Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Kelcyre

For one person, living is cheaper in Kelcyre: $1,230 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Kelcyre
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Kelcyre Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Kelcyre

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,230

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Kelcyre

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,230 in Kelcyre.

Bucharest $1,340
Kelcyre $1,230

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,869 in Kelcyre.

Bucharest $2,037
Kelcyre $1,869

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $2,507 in Kelcyre.

Bucharest $2,734
Kelcyre $2,507

Living in Bucharest is roughly 9% more expensive than in Kelcyre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Kelcyre 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$9.70 ALL 781

49.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$55.2 ALL 4,445

5.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$10.83 ALL 873

-30.93%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$2.20 ALL 177

56.36%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.34 ALL 189

1.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$1.29 ALL 104

78.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$3.61 ALL 291

2.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$4.05 ALL 326

2.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$2.19 ALL 176

-23.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.18 ALL 95.1

16.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$2.44 ALL 197

-29.51%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.82 ALL 308

-4.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$12.51 ALL 1,007

-27.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$9.02 ALL 726

-24.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$16.93 ALL 1,364

-29.12%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$1.91 ALL 154

-35.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.46 ALL 198

-33.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.13 ALL 171

-26.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.81 ALL 146

40.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.06 ALL 85.1

-25.47%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.25 ALL 101

-38.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.43 ALL 115

-39.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.80 ALL 64.2

23.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$4.80 ALL 386

31.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$10.58 ALL 852

-41.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.62 ALL 131

-26.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.07 ALL 167

-24.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.48 ALL 38.42

79.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$19.05 ALL 1,534

10.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$3.69 ALL 297

-82.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$3.75 ALL 302

-84.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$18.51 ALL 1,491

-65.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.29 ALL 184

-14.41%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$34.2K ALL 2.8M

-15.09%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$34.8K ALL 2.8M

-23.49%

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

$196 RON 927

$99.4 ALL 8,005

97.07%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$18.40 ALL 1,482

-56.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$19.75 ALL 1,591

-52.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$51.9 ALL 4,177

-3.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$9.75 ALL 786

-16.41%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$347 ALL 28.0K

80.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$8,192 ALL 659.7K

71.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$48.58 ALL 3,913

84.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$46.92 ALL 3,779

-18.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$120 ALL 9,659

-33.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$111 ALL 8,900

-18.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$409 ALL 32.9K

65.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$366 ALL 29.4K

22.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$713 ALL 57.4K

52.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$495 ALL 39.8K

46.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$1,775 ALL 142.9K

111.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$1,306 ALL 105.1K

68.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

5.39

25.23%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kelcyre: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Kelcyre

$366 29.7% 18.4% $83

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Kelcyre

$177 14.4% 21.3% $48

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Kelcyre

$288 23.4% 28.1% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Kelcyre

$138 11.2% 35.5% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Kelcyre

$147 11.9% 9.5% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Kelcyre

$71 5.8% 7.3% $4.8

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Kelcyre

$43 3.5% 53.9% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $409 in Kelcyre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $55.0 in Kelcyre. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $288, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇦🇱 Kelcyre

🕒 Local time

07:05 7:05 AM

06:05 6:05 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

6,000

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Kelcyre 670 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Kelcyre

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 Kelcyre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Kelcyre differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,230 including rent). Kelcyre 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 $1,845 in Kelcyre 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 $409 in Kelcyre. 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 $1,230 in Kelcyre – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kelcyre runs roughly 11% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,230 in Kelcyre versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kelcyre but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Kelcyre 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 Kelcyre 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 Kelcyre gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.