Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Hellerup

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,127 in Hellerup, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 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
104

Cost of Living Index in Hellerup
Learn more

Hellerup Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Hellerup

🇩🇰 Denmark

$2,127

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Hellerup

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,127 in Hellerup.

Bucharest $1,340
Hellerup $2,127

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $3,385 in Hellerup.

Bucharest $2,037
Hellerup $3,385

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $4,643 in Hellerup.

Bucharest $2,734
Hellerup $4,643

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 69.0

$20.76 DKK 138

-30.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 276

$111 DKK 742

-47.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.61

$13.35 DKK 89.0

-43.97%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.38

$6.91 DKK 46.11

-50.22%

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

$2.37 RON 11.28

$4.07 DKK 27.13

-41.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.95

$3.41 DKK 22.75

-32.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.61

$8.40 DKK 56.0

-55.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.81

$7.33 DKK 48.88

-43.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.94

$2.07 DKK 13.79

-19.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.54

$3.95 DKK 26.33

-65.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.19

$2.35 DKK 15.66

-26.81%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.32

$4.94 DKK 32.94

-26.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 43.23

$15.31 DKK 102

-40.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.54

$11.41 DKK 76.1

-40.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 57.1

$18.49 DKK 123

-35.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.83

$3.24 DKK 21.59

-62.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.78

$3.03 DKK 20.18

-46.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.49

$3.69 DKK 24.60

-57.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.09

$5.05 DKK 33.65

-49.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.77

$2.25 DKK 14.99

-64.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.68

$2.04 DKK 13.59

-62.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.15

$2.04 DKK 13.61

-57.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.73

$1.36 DKK 9.09

-27.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 30.03

$9.67 DKK 64.5

-34.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.52

$10.29 DKK 68.6

-39.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.66

$1.81 DKK 12.06

-34.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.50

$2.42 DKK 16.11

-35.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.10

$3.71 DKK 24.73

-76.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 100

$86.9 DKK 580

-75.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.06

$5.92 DKK 39.50

-89.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.87

$1.59 DKK 10.63

-62.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.62

$62.4 DKK 416

-89.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.31

$2.50 DKK 16.66

-21.60%

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

$29.0K RON 138.0K

$49.1K DKK 327.7K

-40.98%

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

$26.6K RON 126.8K

$52.1K DKK 347.2K

-48.83%

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

$196 RON 932

$179 DKK 1,192

9.60%

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

$8.04 RON 38.27

$11.43 DKK 76.3

-29.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.48

$37.49 DKK 250

-75.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 239

$40.51 DKK 270

23.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 121

$24.63 DKK 164

2.84%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.78

$20.33 DKK 136

-59.91%

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

$628 RON 2,989

$742 DKK 4,947

-15.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 67.0K

$5,997 DKK 40.0K

134.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 426

$107 DKK 716

-16.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 182

$47.48 DKK 317

-19.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 377

$130 DKK 865

-38.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 430

$190 DKK 1,264

-52.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,228

$909 DKK 6,060

-25.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,134

$722 DKK 4,812

-37.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,155

$1,437 DKK 9,586

-24.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,450

$1,280 DKK 8,537

-43.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.9K

$5,342 DKK 35.6K

-29.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$3,902 DKK 26.0K

-43.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,327

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.67

83.92%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Hellerup: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Hellerup

$722 33.9% 60.9% $273

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Hellerup

$376 17.7% 66.8% $150

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Hellerup

$392 18.4% 74.1% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Hellerup

$228 10.7% 6.7% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Hellerup

$213 10% 59.3% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Hellerup

$81 3.8% 22% $15

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Hellerup

$116 5.4% 310% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $909 in Hellerup. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $111 in Hellerup for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $392 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇩🇰 Hellerup

🕒 Local time

18:24 6:24 PM

17:24 5:24 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

75,805

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Danish Krone DKK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 DKK = 0.15 USD

1 DKK = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DKK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.33 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Danish Krone exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 DKK (1 DKK = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 DKK (1 DKK = 0.134 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Hellerup 1,580 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Hellerup

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 Hellerup: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Hellerup differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $2,127 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,011 in Bucharest and $3,190 in Hellerup to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $678 in Bucharest versus $909 in Hellerup. 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 $2,127 in Hellerup – 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 312% less than in Hellerup. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,127 in Hellerup, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Hellerup. 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 Hellerup 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 Hellerup. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.