Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Malmo

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $2,046 in Malmo, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 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
99

Cost of Living Index in Malmo
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Malmo Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Malmo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,046

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Malmo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $2,046 in Malmo.

Bucharest $1,351
Malmo $2,046

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $3,083 in Malmo.

Bucharest $2,033
Malmo $3,083

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $4,121 in Malmo.

Bucharest $2,715
Malmo $4,121

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 34% less than in Malmo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bucharest 1% above, Malmo 53% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$14.90 SEK 149

-2.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$74.0 SEK 740

-22.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$12.18 SEK 122

-38.42%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$4.83 SEK 48.23

-28.99%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$3.35 SEK 33.52

-26.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$2.70 SEK 26.97

-13.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$8.46 SEK 84.5

-55.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$9.10 SEK 90.9

-54.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$1.73 SEK 17.26

-4.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$2.87 SEK 28.67

-52.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$3.32 SEK 33.22

-46.39%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$4.11 SEK 41.10

-10.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$12.74 SEK 127

-32.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$11.86 SEK 119

-42.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$21.61 SEK 216

-45.77%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$2.99 SEK 29.93

-56.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$2.58 SEK 25.82

-39.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$2.96 SEK 29.61

-47.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$4.15 SEK 41.43

-40.24%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$1.66 SEK 16.62

-50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$1.53 SEK 15.29

-47.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$2.47 SEK 24.65

-65.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$1.23 SEK 12.24

-24.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$7.72 SEK 77.1

-16.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$11.53 SEK 115

-45.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$2.01 SEK 20.05

-37.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$2.34 SEK 23.43

-31.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

$3.15 SEK 31.45

-74.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

$63.5 SEK 635

-66.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$6.00 SEK 59.9

-90.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$2.41 SEK 24.07

-74.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$49.13 SEK 491

-87.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$1.74 SEK 17.36

12.64%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$32.3K SEK 322.6K

-12.79%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$33.2K SEK 331.5K

-20.74%

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

$197 RON 931

$138 SEK 1,380

42.51%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$26.21 SEK 262

-68.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$36.07 SEK 361

-74.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$39.93 SEK 399

24.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

$28.69 SEK 287

-12.90%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$17.17 SEK 172

-50.73%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$167 SEK 1,666

283.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$3,311 SEK 33.1K

334.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$98.0 SEK 979

-7.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$44.19 SEK 442

-13.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$113 SEK 1,125

-29.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$152 SEK 1,520

-38.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

$1,063 SEK 10.6K

-36.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

$818 SEK 8,173

-45.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

$1,720 SEK 17.2K

-36.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$1,354 SEK 13.5K

-46.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

$4,026 SEK 40.2K

-7.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$3,166 SEK 31.6K

-30.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

$3,045 SEK 30.4K

-56.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

3.05

120.98%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Malmo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Malmo

$818 40.1% 82.2% $369

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Malmo

$298 14.6% 32.2% $73

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Malmo

$372 18.2% 67.6% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Malmo

$200 9.8% 6.5% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Malmo

$183 9% 34.9% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Malmo

$74 3.6% 11.2% $7.5

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Malmo

$94 4.6% 236% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $1,063 in Malmo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Malmo pays 130% 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 $74.0 in Malmo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $372 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Malmo

🕒 Local time

05:20 5:20 AM

04:20 4:20 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

316,588

💱 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 Malmo 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Malmo

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 Malmo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Malmo differ by about 51% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $2,046 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 130% lower in Malmo. 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 $1,063 in Malmo. 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 $2,046 in Malmo – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 201% less than in Malmo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $2,046 in Malmo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Malmo. 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Malmo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.