Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Kigali

For one person, living is cheaper in Kigali: $881 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Kigali
Learn more

Kigali Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Kigali

🇷🇼 Rwanda

$881

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Kigali

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $881 in Kigali.

Bucharest $1,351
Kigali $881

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $1,376 in Kigali.

Bucharest $2,033
Kigali $1,376

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $1,871 in Kigali.

Bucharest $2,715
Kigali $1,871

Living in Bucharest is roughly 53% more expensive than in Kigali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% above, Kigali is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$2.75 RWF 4,037

425.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$30.32 RWF 44.6K

90.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$6.73 RWF 9,895

11.44%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$2.45 RWF 3,599

40.00%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$0.76 RWF 1,112

223.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$0.55 RWF 803

323.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$1.00 RWF 1,471

280.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$2.34 RWF 3,435

75.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$0.82 RWF 1,204

101.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$1.07 RWF 1,577

26.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$1.32 RWF 1,935

34.85%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$1.60 RWF 2,354

128.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$4.19 RWF 6,162

104.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$4.68 RWF 6,878

45.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$4.51 RWF 6,631

159.87%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$2.45 RWF 3,601

-47.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$0.74 RWF 1,093

110.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$1.54 RWF 2,263

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$1.06 RWF 1,564

133.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$0.49 RWF 719

69.39%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$0.71 RWF 1,050

12.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$0.70 RWF 1,024

20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$0.82 RWF 1,204

13.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$1.97 RWF 2,897

226.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$10.28 RWF 15.1K

-38.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$1.00 RWF 1,468

26.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$1.59 RWF 2,342

0.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

$0.35 RWF 516

131.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

$25.24 RWF 37.1K

-16.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$2.67 RWF 3,920

-77.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$2.01 RWF 2,957

-69.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$3.31 RWF 4,869

86.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$1.84 RWF 2,702

6.52%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$26.5K RWF 38.9M

6.32%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$29.1K RWF 42.7M

-9.53%

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

$197 RON 931

$82.6 RWF 121.5K

138.23%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$7.06 RWF 10.4K

18.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$20.85 RWF 30.6K

-55.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$26.26 RWF 38.6K

89.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

$4.16 RWF 6,115

500.72%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$3.49 RWF 5,126

142.41%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$112 RWF 164.1K

472.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$9,532 RWF 14.0M

50.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$17.17 RWF 25.2K

427.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$15.74 RWF 23.1K

141.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$22.31 RWF 32.8K

257.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$34.12 RWF 50.2K

173.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

$670 RWF 984.8K

0.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

$411 RWF 604.6K

9.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

$1,361 RWF 2.0M

-19.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$837 RWF 1.2M

-12.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

$3,404 RWF 5.0M

9.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$3,062 RWF 4.5M

-28.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

$275 RWF 404.6K

380.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

16.2

-58.40%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Kigali: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Kigali

$411 47.1% 8.4% $38

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Kigali

$86 9.9% 61.7% $139

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Kigali

$153 17.5% 31.2% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Kigali

$111 12.7% 48.4% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Kigali

$40 4.6% 70.4% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Kigali

$33 3.8% 50.2% $34

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Kigali

$39 4.5% 40.3% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $670 in Kigali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 381% 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 Kigali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $153 per month, with Kigali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇷🇼 Kigali

🕒 Local time

08:23 8:23 AM

07:23 7:23 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

1,132,686 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Rwandan Franc RWF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RWF, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

Rwandan Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,470 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD). 1 EUR = 1,649 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Kigali 5,170 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Kigali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Kigali differ by about 53% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $881 including rent). Kigali is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 381% 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: $673 in Bucharest versus $670 in Kigali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,351 per month in Bucharest versus $881 in Kigali – a 53% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kigali runs roughly 19% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $881 in Kigali versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kigali but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Kigali 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 Kigali 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 Kigali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.