Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Longyearbyen

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,733 in Longyearbyen, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 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
134

Cost of Living Index in Longyearbyen
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Longyearbyen Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,733

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Longyearbyen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,733 in Longyearbyen.

Bucharest $1,340
Longyearbyen $2,733

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $4,180 in Longyearbyen.

Bucharest $2,037
Longyearbyen $4,180

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $5,627 in Longyearbyen.

Bucharest $2,734
Longyearbyen $5,627

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 51% less than in Longyearbyen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Longyearbyen is 102% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$20.05 NOK 189

-27.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$106 NOK 996

-45.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$18.00 NOK 169

-58.44%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$6.85 NOK 64.5

-49.78%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$6.11 NOK 57.5

-61.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$5.58 NOK 52.5

-58.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$7.43 NOK 70.0

-50.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$8.96 NOK 84.3

-53.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$2.40 NOK 22.57

-30.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$3.71 NOK 34.95

-63.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$4.33 NOK 40.78

-60.28%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$4.97 NOK 46.82

-26.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$14.26 NOK 134

-36.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$20.30 NOK 191

-66.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$31.52 NOK 297

-61.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$6.42 NOK 60.5

-80.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.55 NOK 24.03

-36.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$6.85 NOK 64.5

-77.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$6.66 NOK 62.7

-61.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$5.49 NOK 51.7

-85.61%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$4.53 NOK 42.66

-83.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$4.51 NOK 42.50

-80.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$3.53 NOK 33.23

-71.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$17.34 NOK 163

-63.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$14.45 NOK 136

-57.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$3.54 NOK 33.31

-66.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$4.24 NOK 39.93

-62.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$5.27 NOK 49.65

-83.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$86.2 NOK 811

-75.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$9.06 NOK 85.3

-92.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.80 NOK 16.93

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$73.7 NOK 694

-91.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.13 NOK 20.05

-7.98%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$50.3K NOK 473.1K

-42.30%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$41.3K NOK 388.9K

-35.53%

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

$196 RON 927

$242 NOK 2,274

-18.90%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$32.99 NOK 311

-75.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$54.1 NOK 509

-82.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$50.5 NOK 475

-0.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$36.19 NOK 341

-30.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$14.85 NOK 140

-45.12%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$200 NOK 1,887

213.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$14.2K NOK 133.8K

-0.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$104 NOK 981

-13.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$56.3 NOK 530

-31.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$125 NOK 1,179

-36.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$154 NOK 1,447

-41.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,104 NOK 10.4K

-38.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$1,017 NOK 9,569

-55.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,983 NOK 18.7K

-45.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,698 NOK 16.0K

-57.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$6,197 NOK 58.3K

-39.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$4,017 NOK 37.8K

-45.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$2,931 NOK 27.6K

-54.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.94

36.64%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Longyearbyen: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Longyearbyen

$1K 37.2% 127% $568

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Longyearbyen

$398 14.6% 76.9% $173

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Longyearbyen

$586 21.5% 161% $361

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Longyearbyen

$329 12% 54.1% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Longyearbyen

$198 7.2% 47.7% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Longyearbyen

$80 2.9% 20.5% $14

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Longyearbyen

$125 4.6% 344% $97

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $1,104 in Longyearbyen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Longyearbyen pays 121% 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 $106 in Longyearbyen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $586 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇳🇴 Longyearbyen

🕒 Local time

19:13 7:13 PM

18:13 6:13 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

2,400

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Longyearbyen 3,780 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Longyearbyen

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 Longyearbyen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Longyearbyen differ by about 104% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $2,733 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 121% lower in Longyearbyen. 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 $1,104 in Longyearbyen. 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 $2,733 in Longyearbyen – a 104% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 308% less than in Longyearbyen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,733 in Longyearbyen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Longyearbyen. 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 Longyearbyen 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 104% less than in Longyearbyen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.