Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Mahdia

For one person, living is cheaper in Mahdia: $557 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Mahdia
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Mahdia Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Mahdia

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$557

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Mahdia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $557 in Mahdia.

Bucharest $1,340
Mahdia $557

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $881 in Mahdia.

Bucharest $2,037
Mahdia $881

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $1,206 in Mahdia.

Bucharest $2,734
Mahdia $1,206

Living in Bucharest is roughly 141% more expensive than in Mahdia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Mahdia 59% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$2.48 TND 7.44

484.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$20.01 TND 59.9

190.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$4.84 TND 14.49

54.55%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$0.96 TND 2.89

258.33%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.57 TND 1.72

315.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.19 TND 0.56

1110.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$1.03 TND 3.07

259.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$1.51 TND 4.52

175.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$0.43 TND 1.30

288.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.26 TND 0.78

426.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.38 TND 4.13

24.64%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$1.53 TND 4.58

137.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$11.75 TND 35.19

-22.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$4.96 TND 14.87

37.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$14.46 TND 43.29

-17.01%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.86 TND 8.56

-56.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.86 TND 8.55

-43.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.44 TND 4.32

9.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$0.72 TND 2.15

252.78%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.65 TND 1.94

21.54%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.34 TND 1.03

126.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.43 TND 1.29

102.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.31 TND 0.94

219.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$3.53 TND 10.56

78.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$3.35 TND 10.04

85.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.63 TND 4.88

-26.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.25 TND 3.75

25.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.32 TND 0.95

168.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$13.33 TND 39.92

58.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.31 TND 0.93

106.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.26 TND 0.77

130.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$0.88 TND 2.64

122.73%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$40.9K TND 122.5K

-29.07%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$40.1K TND 120.0K

-33.53%

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

$196 RON 927

$56.3 TND 169

247.75%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$7.15 TND 21.41

12.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$20.10 TND 60.2

-53.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$20.52 TND 61.5

144.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$7.69 TND 23.03

229.39%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$6.80 TND 20.36

19.85%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$109 TND 326

476.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$985 TND 2,951

1329.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$37.98 TND 114

135.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$32.80 TND 98.2

16.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$76.9 TND 230

3.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$23.51 TND 70.4

284.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$130 TND 390

420.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$100 TND 301

346.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$292 TND 875

270.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$175 TND 523

314.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$675 TND 2,022

455.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$201 TND 602

992.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$232 TND 695

473.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

10.33

-34.66%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mahdia: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Mahdia

$100 18% 77.6% $348

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Mahdia

$57 10.3% 74.6% $168

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Mahdia

$188 33.8% 16.3% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Mahdia

$84 15% 60.8% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Mahdia

$77 13.8% 42.5% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Mahdia

$34 6.1% 48.7% $32

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Mahdia

$16 2.9% 42.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $130 in Mahdia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 473% 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 $20.00 in Mahdia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $188 per month, with Mahdia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇹🇳 Mahdia

🕒 Local time

00:17 12:17 AM

22:17 10:17 PM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

79,545

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, 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).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Mahdia 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Mahdia

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 Mahdia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Mahdia differ by about 141% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $557 including rent). Mahdia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 473% 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $130 in Mahdia. 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 $557 in Mahdia – a 141% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Mahdia runs roughly 58% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $557 in Mahdia versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mahdia but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Mahdia 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 Mahdia 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 Mahdia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 141% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.