Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Grimstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,129 in Grimstad, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Grimstad
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Grimstad Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Grimstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,129

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Grimstad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,129 in Grimstad.

Bucharest $1,340
Grimstad $2,129

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $3,634 in Grimstad.

Bucharest $2,037
Grimstad $3,634

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $5,140 in Grimstad.

Bucharest $2,734
Grimstad $5,140

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 37% less than in Grimstad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Grimstad is 58% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$21.22 NOK 200

-31.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$77.1 NOK 726

-24.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$15.35 NOK 145

-51.27%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$4.81 NOK 45.27

-28.48%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$4.08 NOK 38.42

-41.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$3.37 NOK 31.72

-31.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$11.48 NOK 108

-67.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$10.48 NOK 98.7

-60.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$2.54 NOK 23.91

-34.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$3.63 NOK 34.17

-62.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$3.11 NOK 29.32

-44.69%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.54 NOK 33.34

2.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$12.95 NOK 122

-29.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$14.02 NOK 132

-51.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$24.27 NOK 228

-50.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.03 NOK 19.15

-39.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.36 NOK 22.26

-30.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.44 NOK 32.37

-54.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$4.28 NOK 40.26

-40.65%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$2.77 NOK 26.06

-71.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$2.81 NOK 26.49

-72.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$3.08 NOK 28.97

-71.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.87 NOK 17.63

-47.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$18.68 NOK 176

-66.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$15.63 NOK 147

-60.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$3.42 NOK 32.24

-65.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$4.17 NOK 39.21

-62.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$5.31 NOK 49.98

-83.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$90.9 NOK 855

-76.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$11.86 NOK 112

-94.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.85 NOK 17.40

-67.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$69.8 NOK 657

-90.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.33 NOK 21.89

-15.88%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$48.5K NOK 456.8K

-40.24%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$43.9K NOK 413.5K

-39.36%

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

$196 RON 927

$301 NOK 2,837

-35.01%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$33.76 NOK 318

-76.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$54.1 NOK 509

-82.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$41.35 NOK 389

21.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$15.75 NOK 148

-48.25%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$233 NOK 2,191

169.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$15.7K NOK 147.6K

-10.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$95.6 NOK 900

-6.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$52.3 NOK 492

-26.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$106 NOK 996

-25.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$157 NOK 1,478

-42.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$876 NOK 8,245

-22.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$532 NOK 5,006

-15.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,926 NOK 18.1K

-43.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,749 NOK 16.5K

-58.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$4,591 NOK 43.2K

-18.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$3,358 NOK 31.6K

-34.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$4,349 NOK 40.9K

-69.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.9

37.76%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Grimstad: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Grimstad

$532 25% 18.6% $83

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Grimstad

$382 17.9% 69.5% $157

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Grimstad

$435 20.4% 93.3% $210

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Grimstad

$389 18.3% 82.5% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Grimstad

$185 8.7% 38% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Grimstad

$73 3.4% 9.5% $6.3

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Grimstad

$133 6.3% 372% $105

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $876 in Grimstad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grimstad pays 227% 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 $77.0 in Grimstad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $435 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇳🇴 Grimstad

🕒 Local time

17:38 5:38 PM

16:38 4:38 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

25,093

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Grimstad 1,950 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Grimstad

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 Grimstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Grimstad differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $2,129 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 227% lower in Grimstad. 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $876 in Grimstad. 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 $2,129 in Grimstad – a 59% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 331% less than in Grimstad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,129 in Grimstad, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Grimstad. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest 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 Grimstad 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 Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Grimstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.