885

-13.06%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$14.00 zł 54.7

-40.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$16.00 zł 62.5

-42.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$26.64 zł 104

87.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

$16.20 zł 63.3

54.26%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$6.27 zł 24.51

34.93%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$333 zł 1,302

91.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$97.1 zł 380

-6.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$44.25 zł 173

-14.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$66.1 zł 258

20.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$75.4 zł 295

23.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

$516 zł 2,017

30.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

$472 zł 1,845

-4.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

$861 zł 3,367

27.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$728 zł 2,845

0.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

$2,431 zł 9,500

53.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$1,782 zł 6,965

22.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

$1,354 zł 5,294

-2.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

7.23

-6.78%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Gliwice: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Gliwice

$472 35.3% 5.2% $23

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Gliwice

$197 14.8% 12.6% $29

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Gliwice

$204 15.3% 7.8% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Gliwice

$256 19.2% 19.6% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Gliwice

$127 9.5% 6.2% $8.4

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Gliwice

$39 2.9% 41.3% $28

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Gliwice

$40 3% 41.9% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $516 in Gliwice. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gliwice pays 2% 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 $40.00 in Gliwice for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $204 per month, with Gliwice cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇵🇱 Gliwice

🕒 Local time

11:22 11:22 AM

10:22 10:22 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

185,450

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

1 PLN = 0.256 USD

1 PLN = 0.228 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.91 PLN (1 PLN = 0.256 USD). 1 EUR = 4.38 PLN (1 PLN = 0.228 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Gliwice 860 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Gliwice

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 Gliwice: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Gliwice differ by about 3% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $1,315 including rent). Gliwice is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Gliwice. 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: $673 in Bucharest versus $516 in Gliwice. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,351 per month in Bucharest versus $1,315 in Gliwice – a 3% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Gliwice runs roughly 44% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,315 in Gliwice versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gliwice but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Gliwice 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.

Safety-wise, Bucharest and Gliwice are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Gliwice gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.