Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Lecce

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $1,456 in Lecce, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 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
70

Cost of Living Index in Lecce
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Lecce Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Lecce

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,456

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Lecce

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,456 in Lecce.

Bucharest $1,337
Lecce $1,456

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $2,334 in Lecce.

Bucharest $2,029
Lecce $2,334

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $3,213 in Lecce.

Bucharest $2,721
Lecce $3,213

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 8% less than in Lecce, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Lecce is 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.45 RON 68.4

$17.08 €15.19

-15.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$66.6 €59.2

-12.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 RON 35.65

$10.20 €9.07

-26.18%

Cappuccino

$3.45 RON 16.33

$2.00 €1.78

72.50%

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

$2.46 RON 11.65

$2.09 €1.85

17.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 RON 10.54

$1.10 €0.98

102.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.76 RON 17.78

$4.02 €3.58

-6.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 RON 19.84

$3.28 €2.92

27.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 RON 7.67

$1.45 €1.29

11.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 RON 6.13

$1.81 €1.61

-28.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.05

$2.27 €2.02

-25.11%

Eggs

$3.79 RON 17.93

$2.51 €2.23

51.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 RON 41.90

$12.12 €10.78

-26.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.90 RON 32.67

$11.66 €10.37

-40.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.14 RON 57.4

$16.05 €14.28

-24.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$2.17 €1.93

-40.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.55

$1.88 €1.67

-14.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.42

$1.88 €1.67

-16.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 RON 12.67

$3.63 €3.23

-26.17%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.82

$1.64 €1.46

-50.61%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.73

$1.63 €1.45

-51.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$1.14 €1.01

-20.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.58

$0.41 €0.36

136.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 RON 30.34

$6.56 €5.83

-2.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 RON 29.24

$6.56 €5.83

-5.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.83

$1.39 €1.23

-11.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 RON 7.91

$2.39 €2.13

-30.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.10

$1.37 €1.22

-36.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.98 RON 99.3

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.10

$5.49 €4.89

-87.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.85

$2.25 €2.00

-73.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$23.73 €21.11

-73.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.15

$2.02 €1.80

-4.46%

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

$28.7K RON 135.9K

$35.9K €31.9K

-19.90%

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

$26.3K RON 124.6K

$35.0K €31.1K

-24.77%

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

$196 RON 926

$169 €150

15.75%

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

$8.49 RON 40.19

$11.59 €10.31

-26.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.05 RON 42.84

$28.28 €25.15

-68.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.54 RON 234

$83.7 €74.5

-40.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.03 RON 118

$55.8 €49.66

-55.17%

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 RON 39.01

$8.52 €7.57

-3.29%

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

$636 RON 3,007

$568 €505

11.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K RON 69.0K

$5,010 €4,457

190.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 419

$82.1 €73.0

7.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 RON 183

$47.34 €42.11

-18.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 RON 373

$87.8 €78.1

-10.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 428

$79.9 €71.1

13.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 RON 3,288

$598 €532

16.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 RON 2,109

$475 €423

-6.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 RON 5,130

$1,224 €1,089

-11.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 RON 3,368

$914 €813

-22.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,797 RON 18.0K

$3,043 €2,707

24.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 RON 10.4K

$1,578 €1,404

39.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,406

$1,642 €1,461

-17.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.82

40.04%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lecce: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$446 33.3%

Lecce

$475 32.6% 6.6% $29

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.9%

Lecce

$231 15.8% 2.3% $5.1

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.9%

Lecce

$285 19.6% 26.3% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Lecce

$209 14.4% 2% $4.3

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$133 10%

Lecce

$134 9.2% 0.2% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$66 4.9%

Lecce

$101 6.9% 52.6% $35

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Lecce

$22 * 1.5% 20.9% $5.9

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Bucharest and $598 in Lecce. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lecce pays 21% 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 $67.0 in Lecce for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $285 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇮🇹 Lecce

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

15:15 3:15 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

94,773

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Lecce 790 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Lecce

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 Lecce: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Lecce differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $1,456 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 21% lower in Lecce. 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: $695 in Bucharest versus $598 in Lecce. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Lecce. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,337 per month in Bucharest versus $1,456 in Lecce – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,456 in Lecce, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Lecce. 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 Lecce 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 9% less than in Lecce. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.