Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Grahamstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Grahamstown: $1,121 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Grahamstown
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Grahamstown Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Grahamstown

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Grahamstown

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,121 in Grahamstown.

Bucharest $1,340
Grahamstown $1,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,757 in Grahamstown.

Bucharest $2,037
Grahamstown $1,757

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $2,392 in Grahamstown.

Bucharest $2,734
Grahamstown $2,392

Living in Bucharest is roughly 20% more expensive than in Grahamstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Grahamstown 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$10.85 R 179

33.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$42.03 R 692

38.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$6.06 R 99.9

23.43%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$2.13 R 35.03

61.50%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$1.04 R 17.21

127.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.72 R 11.94

219.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$2.76 R 45.45

34.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$3.07 R 50.6

35.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.12 R 18.45

49.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.01 R 16.57

35.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.45 R 23.86

18.62%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$2.82 R 46.40

29.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$8.78 R 145

3.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$5.25 R 86.5

30.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$8.51 R 140

41.01%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.19 R 36.07

-43.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.47 R 24.17

10.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.69 R 27.91

-7.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.72 R 28.34

47.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.67 R 27.50

-52.69%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.37 R 22.55

-43.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.30 R 21.36

-33.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.02 R 16.73

-2.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$3.20 R 52.7

97.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$4.68 R 77.1

32.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.22 R 20.02

-2.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.78 R 29.34

-11.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$1.54 R 25.32

-44.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.62 R 10.13

3.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.47 R 7.72

27.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$8.17 R 135

-21.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.40 R 23.07

40.00%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$35.0K R 576.1K

-17.07%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$32.8K R 540.0K

-18.73%

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

$196 RON 927

$120 R 1,983

62.75%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$34.81 R 574

-76.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$44.20 R 728

-78.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$31.55 R 520

59.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$10.55 R 174

140.09%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$10.60 R 175

-23.11%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$175 R 2,891

257.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$4,834 R 79.6K

191.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$71.5 R 1,178

25.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$36.90 R 608

3.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$109 R 1,803

-27.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$94.3 R 1,553

-4.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$394 R 6,497

72.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$366 R 6,038

22.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$726 R 12.0K

49.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$719 R 11.9K

0.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$874 R 14.4K

329.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$646 R 10.6K

239.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$1,164 R 19.2K

14.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

11.94

-43.47%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Grahamstown: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Grahamstown

$366 32.7% 18.3% $82

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Grahamstown

$158 14.1% 30.1% $68

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Grahamstown

$196 17.5% 13% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Grahamstown

$199 17.8% 6.5% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Grahamstown

$140 12.5% 4.9% $6.6

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Grahamstown

$53 4.7% 20.7% $14

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Grahamstown

$9.1 * 0.8% 67.7% $19

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 $394 in Grahamstown. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 14% 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 $42.00 in Grahamstown for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $196 per month, with Grahamstown cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇿🇦 Grahamstown

🕒 Local time

10:03 10:03 AM

09:03 9:03 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

67,264

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Grahamstown 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Grahamstown

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 Grahamstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Grahamstown differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,121 including rent). Grahamstown is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 14% 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 $394 in Grahamstown. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% 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 $1,121 in Grahamstown – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,121 in Grahamstown versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Grahamstown but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Grahamstown 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 Grahamstown 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 Grahamstown gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.