Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Linkoping

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,789 in Linkoping, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
87

Cost of Living Index in Linkoping
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Linkoping Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Linkoping

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,789

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Linkoping

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,789 in Linkoping.

Bucharest $1,340
Linkoping $1,789

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,801 in Linkoping.

Bucharest $2,037
Linkoping $2,801

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $3,814 in Linkoping.

Bucharest $2,734
Linkoping $3,814

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 25% less than in Linkoping, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Linkoping is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$12.99 SEK 129

11.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$63.6 SEK 630

-8.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$10.10 SEK 100

-25.94%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$4.24 SEK 41.97

-18.87%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.56 SEK 25.33

-7.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$2.21 SEK 21.89

4.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$6.74 SEK 66.8

-45.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$6.95 SEK 68.8

-40.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.64 SEK 16.27

1.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$2.72 SEK 26.93

-49.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$3.12 SEK 30.96

-44.87%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.79 SEK 37.56

-3.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$11.28 SEK 112

-19.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$11.28 SEK 112

-39.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$16.38 SEK 162

-26.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.96 SEK 29.35

-58.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.40 SEK 23.83

-32.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.93 SEK 19.17

-18.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$4.37 SEK 43.34

-41.88%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.43 SEK 14.12

-44.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.66 SEK 16.42

-53.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.96 SEK 19.43

-55.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.56 SEK 15.49

-36.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$6.89 SEK 68.3

-8.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$9.66 SEK 95.7

-35.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.90 SEK 18.79

-37.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.23 SEK 22.05

-29.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$3.20 SEK 31.68

-73.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$77.3 SEK 766

-72.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$6.00 SEK 59.5

-89.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.67 SEK 16.54

-64.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$58.3 SEK 577

-88.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.75 SEK 17.34

12.00%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$32.2K SEK 319.2K

-10.00%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$32.3K SEK 319.9K

-17.48%

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

$196 RON 927

$105 SEK 1,036

87.36%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$19.66 SEK 195

-59.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$33.16 SEK 329

-71.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$37.83 SEK 375

32.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$33.35 SEK 330

-24.05%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$15.87 SEK 157

-48.65%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$214 SEK 2,118

193.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$4,336 SEK 43.0K

224.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$88.6 SEK 878

1.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$32.33 SEK 320

18.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$88.3 SEK 875

-10.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$132 SEK 1,310

-31.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$938 SEK 9,291

-27.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$715 SEK 7,082

-37.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,562 SEK 15.5K

-30.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,312 SEK 13.0K

-44.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$4,402 SEK 43.6K

-14.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$2,777 SEK 27.5K

-20.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$2,646 SEK 26.2K

-49.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

2.8

141.07%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Linkoping: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Linkoping

$715 40% 59.4% $266

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Linkoping

$252 14.1% 11.8% $27

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Linkoping

$337 18.8% 49.7% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Linkoping

$157 8.8% 26.2% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Linkoping

$154 8.6% 14.7% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Linkoping

$70 3.9% 4.6% $3

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Linkoping

$104 5.8% 270% $76

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $938 in Linkoping. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Linkoping pays 99% 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 $64.0 in Linkoping for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $337 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Linkoping

🕒 Local time

00:21 12:21 AM

23:21 11:21 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

115,682

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Linkoping 1,710 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Linkoping

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 Linkoping: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Linkoping differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,789 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 99% lower in Linkoping. 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $938 in Linkoping. 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 $1,789 in Linkoping – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 267% less than in Linkoping. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,789 in Linkoping, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Linkoping. 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 Linkoping 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 33% less than in Linkoping. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.