Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Korla

For one person, living is cheaper in Korla: $674 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Korla
Learn more

Korla Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Korla

🇨🇳 China

$674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Korla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $674 in Korla.

Bucharest $1,351
Korla $674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $1,045 in Korla.

Bucharest $2,033
Korla $1,045

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $1,417 in Korla.

Bucharest $2,715
Korla $1,417

Living in Bucharest is roughly 100% more expensive than in Korla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% above, Korla is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$2.93 ¥19.60

393.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$16.48 ¥110

249.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$5.13 ¥34.29

46.20%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$2.81 ¥18.77

22.06%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$0.46 ¥3.08

434.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$0.24 ¥1.59

870.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$0.85 ¥5.68

347.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$1.46 ¥9.74

180.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$1.26 ¥8.41

30.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$0.93 ¥6.19

45.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$0.60 ¥4.00

196.67%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$1.60 ¥10.70

128.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$6.08 ¥40.63

40.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$2.50 ¥16.71

172.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$9.64 ¥64.4

21.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$2.05 ¥13.67

-37.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$1.27 ¥8.51

22.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$1.81 ¥12.11

-14.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$0.74 ¥4.93

235.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$0.51 ¥3.40

62.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$0.61 ¥4.09

31.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$0.50 ¥3.31

68.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$0.45 ¥3.00

106.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$2.89 ¥19.33

122.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$10.34 ¥69.1

-38.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$1.09 ¥7.26

15.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$1.51 ¥10.12

5.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

$0.29 ¥1.93

179.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

$17.95 ¥120

17.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.32 ¥8.81

-54.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$0.23 ¥1.54

165.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$7.54 ¥50.4

-18.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$1.19 ¥7.98

64.71%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$17.6K ¥117.8K

59.66%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$14.0K ¥93.3K

88.36%

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

$197 RON 931

$68.0 ¥455

189.32%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$5.25 ¥35.12

58.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$11.33 ¥75.8

-18.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$41.17 ¥275

21.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

$14.99 ¥100

66.71%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$5.19 ¥34.70

63.01%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$164 ¥1,093

290.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$9,042 ¥60.4K

59.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$18.16 ¥121

398.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$22.26 ¥149

70.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$105 ¥705

-24.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$43.90 ¥293

112.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

$290 ¥1,937

132.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

$184 ¥1,228

144.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

$593 ¥3,960

85.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$372 ¥2,485

96.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

$3,195 ¥21.4K

17.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$1,922 ¥12.8K

13.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

$754 ¥5,041

75.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

3.39

98.82%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Korla: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Korla

$184 27.5% 59.1% $265

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Korla

$83 12.4% 63.4% $143

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Korla

$158 23.7% 28.6% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Korla

$85 12.7% 60.5% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Korla

$85 12.8% 37.1% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Korla

$52 7.7% 22.8% $15

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Korla

$22 3.2% 23.1% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $290 in Korla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 75% 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 $16.00 in Korla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $158 per month, with Korla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇨🇳 Korla

🕒 Local time

11:14 11:14 AM

14:14 2:14 PM

3 h ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

779,352

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Korla 4,780 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Korla

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 Korla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Korla differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $674 including rent). Korla is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 75% 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 $290 in Korla. 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 $674 in Korla – a 100% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Korla runs roughly 18% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $674 in Korla versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Korla but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Korla 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 Korla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.