Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Haugesund

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,654 in Haugesund, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
130

Cost of Living Index in Haugesund
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Haugesund Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Haugesund

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,654

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Haugesund

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,654 in Haugesund.

Bucharest $1,340
Haugesund $2,654

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $3,956 in Haugesund.

Bucharest $2,037
Haugesund $3,956

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $5,259 in Haugesund.

Bucharest $2,734
Haugesund $5,259

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 49% less than in Haugesund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Haugesund is 97% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$21.97 NOK 207

-34.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$105 NOK 987

-44.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$14.38 NOK 135

-47.98%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$4.59 NOK 43.19

-25.05%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$5.08 NOK 47.78

-53.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$3.98 NOK 37.48

-42.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$11.63 NOK 109

-68.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$10.31 NOK 97.0

-59.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$2.18 NOK 20.52

-23.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$3.80 NOK 35.73

-63.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$3.50 NOK 32.92

-50.86%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$4.79 NOK 45.06

-24.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$11.80 NOK 111

-23.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$15.02 NOK 141

-54.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$33.81 NOK 318

-64.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.08 NOK 29.02

-60.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.12 NOK 20.00

-23.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.44 NOK 32.37

-54.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$4.21 NOK 39.58

-39.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$2.42 NOK 22.77

-67.36%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$3.32 NOK 31.23

-76.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$3.00 NOK 28.20

-71.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.83 NOK 17.26

-45.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$17.21 NOK 162

-63.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$14.47 NOK 136

-57.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$3.58 NOK 33.70

-66.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$4.16 NOK 39.17

-62.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$3.56 NOK 33.51

-75.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$67.4 NOK 635

-68.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$12.19 NOK 115

-94.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.79 NOK 16.81

-66.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$56.2 NOK 529

-88.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.45 NOK 23.03

-20.00%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$44.3K NOK 417.0K

-34.53%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$43.5K NOK 409.6K

-38.78%

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

$196 RON 927

$275 NOK 2,591

-28.84%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$32.80 NOK 309

-75.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$55.8 NOK 525

-83.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$49.71 NOK 468

1.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$36.17 NOK 341

-29.97%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$16.92 NOK 159

-51.83%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$241 NOK 2,269

160.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$2,918 NOK 27.5K

382.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$97.4 NOK 917

-8.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$53.6 NOK 504

-28.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$87.1 NOK 820

-8.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$155 NOK 1,463

-41.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,576 NOK 14.8K

-56.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$1,067 NOK 10.0K

-57.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$2,099 NOK 19.8K

-48.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,668 NOK 15.7K

-56.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$6,302 NOK 59.3K

-40.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$4,637 NOK 43.6K

-52.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$3,952 NOK 37.2K

-66.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

5.2

29.81%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Haugesund: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Haugesund

$1.1K 40.2% 138% $618

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Haugesund

$389 14.7% 72.7% $164

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Haugesund

$471 17.7% 109% $246

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Haugesund

$364 13.7% 70.6% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Haugesund

$177 6.7% 32.2% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Haugesund

$84 3.2% 25.6% $17

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Haugesund

$103 3.9% 264% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $1,576 in Haugesund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haugesund pays 197% 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 $105 in Haugesund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $471 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇳🇴 Haugesund

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

14:30 2:30 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

38,362

💱 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 Haugesund 2,180 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Haugesund

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 Haugesund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Haugesund differ by about 98% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $2,654 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 197% lower in Haugesund. 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 $1,576 in Haugesund. 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 $2,654 in Haugesund – a 98% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 220% less than in Haugesund. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,654 in Haugesund, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Haugesund. 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 Haugesund 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 98% less than in Haugesund. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.