Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Norrkoping

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $1,783 in Norrkoping, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Norrkoping
Learn more

Norrkoping Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Norrkoping

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,783

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Norrkoping

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,783 in Norrkoping.

Bucharest $1,337
Norrkoping $1,783

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $2,735 in Norrkoping.

Bucharest $2,029
Norrkoping $2,735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $3,687 in Norrkoping.

Bucharest $2,721
Norrkoping $3,687

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 25% less than in Norrkoping, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Norrkoping is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.45 RON 68.4

$13.88 SEK 138

4.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$80.0 SEK 792

-27.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 RON 35.65

$10.01 SEK 99.2

-24.78%

Cappuccino

$3.45 RON 16.33

$4.81 SEK 47.63

-28.27%

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

$2.46 RON 11.65

$3.16 SEK 31.32

-22.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 RON 10.54

$2.37 SEK 23.49

-5.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.76 RON 17.78

$7.67 SEK 76.0

-50.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 RON 19.84

$8.21 SEK 81.3

-48.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 RON 7.67

$1.85 SEK 18.36

-12.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 RON 6.13

$2.96 SEK 29.29

-56.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.05

$4.40 SEK 43.57

-61.36%

Eggs

$3.79 RON 17.93

$3.87 SEK 38.35

-2.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 RON 41.90

$10.21 SEK 101

-13.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.90 RON 32.67

$14.45 SEK 143

-52.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.14 RON 57.4

$17.94 SEK 178

-32.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$3.16 SEK 31.26

-58.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.55

$2.77 SEK 27.42

-42.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.42

$3.45 SEK 34.18

-54.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 RON 12.67

$5.22 SEK 51.8

-48.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.82

$1.46 SEK 14.44

-44.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.73

$1.76 SEK 17.48

-55.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$2.07 SEK 20.55

-56.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.58

$1.29 SEK 12.76

-24.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 RON 30.34

$7.68 SEK 76.1

-16.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 RON 29.24

$10.15 SEK 101

-39.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.83

$1.89 SEK 18.70

-34.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 RON 7.91

$1.97 SEK 19.57

-15.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.10

$3.50 SEK 34.66

-75.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.98 RON 99.3

$103 SEK 1,019

-79.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.10

$5.42 SEK 53.7

-87.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.85

$1.33 SEK 13.15

-54.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$62.2 SEK 616

-90.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.15

$1.75 SEK 17.36

10.29%

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

$28.7K RON 135.9K

$30.9K SEK 306.4K

-7.09%

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

$26.3K RON 124.6K

$32.4K SEK 321.0K

-18.73%

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

$196 RON 926

$99.4 SEK 985

96.76%

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

$8.49 RON 40.19

$28.20 SEK 279

-69.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.05 RON 42.84

$44.25 SEK 438

-79.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.54 RON 234

$33.74 SEK 334

46.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.03 RON 118

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 RON 39.01

$15.18 SEK 150

-45.72%

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

$636 RON 3,007

$126 SEK 1,250

403.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K RON 69.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 419

$69.2 SEK 686

27.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 RON 183

$30.21 SEK 299

28.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 RON 373

$97.5 SEK 966

-19.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 428

$202 SEK 2,001

-55.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 RON 3,288

$681 SEK 6,752

1.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 RON 2,109

$588 SEK 5,823

-24.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 RON 5,130

$1,162 SEK 11.5K

-6.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 RON 3,368

$878 SEK 8,700

-18.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,797 RON 18.0K

$4,566 SEK 45.2K

-16.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 RON 10.4K

$3,396 SEK 33.6K

-35.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,406

$3,035 SEK 30.1K

-55.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.09

65.04%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Norrkoping: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$446 33.3%

Norrkoping

$588 33% 31.9% $142

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.9%

Norrkoping

$276 15.5% 22.2% $50

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.9%

Norrkoping

$376 21.1% 66.5% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Norrkoping

$172 9.6% 19.4% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$133 10%

Norrkoping

$179 10.1% 34.5% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$66 4.9%

Norrkoping

$64 3.6% 2.9% $1.9

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Norrkoping

$129 7.2% 358% $101

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Bucharest and $681 in Norrkoping. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Norrkoping pays 124% 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 $80.0 in Norrkoping for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $376 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Norrkoping

🕒 Local time

20:38 8:38 PM

19:38 7:38 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

98,088

💱 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 Norrkoping 1,710 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Norrkoping

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 Norrkoping: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Norrkoping differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $1,783 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 124% lower in Norrkoping. 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: $695 in Bucharest versus $681 in Norrkoping. 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 $1,783 in Norrkoping – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 390% less than in Norrkoping. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,783 in Norrkoping, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Norrkoping. 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 Norrkoping 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 33% less than in Norrkoping. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.