Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Kista

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,726 in Kista, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
84

Cost of Living Index in Kista
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Kista Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Kista

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,726

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Kista

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,726 in Kista.

Bucharest $1,340
Kista $1,726

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,685 in Kista.

Bucharest $2,037
Kista $2,685

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $3,644 in Kista.

Bucharest $2,734
Kista $3,644

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 22% less than in Kista, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Kista is 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$12.98 SEK 129

11.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$75.9 SEK 752

-23.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$10.22 SEK 101

-26.81%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$4.44 SEK 44.02

-22.52%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.59 SEK 25.65

-8.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$2.20 SEK 21.83

4.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$7.07 SEK 70.1

-47.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$7.28 SEK 72.1

-42.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.64 SEK 16.27

1.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$2.69 SEK 26.68

-49.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$3.51 SEK 34.75

-51.00%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$4.24 SEK 42.04

-14.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$11.67 SEK 116

-22.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$11.62 SEK 115

-41.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$17.38 SEK 172

-30.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.05 SEK 30.22

-59.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.48 SEK 24.53

-34.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.89 SEK 28.60

-45.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$4.30 SEK 42.59

-40.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.62 SEK 16.01

-51.23%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.56 SEK 15.49

-50.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$2.28 SEK 22.56

-61.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.45 SEK 14.33

-31.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$7.22 SEK 71.6

-12.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$9.69 SEK 96.0

-36.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.95 SEK 19.29

-38.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.13 SEK 21.15

-26.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$3.27 SEK 32.41

-73.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$76.2 SEK 755

-72.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$6.01 SEK 59.5

-89.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.71 SEK 16.99

-64.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$58.4 SEK 579

-88.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.79 SEK 17.70

9.50%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$32.5K SEK 322.2K

-10.82%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$33.1K SEK 327.9K

-19.50%

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

$196 RON 927

$102 SEK 1,013

91.65%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$23.99 SEK 238

-66.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$37.81 SEK 375

-75.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$37.48 SEK 371

34.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$25.74 SEK 255

-1.59%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$16.18 SEK 160

-49.63%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$154 SEK 1,522

308.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,003 SEK 49.6K

181.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$90.7 SEK 898

-1.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$40.01 SEK 396

-4.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$89.3 SEK 885

-11.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$140 SEK 1,383

-35.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$795 SEK 7,877

-14.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$619 SEK 6,131

-27.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,317 SEK 13.0K

-17.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,016 SEK 10.1K

-28.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$3,969 SEK 39.3K

-5.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$2,749 SEK 27.2K

-20.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.45

95.65%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kista: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Kista

$619 35.9% 38% $170

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Kista

$257 14.9% 14.1% $32

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Kista

$351 20.3% 55.8% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Kista

$164 9.5% 23.1% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Kista

$162 9.4% 20.8% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Kista

$70 4.1% 5% $3.3

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Kista

$104 6% 268% $76

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $795 in Kista. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $76.0 in Kista for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $351 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Kista

🕒 Local time

07:46 7:46 AM

06:46 6:46 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

10,254

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Kista 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Kista

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 Kista: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Kista differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,726 including rent). Bucharest 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 $2,589 in Kista 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 $795 in Kista. 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 $1,726 in Kista – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 261% less than in Kista. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,726 in Kista, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Kista. 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.

Safety-wise, Bucharest and Kista 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 Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Kista. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.