Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Kakinada

For one person, living is cheaper in Kakinada: $287 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 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
14

Cost of Living Index in Kakinada
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Kakinada Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Kakinada

🇮🇳 India

$287

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Kakinada

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $287 in Kakinada.

Bucharest $1,340
Kakinada $287

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $441 in Kakinada.

Bucharest $2,037
Kakinada $441

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $594 in Kakinada.

Bucharest $2,734
Kakinada $594

Living in Bucharest is roughly 368% more expensive than in Kakinada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Kakinada 79% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$1.04 ₹98.4

1293.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$8.78 ₹834

561.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$3.22 ₹305

132.30%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$0.50 ₹47.19

588.00%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.30 ₹28.26

690.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.10 ₹9.86

2200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$1.07 ₹101

245.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$2.31 ₹219

80.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$0.58 ₹54.7

187.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.50 ₹47.26

174.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$0.56 ₹53.5

207.14%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$0.74 ₹70.2

391.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$3.84 ₹365

136.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$2.55 ₹243

168.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$1.81 ₹172

-32.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$0.72 ₹68.1

126.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$0.76 ₹71.9

106.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$0.46 ₹43.87

452.17%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.36 ₹34.11

119.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.32 ₹30.35

140.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.62 ₹58.7

40.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.28 ₹26.16

253.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$4.08 ₹388

54.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$7.37 ₹700

-15.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.84 ₹175

-35.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.04 ₹289

-48.36%

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

$3.25 ₹309

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.32 ₹30.70

168.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$11.35 ₹1,078

85.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$1.22 ₹116

-47.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.21 ₹19.49

185.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$2.11 ₹200

204.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.12 ₹107

75.00%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$15.5K ₹1.5M

87.28%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$20.2K ₹1.9M

32.05%

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

$196 RON 927

$32.77 ₹3,112

497.77%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$3.11 ₹295

158.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$5.28 ₹502

77.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$15.89 ₹1,509

216.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$2.15 ₹204

1078.14%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$2.03 ₹193

301.48%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$28.36 ₹2,693

2114.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$1,234 ₹117.1K

1041.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$9.68 ₹919

825.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$7.83 ₹743

389.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$15.81 ₹1,502

401.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$13.23 ₹1,257

583.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$71.5 ₹6,793

848.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$57.9 ₹5,494

674.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$170 ₹16.2K

535.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$116 ₹11.0K

524.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$540 ₹51.3K

146.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

-25.00%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kakinada: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Kakinada

$58 20.2% 87.1% $390

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Kakinada

$35 12.4% 84.3% $190

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Kakinada

$96 33.6% 57.1% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Kakinada

$41 14.4% 80.7% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Kakinada

$21 7.3% 84.4% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Kakinada

$20 7% 70% $47

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Kakinada

$15 5.2% 47.2% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $71.5 in Kakinada. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 146% 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 Kakinada for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $96.0 per month, with Kakinada cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇮🇳 Kakinada

🕒 Local time

05:21 5:21 AM

07:51 7:51 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

384,182

💱 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 = 9.37 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Kakinada 6,030 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Kakinada

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 Kakinada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Kakinada differ by about 368% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $287 including rent). Kakinada is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 146% 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 $71.5 in Kakinada. 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 $287 in Kakinada – a 368% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kakinada runs roughly 86% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $287 in Kakinada versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kakinada but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Kakinada 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 Kakinada 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 Kakinada gentler on the wallet – expenses run 368% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.