Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Mölndal

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $1,561 in Mölndal, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. The total is higher in Mölndal despite lower rent and utilities.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mölndal
Learn more

Mölndal Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Mölndal

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Mölndal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,561 in Mölndal.

Bucharest $1,337
Mölndal $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $2,491 in Mölndal.

Bucharest $2,029
Mölndal $2,491

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $3,422 in Mölndal.

Bucharest $2,721
Mölndal $3,422

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 14% less than in Mölndal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Mölndal is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.45 RON 68.4

$12.86 SEK 127

12.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$71.7 SEK 710

-19.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 RON 35.65

$11.07 SEK 110

-31.98%

Cappuccino

$3.45 RON 16.33

$4.94 SEK 48.94

-30.16%

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

$2.46 RON 11.65

$2.97 SEK 29.42

-17.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 RON 10.54

$0.99 SEK 9.80

125.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.76 RON 17.78

$7.17 SEK 71.0

-47.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 RON 19.84

$5.92 SEK 58.6

-29.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 RON 7.67

$1.13 SEK 11.22

43.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 RON 6.13

$1.49 SEK 14.76

-12.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.05

$3.24 SEK 32.10

-47.53%

Eggs

$3.79 RON 17.93

$3.58 SEK 35.50

5.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 RON 41.90

$7.02 SEK 69.5

26.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.90 RON 32.67

$9.17 SEK 90.8

-24.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.14 RON 57.4

$16.38 SEK 162

-25.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$3.09 SEK 30.62

-57.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.55

$2.49 SEK 24.71

-35.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.42

$2.85 SEK 28.20

-44.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 RON 12.67

$4.45 SEK 44.11

-39.78%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.82

$1.57 SEK 15.55

-48.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.73

$1.64 SEK 16.29

-51.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$1.85 SEK 18.31

-50.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.58

$1.20 SEK 11.90

-19.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 RON 30.34

$7.23 SEK 71.7

-11.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 RON 29.24

$9.90 SEK 98.1

-37.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.83

$1.98 SEK 19.58

-37.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 RON 7.91

$2.17 SEK 21.50

-23.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.10

$3.56 SEK 35.27

-75.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.98 RON 99.3

$83.4 SEK 826

-74.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.10

$6.30 SEK 62.4

-89.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.85

$1.66 SEK 16.50

-63.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$60.1 SEK 595

-89.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.15

$1.74 SEK 17.26

10.92%

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

$28.7K RON 135.9K

$33.5K SEK 332.1K

-14.28%

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

$26.3K RON 124.6K

$33.3K SEK 330.0K

-20.95%

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

$196 RON 926

$42.67 SEK 423

358.45%

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

$8.49 RON 40.19

$10.22 SEK 101

-16.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.05 RON 42.84

$20.43 SEK 202

-55.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.54 RON 234

$40.48 SEK 401

22.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.03 RON 118

$28.18 SEK 279

-11.18%

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 RON 39.01

$18.01 SEK 178

-54.25%

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

$636 RON 3,007

$220 SEK 2,177

189.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K RON 69.0K

$4,389 SEK 43.5K

232.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 419

$89.5 SEK 887

-1.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 RON 183

$33.26 SEK 330

16.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 RON 373

$70.2 SEK 696

12.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 428

$135 SEK 1,341

-33.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 RON 3,288

$812 SEK 8,041

-14.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 RON 2,109

$595 SEK 5,891

-25.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 RON 5,130

$1,295 SEK 12.8K

-16.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 RON 3,368

$1,038 SEK 10.3K

-31.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,797 RON 18.0K

$4,108 SEK 40.7K

-7.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 RON 10.4K

$2,786 SEK 27.6K

-20.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,406

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.06

120.59%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mölndal: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$446 33.3%

Mölndal

$595 38.1% 33.4% $149

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.9%

Mölndal

$259 16.6% 14.8% $33

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.9%

Mölndal

$297 19.1% 31.9% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Mölndal

$73 4.7% 65.6% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$133 10%

Mölndal

$148 9.5% 10.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$66 4.9%

Mölndal

$77 4.9% 15.9% $10

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Mölndal

$112 7.2% 299% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Bucharest and $812 in Mölndal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $72.0 in Mölndal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $297 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Mölndal

🕒 Local time

19:50 7:50 PM

18:50 6:50 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

60,000

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Mölndal 1,760 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Mölndal

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 Mölndal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Mölndal differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $1,561 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,006 in Bucharest and $2,341 in Mölndal 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $695 in Bucharest versus $812 in Mölndal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,337 per month in Bucharest versus $1,561 in Mölndal – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 297% less than in Mölndal. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,561 in Mölndal, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Mölndal. 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 Mölndal 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 17% less than in Mölndal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.