Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Lulea

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $1,823 in Lulea, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Lulea
Learn more

Lulea Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Lulea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,823

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Lulea

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $1,823 in Lulea.

Bucharest $1,351
Lulea $1,823

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $2,920 in Lulea.

Bucharest $2,033
Lulea $2,920

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $4,016 in Lulea.

Bucharest $2,715
Lulea $4,016

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 26% less than in Lulea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bucharest 1% above, Lulea 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$11.72 SEK 117

23.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$95.5 SEK 955

-39.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$10.95 SEK 109

-31.51%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$4.36 SEK 43.52

-21.33%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$2.51 SEK 25.10

-1.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$1.87 SEK 18.66

24.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$8.58 SEK 85.8

-55.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$9.49 SEK 94.8

-56.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$1.77 SEK 17.71

-6.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$3.26 SEK 32.60

-58.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$4.94 SEK 49.41

-63.97%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$4.65 SEK 46.43

-21.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$12.25 SEK 122

-30.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$13.21 SEK 132

-48.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$26.18 SEK 262

-55.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$2.55 SEK 25.47

-49.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$2.65 SEK 26.53

-41.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$2.49 SEK 24.87

-38.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$4.11 SEK 41.10

-39.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$2.04 SEK 20.39

-59.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$1.54 SEK 15.43

-48.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$3.36 SEK 33.58

-75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$1.29 SEK 12.93

-27.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$6.68 SEK 66.7

-3.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$12.05 SEK 120

-47.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$1.78 SEK 17.77

-29.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$1.72 SEK 17.15

-6.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

$3.32 SEK 33.21

-75.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

$55.4 SEK 554

-61.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$9.04 SEK 90.3

-93.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$2.05 SEK 20.52

-70.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$70.6 SEK 706

-91.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$1.77 SEK 17.65

10.73%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$31.9K SEK 318.5K

-11.66%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$33.5K SEK 334.6K

-21.49%

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

$197 RON 931

$160 SEK 1,603

22.71%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$31.51 SEK 315

-73.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$26.96 SEK 269

-65.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$46.15 SEK 461

8.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

$35.47 SEK 354

-29.55%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$12.94 SEK 129

-34.62%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$153 SEK 1,528

317.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$5,466 SEK 54.6K

163.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$117 SEK 1,168

-22.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$31.97 SEK 320

19.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$120 SEK 1,202

-33.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$161 SEK 1,611

-42.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

$778 SEK 7,773

-13.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

$581 SEK 5,811

-22.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

$1,418 SEK 14.2K

-22.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$1,098 SEK 11.0K

-33.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

$3,049 SEK 30.5K

22.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$2,254 SEK 22.5K

-2.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

$2,595 SEK 25.9K

-49.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

3.85

75.06%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Lulea: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Lulea

$581 32% 29.5% $133

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Lulea

$258 14.2% 14.4% $33

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Lulea

$404 22.2% 82.1% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Lulea

$219 12.1% 2.1% $4.5

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Lulea

$194 10.7% 42.7% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Lulea

$72 4% 7.8% $5.2

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Lulea

$88 4.9% 214% $60

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $778 in Lulea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lulea pays 96% 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 $96.0 in Lulea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $404 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Lulea

🕒 Local time

06:48 6:48 AM

05:48 5:48 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

73,864

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Lulea 2,360 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Lulea

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 Lulea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Lulea differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $1,823 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 96% lower in Lulea. 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: $673 in Bucharest versus $778 in Lulea. 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 $1,823 in Lulea – a 35% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 162% less than in Lulea. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $1,823 in Lulea, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Lulea. 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 Lulea 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 35% less than in Lulea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.