Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Matola

For one person, living is cheaper in Matola: $995 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Matola
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Matola Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Matola

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$995

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Matola

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $995 in Matola.

Bucharest $1,340
Matola $995

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,520 in Matola.

Bucharest $2,037
Matola $1,520

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $2,045 in Matola.

Bucharest $2,734
Matola $2,045

Living in Bucharest is roughly 35% more expensive than in Matola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Matola 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$7.60 MZN 481

90.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$63.4 MZN 4,010

-8.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$7.32 MZN 463

2.19%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$1.58 MZN 99.9

117.72%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.82 MZN 52.1

189.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.74 MZN 46.85

210.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$1.15 MZN 72.9

221.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$1.52 MZN 96.3

173.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.54 MZN 97.4

8.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.99 MZN 62.8

38.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.66 MZN 105

3.61%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$1.84 MZN 117

97.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$13.09 MZN 828

-30.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$5.65 MZN 357

21.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$4.55 MZN 288

163.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.07 MZN 131

-40.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$0.59 MZN 37.08

176.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.71 MZN 108

-8.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.07 MZN 67.9

137.38%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.99 MZN 62.7

-20.20%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.82 MZN 51.8

-6.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.97 MZN 61.2

-10.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.53 MZN 33.63

86.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$2.83 MZN 179

122.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$6.98 MZN 442

-11.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$0.90 MZN 57.2

32.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.24 MZN 78.4

26.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$1.59 MZN 101

-59.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.20 MZN 75.6

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$24.67 MZN 1,560

-73.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.42 MZN 89.8

38.03%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$32.2K MZN 2.0M

-10.00%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$22.8K MZN 1.4M

16.68%

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

$196 RON 927

$39.72 MZN 2,512

393.18%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$7.80 MZN 493

3.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$77.3 MZN 4,891

-87.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$39.53 MZN 2,500

27.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$7.87 MZN 498

3.56%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$130 MZN 8,234

382.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,052 MZN 319.5K

178.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$49.07 MZN 3,104

82.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$57.0 MZN 3,606

-32.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$78.1 MZN 4,939

1.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$79.4 MZN 5,019

13.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$473 MZN 29.9K

43.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$389 MZN 24.6K

15.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$693 MZN 43.8K

56.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$552 MZN 34.9K

31.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$315 MZN 19.9K

322.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

-73.00%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Matola: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Matola

$389 39.1% 13.2% $59

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Matola

$117 11.7% 48.1% $108

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Matola

$182 18.3% 19% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Matola

$125 12.6% 41.5% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Matola

$119 11.9% 11.4% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Matola

$55 5.6% 16.9% $11

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Matola

$7.6 * 0.8% 73.2% $21

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $473 in Matola. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 322% 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 $63.0 in Matola. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $182, with Matola cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇲🇿 Matola

🕒 Local time

11:16 11:16 AM

10:16 10:16 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

675,422

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MZN, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Matola 7,860 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Matola

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 Matola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Matola differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $995 including rent). Matola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 322% 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 $473 in Matola. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $995 in Matola – a 35% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $995 in Matola versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Matola but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Matola 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 Matola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.