Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Ibadan

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibadan: $255 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
12

Cost of Living Index in Ibadan
Learn more

Ibadan Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Ibadan

🇳🇬 Nigeria

$255

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Ibadan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $255 in Ibadan.

Bucharest $1,340
Ibadan $255

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $571 in Ibadan.

Bucharest $2,037
Ibadan $571

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $887 in Ibadan.

Bucharest $2,734
Ibadan $887

Living in Bucharest is roughly 425% more expensive than in Ibadan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Ibadan 81% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$1.11 ₦1,481

1205.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$30.33 ₦40.3K

91.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$6.22 ₦8,276

20.26%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$0.80 ₦1,058

330.00%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.22 ₦293

977.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.14 ₦180

1542.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$0.59 ₦786

527.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$1.15 ₦1,534

261.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$0.58 ₦776

187.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.60 ₦803

128.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.15 ₦1,524

49.57%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$1.55 ₦2,055

134.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$3.59 ₦4,774

152.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$4.02 ₦5,342

70.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$0.71 ₦951

1590.14%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$1.65 ₦2,198

-25.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.29 ₦1,712

26.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.10 ₦1,457

42.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$0.29 ₦385

775.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.58 ₦773

36.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.24 ₦320

220.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.22 ₦291

295.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.12 ₦159

725.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$0.59 ₦781

969.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$1.15 ₦1,533

439.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$0.39 ₦523

205.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$0.47 ₦621

234.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.12 ₦164

616.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.66 ₦872

-3.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.59 ₦781

1.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$1.10 ₦1,467

484.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$0.53 ₦703

269.81%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$4,189 ₦5.6M

592.21%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$13.7K ₦18.2M

94.82%

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

$196 RON 927

$11.16 ₦14.8K

1655.29%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$3.87 ₦5,145

107.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$8.59 ₦11.4K

8.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$22.27 ₦29.6K

125.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$1.48 ₦1,972

450.68%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$49.51 ₦65.8K

1168.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$631 ₦839.5K

2131.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$12.18 ₦16.2K

635.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$5.77 ₦7,674

564.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$15.36 ₦20.4K

416.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$21.34 ₦28.4K

323.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$125 ₦166.4K

442.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$46.64 ₦62.0K

861.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$454 ₦603.2K

138.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$305 ₦406.0K

137.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$880 ₦1.2M

326.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$29.82 ₦39.7K

7261.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$56.6 ₦75.3K

2247.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

18.39

-63.30%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Ibadan: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Ibadan

$47 18.3% 89.6% $402

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Ibadan

$44 17.2% 80.6% $181

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Ibadan

$87 34.2% 61.3% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Ibadan

$24 9.3% 88.9% $190

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Ibadan

$25 9.6% 81.6% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Ibadan

$25 9.9% 62.1% $41

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Ibadan

$4.1 * 1.6% 85.5% $24

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 $125 in Ibadan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 2248% 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 $30.00 in Ibadan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $87.0 per month, with Ibadan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇳🇬 Ibadan

🕒 Local time

10:05 10:05 AM

08:05 8:05 AM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

3,034,200

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Nigerian Naira NGN ₦

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

10,000 NGN = 7.52 USD

10,000 NGN = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NGN, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Nigerian Naira exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 NGN (10,000 NGN = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 NGN (10,000 NGN = 6.69 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Ibadan 4,650 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Ibadan

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 Ibadan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Ibadan differ by about 425% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $255 including rent). Ibadan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2248% 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 $125 in Ibadan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 158% 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 $255 in Ibadan – a 425% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $255 in Ibadan versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ibadan but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Ibadan 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.

Expats usually find Ibadan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 425% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.