Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Haarlem

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $3,171 in Haarlem, rent and utilities included – about $21,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
154

Cost of Living Index in Haarlem
Learn more

Haarlem Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Haarlem

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$3,171

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Haarlem

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $3,171 in Haarlem.

Bucharest $1,351
Haarlem $3,171

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $4,482 in Haarlem.

Bucharest $2,033
Haarlem $4,482

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $5,792 in Haarlem.

Bucharest $2,715
Haarlem $5,792

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 57% less than in Haarlem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bucharest 1% above, Haarlem 137% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$28.72 €25.63

-49.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$99.5 €88.8

-42.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$13.62 €12.15

-44.93%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$4.31 €3.85

-20.42%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$4.05 €3.61

-39.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$3.28 €2.93

-28.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$8.07 €7.20

-52.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$5.77 €5.15

-28.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$1.47 €1.31

12.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$2.76 €2.47

-51.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$2.63 €2.35

-32.32%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$4.92 €4.39

-25.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$13.60 €12.14

-36.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$13.01 €11.61

-47.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$21.70 €19.37

-45.99%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$2.89 €2.58

-55.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$2.53 €2.25

-38.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$1.83 €1.63

-15.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$5.15 €4.59

-51.84%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$1.83 €1.64

-54.64%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$2.23 €1.99

-64.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$1.23 €1.10

-31.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$1.00 €0.89

-7.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$13.77 €12.29

-53.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$7.77 €6.93

-18.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$1.56 €1.39

-19.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$2.48 €2.21

-35.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

$2.89 €2.57

-71.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

$80.8 €72.1

-73.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$6.47 €5.78

-90.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$2.54 €2.27

-75.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$26.21 €23.39

-76.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$2.46 €2.19

-20.33%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$40.9K €36.5K

-31.20%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$39.4K €35.1K

-33.19%

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

$197 RON 931

$251 €224

-21.72%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$23.91 €21.34

-65.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$59.8 €53.3

-84.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$57.4 €51.2

-13.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

$28.49 €25.42

-12.29%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$16.36 €14.60

-48.29%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$2,638 €2,354

-75.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$6,600 €5,890

118.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$85.0 €75.9

6.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$62.2 €55.5

-38.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$97.1 €86.7

-17.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$147 €131

-36.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

$1,980 €1,767

-65.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

$1,675 €1,495

-73.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

$2,884 €2,573

-61.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$2,356 €2,103

-69.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

$7,735 €6,902

-51.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$5,735 €5,118

-61.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

$4,202 €3,749

-68.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

3.8

77.37%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Haarlem: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Haarlem

$1.7K 53.1% 273% $1.2K

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Haarlem

$404 12.8% 78.8% $178

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Haarlem

$361 11.5% 63% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Haarlem

$335 10.6% 56.3% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Haarlem

$176 5.6% 29.8% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Haarlem

$90 2.9% 34.9% $23

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Haarlem

$112 3.5% 298% $83

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $1,980 in Haarlem. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haarlem pays 218% 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 $99.0 in Haarlem for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $361 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇳🇱 Haarlem

🕒 Local time

06:47 6:47 AM

05:47 5:47 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

165,396

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Haarlem 1,800 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Haarlem

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 Haarlem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Haarlem differ by about 135% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $3,171 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 218% lower in Haarlem. 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 $1,980 in Haarlem. 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 $3,171 in Haarlem – a 135% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 282% less than in Haarlem. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $3,171 in Haarlem, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Haarlem. 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 Haarlem 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 135% less than in Haarlem. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.