Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Masvingo

For one person, living is cheaper in Masvingo: $606 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Masvingo
Learn more

Masvingo Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Masvingo

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$606

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Masvingo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $606 in Masvingo.

Bucharest $1,351
Masvingo $606

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $1,005 in Masvingo.

Bucharest $2,033
Masvingo $1,005

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $1,405 in Masvingo.

Bucharest $2,715
Masvingo $1,405

Living in Bucharest is roughly 123% more expensive than in Masvingo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% above, Masvingo is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 69.2

$10.03 ZWL 268

44.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 276

$44.87 ZWL 1,198

28.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.84

$5.92 ZWL 158

26.69%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.38

$2.93 ZWL 78.3

17.06%

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

$2.46 RON 11.76

$1.01 ZWL 26.90

143.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.13

$0.45 ZWL 11.96

417.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 18.16

$1.26 ZWL 33.70

201.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.62

$2.02 ZWL 53.9

102.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.87

$1.54 ZWL 41.12

7.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.46

$1.03 ZWL 27.40

31.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.51

$1.69 ZWL 45.14

5.33%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.52

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

87.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.98

$11.57 ZWL 309

-25.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.52

$5.52 ZWL 147

23.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 56.0

$6.50 ZWL 173

80.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.18

$2.92 ZWL 78.1

-55.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.45

$1.63 ZWL 43.45

-4.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.36

$1.99 ZWL 53.2

-22.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.87

$1.58 ZWL 42.20

56.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.96

$1.71 ZWL 45.59

-51.46%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.81

$1.79 ZWL 47.74

-55.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 4.03

$1.28 ZWL 34.18

-34.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.44

$0.94 ZWL 25.15

-1.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.78

$1.94 ZWL 51.9

231.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 30.23

$8.22 ZWL 219

-23.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 6.01

$1.38 ZWL 36.74

-8.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.67

$1.96 ZWL 52.4

-18.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.89

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 101

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.89

$4.08 ZWL 109

-85.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.94

$2.01 ZWL 53.7

-69.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.51

$4.92 ZWL 131

25.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.37

$1.85 ZWL 49.47

5.95%

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

$28.1K RON 134.6K

$21.9K ZWL 583.3K

28.81%

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

$26.3K RON 125.7K

$27.4K ZWL 732.5K

-4.21%

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

$197 RON 941

$50.7 ZWL 1,354

288.11%

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

$8.34 RON 39.87

$21.58 ZWL 576

-61.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.94

$69.9 ZWL 1,866

-86.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 238

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 119

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.45

$10.06 ZWL 268

-15.90%

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

$639 RON 3,056

$441 ZWL 11.8K

44.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.8K

$8,395 ZWL 224.1K

71.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 433

$23.54 ZWL 628

284.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 182

$21.02 ZWL 561

81.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 381

$38.55 ZWL 1,029

106.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 446

$39.69 ZWL 1,059

134.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,219

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,146

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,251

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,485

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,327

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

13.69

-50.77%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Masvingo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Masvingo

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Masvingo

$149 25.1% 33.8% $76

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Masvingo

$215 36% 3.2% $7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Masvingo

$142 23.9% 33.7% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Masvingo

$55 9.3% 59.3% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Masvingo

$20 * 3.4% 69.9% $47

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Masvingo

$14 * 2.4% 49.6% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $45.00 in Masvingo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $215 per month, with Masvingo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇿🇼 Masvingo

🕒 Local time

05:33 5:33 AM

04:33 4:33 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

72,527

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.75 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.36 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 26.69 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.75 USD). 1 EUR = 29.91 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Masvingo 7,190 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Masvingo

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 Masvingo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Masvingo differ by about 123% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $606 including rent). Masvingo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,027 in Bucharest and $908 in Masvingo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,351 per month in Bucharest versus $606 in Masvingo – a 123% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $606 in Masvingo versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Masvingo but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Masvingo 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 Masvingo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 123% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.