Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Howrah

For one person, living is cheaper in Howrah: $382 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Howrah
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Howrah Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Howrah

🇮🇳 India

$382

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Howrah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $382 in Howrah.

Bucharest $1,340
Howrah $382

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $505 in Howrah.

Bucharest $2,037
Howrah $505

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $628 in Howrah.

Bucharest $2,734
Howrah $628

Living in Bucharest is roughly 251% more expensive than in Howrah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Howrah 72% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.7

$2.13 ₹202

580.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$9.29 ₹882

525.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.46

$4.21 ₹400

77.67%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.31

$1.43 ₹136

140.56%

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

$2.37 RON 11.24

$0.48 ₹46.02

393.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.90

$0.12 ₹11.05

1816.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.53

$1.59 ₹151

132.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.72

$3.23 ₹307

28.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.91

$0.60 ₹56.6

178.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.51

$0.43 ₹40.82

218.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.15

$0.71 ₹67.0

142.25%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.24

$1.08 ₹103

237.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 43.04

$5.40 ₹512

68.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.40

$2.59 ₹246

164.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.9

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.81

$2.17 ₹206

-43.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.74

$0.85 ₹80.7

91.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.46

$1.41 ₹134

11.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.03

$0.62 ₹58.6

309.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.30 ₹28.29

163.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.41 ₹38.93

87.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.34 ₹32.55

155.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.71

$0.26 ₹24.53

280.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.90

$4.88 ₹463

29.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.39

$10.62 ₹1,009

-41.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.40 ₹133

-15.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.46

$2.72 ₹258

-42.28%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$8.58 ₹815

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.16 ₹15.20

437.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 100.0

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.60 ₹57.2

6.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.33 ₹30.90

81.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.48

$1.60 ₹152

301.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$1.07 ₹102

83.18%

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

$29.0K RON 137.4K

$15.6K ₹1.5M

85.96%

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

$26.6K RON 126.2K

$20.0K ₹1.9M

33.00%

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

$196 RON 928

$44.85 ₹4,259

336.77%

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

$8.04 RON 38.10

$3.37 ₹320

138.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.28

$6.41 ₹609

45.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$13.87 ₹1,317

262.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.61

$3.09 ₹294

163.75%

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

$628 RON 2,976

$26.25 ₹2,493

2292.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.7K

$1,264 ₹120.1K

1013.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 425

$26.57 ₹2,523

237.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 182

$25.65 ₹2,436

49.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 376

$35.19 ₹3,341

125.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$28.40 ₹2,697

218.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,214

$113 ₹10.7K

499.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,124

$77.7 ₹7,379

476.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,133

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,435

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,299

$354 ₹33.7K

275.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

9.04

-25.33%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Howrah: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Howrah

$78 20.3% 82.7% $371

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Howrah

$64 16.7% 71.7% $162

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Howrah

$111 29.1% 50.6% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Howrah

$55 14.3% 74.4% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Howrah

$52 13.6% 61.1% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Howrah

$20 5.3% 69.9% $46

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Howrah

$2.9 * 0.8% 89.8% $25

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 $113 in Howrah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 275% 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 $9.00 in Howrah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $111 per month, with Howrah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇮🇳 Howrah

🕒 Local time

22:00 10:00 PM

00:30 12:30 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

1,072,161

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 4.74 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.31 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.39 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Howrah 6,100 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Howrah

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 Howrah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Howrah differ by about 251% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $382 including rent). Howrah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 275% 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 $113 in Howrah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 103% 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 $382 in Howrah – a 251% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $382 in Howrah versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Howrah but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Howrah 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 Howrah 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 Howrah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 251% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.