Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Mumbai (Bombay)

For one person, living is cheaper in Mumbai (Bombay): $769 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Mumbai (Bombay)
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Mumbai (Bombay) Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Mumbai (Bombay)

🇮🇳 India

$769

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Mumbai (Bombay)

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 Mumbai (Bombay) actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $769 in Mumbai (Bombay).

Bucharest $1,351
Mumbai (Bombay) $769

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $1,281 in Mumbai (Bombay).

Bucharest $2,033
Mumbai (Bombay) $1,281

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $1,793 in Mumbai (Bombay).

Bucharest $2,715
Mumbai (Bombay) $1,793

Living in Bucharest is roughly 76% more expensive than in Mumbai (Bombay), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% above, Mumbai (Bombay) is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.9

$5.29 ₹512

173.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 275

$21.16 ₹2,048

172.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.72

$4.08 ₹394

83.82%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.32

$2.61 ₹253

31.42%

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

$2.46 RON 11.72

$0.36 ₹35.00

583.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.09

$0.13 ₹12.56

1692.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 18.10

$2.63 ₹255

44.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.56

$4.12 ₹398

-0.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.85

$0.73 ₹70.5

126.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.44

$0.50 ₹48.39

170.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.48

$0.76 ₹73.6

134.21%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.46

$1.00 ₹96.9

266.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.84

$5.56 ₹538

54.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.41

$3.60 ₹349

88.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.8

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.16

$2.15 ₹208

-40.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.43

$0.72 ₹69.8

116.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.34

$1.24 ₹120

24.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.84

$0.50 ₹48.21

396.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.95

$0.34 ₹32.59

144.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.80

$0.37 ₹35.51

116.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 4.01

$0.44 ₹42.60

90.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.42

$0.28 ₹26.87

232.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.68

$5.08 ₹491

26.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 30.13

$8.32 ₹805

-24.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.99

$1.94 ₹188

-35.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.65

$3.07 ₹297

-47.88%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.16 ₹596

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.88

$0.22 ₹21.29

268.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 101

$5.61 ₹543

276.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.88

$0.31 ₹29.53

93.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$0.33 ₹31.47

84.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.41

$1.54 ₹149

300.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.34

$1.15 ₹111

70.43%

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

$28.1K RON 134.2K

$15.7K ₹1.5M

78.97%

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

$26.3K RON 125.3K

$21.8K ₹2.1M

20.45%

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

$197 RON 938

$60.7 ₹5,877

224.19%

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

$8.34 RON 39.74

$4.39 ₹425

89.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.80

$8.80 ₹852

4.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 238

$26.08 ₹2,525

91.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 119

$13.19 ₹1,277

89.46%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.31

$4.49 ₹434

88.42%

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

$639 RON 3,046

$114 ₹11.0K

461.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.6K

$5,082 ₹491.9K

183.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 432

$36.13 ₹3,497

150.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 181

$39.96 ₹3,867

-4.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 380

$54.5 ₹5,270

46.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 444

$47.98 ₹4,644

94.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,209

$598 ₹57.9K

12.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,139

$344 ₹33.3K

30.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,234

$1,797 ₹173.9K

-38.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,474

$866 ₹83.8K

-15.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.8K

$5,811 ₹562.3K

-35.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$2,418 ₹234.0K

-9.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,306

$768 ₹74.4K

72.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

8.29

-18.70%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Mumbai (Bombay): October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Mumbai (Bombay)

$344 44.9% 23.3% $105

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Mumbai (Bombay)

$109 14.2% 51.6% $116

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Mumbai (Bombay)

$116 15.1% 47.7% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Mumbai (Bombay)

$74 9.6% 65.5% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Mumbai (Bombay)

$80 10.5% 40.8% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Mumbai (Bombay)

$35 4.6% 47.5% $32

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Mumbai (Bombay)

$8.4 1.1% 70% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $598 in Mumbai (Bombay). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 72% 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 $21.00 in Mumbai (Bombay) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $116 per month, with Mumbai (Bombay) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇮🇳 Mumbai (Bombay)

🕒 Local time

06:07 6:07 AM

08:37 8:37 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

12,442,373

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 INR (1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Mumbai (Bombay) 5,150 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Mumbai (Bombay)

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 Mumbai (Bombay): Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Mumbai (Bombay) differ by about 76% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $769 including rent). Mumbai (Bombay) is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 72% 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: $673 in Bucharest versus $598 in Mumbai (Bombay). 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 $769 in Mumbai (Bombay) – a 76% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Mumbai (Bombay) runs roughly 277% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $769 in Mumbai (Bombay) versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mumbai (Bombay) but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Mumbai (Bombay) 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 Mumbai (Bombay) gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.