Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Keflavik

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,371 a month against $2,994 in Keflavik, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 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
144

Cost of Living Index in Keflavik
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Keflavik Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Keflavik

🇮🇸 Iceland

$2,994

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Keflavik

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Bucharest versus $2,994 in Keflavik.

Bucharest $1,371
Keflavik $2,994

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,067 in Bucharest versus $4,517 in Keflavik.

Bucharest $2,067
Keflavik $4,517

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,764 in Bucharest versus $6,039 in Keflavik.

Bucharest $2,764
Keflavik $6,039

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 54% less than in Keflavik, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.51 RON 69.0

$24.56 ISK 2,984

-40.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 RON 291

$124 ISK 15.1K

-50.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 RON 35.46

$20.30 ISK 2,466

-63.25%

Cappuccino

$3.64 RON 17.31

$4.18 ISK 508

-12.92%

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

$2.62 RON 12.43

$3.34 ISK 405

-21.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 RON 11.23

$3.05 ISK 370

-22.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.78 RON 17.98

$8.42 ISK 1,023

-55.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.52

$8.31 ISK 1,010

-50.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 RON 7.89

$2.10 ISK 255

-20.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 RON 6.64

$4.25 ISK 516

-67.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 RON 8.53

$2.41 ISK 293

-25.73%

Eggs

$3.63 RON 17.25

$6.37 ISK 773

-43.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 RON 42.38

$19.13 ISK 2,325

-53.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.86 RON 32.62

$24.55 ISK 2,983

-72.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 RON 57.0

$41.14 ISK 4,999

-70.86%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.16

$2.52 ISK 306

-48.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.76

$2.44 ISK 297

-33.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.09

$2.52 ISK 306

-40.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.08

$4.07 ISK 495

-37.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$3.16 ISK 383

-74.37%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.78

$1.65 ISK 201

-51.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 RON 4.07

$3.65 ISK 443

-76.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$1.76 ISK 213

-46.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 RON 31.38

$13.86 ISK 1,684

-52.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.33 RON 30.08

$16.28 ISK 1,977

-61.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.64

$3.57 ISK 433

-66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 RON 7.53

$2.90 ISK 352

-45.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 RON 4.64

$3.70 ISK 450

-73.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.4

$74.7 ISK 9,075

-72.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$6.45 ISK 784

-90.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.93

$2.71 ISK 329

-77.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.25

$81.6 ISK 9,914

-92.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 RON 9.62

$2.01 ISK 244

0.50%

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

$28.2K RON 134.0K

$69.1K ISK 8.4M

-59.17%

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

$26.3K RON 124.8K

$56.6K ISK 6.9M

-53.60%

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

$196 RON 932

$94.5 ISK 11.5K

107.53%

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

$8.60 RON 40.84

$32.62 ISK 3,963

-73.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.20 RON 43.69

$86.6 ISK 10.5K

-89.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 RON 242

$78.1 ISK 9,490

-34.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.04 RON 119

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 RON 39.27

$19.82 ISK 2,408

-58.32%

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

$681 RON 3,234

$409 ISK 49.7K

66.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K RON 89.0K

$26.2K ISK 3.2M

-28.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 443

$149 ISK 18.1K

-37.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.87 RON 189

$66.6 ISK 8,093

-40.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

$179 ISK 21.8K

-55.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 431

$191 ISK 23.2K

-52.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 RON 3,473

$1,921 ISK 233.5K

-61.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 RON 2,232

$1,333 ISK 162.0K

-64.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 RON 5,276

$2,470 ISK 300.1K

-55.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 RON 3,431

$2,018 ISK 245.2K

-64.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,749 RON 17.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,233 RON 10.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,365 RON 6,487

$3,694 ISK 448.8K

-63.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

8.81

-23.38%

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

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Last update for Keflavik: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$470 34.3%

Keflavik

$1.3K 44.5% 184% $863

Eating Out

Bucharest

$229 16.7%

Keflavik

$392 13.1% 70.9% $163

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.4%

Keflavik

$564 18.9% 151% $340

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 15.6%

Keflavik

$214 7.1% 0.1% $0.2

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$137 10%

Keflavik

$264 8.8% 92.8% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$68 4.9%

Keflavik

$118 3.9% 74.3% $50

Getting Around

Bucharest

$29 2.1%

Keflavik

$110 3.7% 284% $81

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $731 in Bucharest and $1,921 in Keflavik. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Keflavik pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Bucharest vs $124 in Keflavik for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $564 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇮🇸 Keflavik

🕒 Local time

03:22 3:22 AM

01:22 1:22 AM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

15,000

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1,000 ISK = 8.23 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.33 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ISK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.33 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 122 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 136 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.33 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Keflavik 3,700 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Keflavik

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 Keflavik: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,371 in Bucharest and $2,994 in Keflavik, so Bucharest is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% lower in Bucharest. 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: $731 in Bucharest versus $1,921 in Keflavik. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,371 per month in Bucharest versus $2,994 in Keflavik – Bucharest is about 54% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 72% less than in Keflavik. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,371 in Bucharest versus $2,994 in Keflavik, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Keflavik. 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Keflavik. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.