Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Novi Sad

For one person, living costs are similar in Bucharest and in Novi Sad: $1,351 and $1,371 a month, rent and utilities included.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Novi Sad
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Novi Sad Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Novi Sad

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Novi Sad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $1,371 in Novi Sad.

Bucharest $1,351
Novi Sad $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $2,114 in Novi Sad.

Bucharest $2,033
Novi Sad $2,114

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $2,856 in Novi Sad.

Bucharest $2,715
Novi Sad $2,856

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 1% less than in Novi Sad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bucharest 1% above, Novi Sad 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.9

$9.93 RSD 1,037

45.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 275

$49.70 RSD 5,188

16.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.72

$12.00 RSD 1,253

-37.50%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.32

$2.61 RSD 273

31.42%

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

$2.46 RON 11.72

$2.32 RSD 243

6.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.09

$1.83 RSD 192

27.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 18.10

$2.91 RSD 303

30.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.56

$3.78 RSD 394

8.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.85

$1.40 RSD 146

17.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.44

$0.95 RSD 99.2

42.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.48

$2.68 RSD 280

-33.58%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.46

$2.54 RSD 265

44.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.84

$13.09 RSD 1,367

-34.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.41

$7.52 RSD 785

-9.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.8

$14.35 RSD 1,499

-18.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.16

$1.71 RSD 179

-24.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.43

$1.98 RSD 207

-21.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.34

$1.66 RSD 173

-7.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.84

$2.55 RSD 266

-2.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.95

$1.01 RSD 105

-17.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.80

$0.68 RSD 71.0

17.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 4.01

$0.96 RSD 100

-12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.42

$0.66 RSD 68.5

40.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.68

$4.84 RSD 505

33.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 30.13

$7.46 RSD 779

-15.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.99

$0.92 RSD 95.7

36.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.65

$2.21 RSD 231

-27.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.88

$0.99 RSD 104

-18.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 101

$24.45 RSD 2,552

-13.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.88

$2.33 RSD 244

-74.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$0.93 RSD 96.9

-34.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.41

$10.35 RSD 1,081

-40.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.34

$1.83 RSD 191

7.10%

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

$28.1K RON 134.2K

$30.7K RSD 3.2M

-8.40%

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

$26.3K RON 125.3K

$26.3K RSD 2.7M

0.01%

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

$197 RON 938

$223 RSD 23.2K

-11.58%

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

$8.34 RON 39.74

$20.57 RSD 2,147

-59.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.80

$33.21 RSD 3,467

-72.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 238

$36.61 RSD 3,823

36.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 119

$11.06 RSD 1,155

125.95%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.31

$7.30 RSD 763

15.89%

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

$639 RON 3,046

$372 RSD 38.8K

71.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.6K

$7,710 RSD 804.9K

86.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 432

$119 RSD 12.4K

-23.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 181

$43.40 RSD 4,531

-12.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 380

$137 RSD 14.3K

-41.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 444

$124 RSD 12.9K

-24.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,209

$495 RSD 51.6K

36.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,139

$405 RSD 42.3K

10.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,234

$955 RSD 99.7K

15.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,474

$753 RSD 78.6K

-3.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.8K

$3,527 RSD 368.2K

6.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$2,586 RSD 270.0K

-15.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,306

$1,240 RSD 129.5K

6.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

5.21

29.37%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Novi Sad: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Novi Sad

$405 29.2% 9.7% $43

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Novi Sad

$186 13.4% 17.8% $40

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Novi Sad

$244 17.6% 10.1% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Novi Sad

$276 19.9% 28.9% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Novi Sad

$190 13.7% 40.2% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Novi Sad

$51 3.7% 23.3% $16

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Novi Sad

$35 2.6% 26.1% $7.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $495 in Novi Sad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $50.0 in Novi Sad. Groceries flip the comparison at $222 vs $244, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇷🇸 Novi Sad

🕒 Local time

08:05 8:05 AM

07:05 7:05 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

260,438

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.58 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, 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).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.58 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.54 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Novi Sad 500 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Novi Sad

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 Novi Sad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Novi Sad differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $1,371 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% 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 $495 in Novi Sad. 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 $1,371 in Novi Sad – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 16% less than in Novi Sad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $1,371 in Novi Sad, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Novi Sad. 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 Novi Sad 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 2% less than in Novi Sad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.