Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Ostrava

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,354 a month against $1,523 in Ostrava, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 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
73

Cost of Living Index in Ostrava
Learn more

Ostrava Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Ostrava

🇨🇿 Czech Republic

$1,523

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Ostrava

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,354 in Bucharest versus $1,523 in Ostrava.

Bucharest $1,354
Ostrava $1,523

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,043 in Bucharest versus $2,314 in Ostrava.

Bucharest $2,043
Ostrava $2,314

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,733 in Bucharest versus $3,104 in Ostrava.

Bucharest $2,733
Ostrava $3,104

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 11% less than in Ostrava, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.66 RON 70.1

$10.43 Kč 227

40.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 276

$48.97 Kč 1,067

17.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 RON 35.92

$8.35 Kč 182

-9.94%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 16.99

$3.22 Kč 70.3

10.56%

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

$2.47 RON 11.81

$1.83 Kč 39.84

34.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.44

$1.48 Kč 32.23

47.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 RON 17.62

$2.31 Kč 50.4

59.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 RON 20.45

$2.25 Kč 49.05

90.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.99

$1.13 Kč 24.67

47.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.45

$1.58 Kč 34.45

-14.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.48

$2.57 Kč 56.0

-30.74%

Eggs

$3.56 RON 17.02

$3.45 Kč 75.1

3.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.12 RON 43.60

$11.75 Kč 256

-22.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.82 RON 32.58

$10.57 Kč 230

-35.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.13 RON 58.0

$12.94 Kč 282

-6.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.04

$1.68 Kč 36.52

-25.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.76

$1.81 Kč 39.42

-10.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.45

$2.25 Kč 48.97

-30.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.14

$3.60 Kč 78.5

-29.44%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.74

$1.03 Kč 22.54

-24.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.70

$1.05 Kč 22.88

-26.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 RON 4.24

$1.48 Kč 32.15

-39.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 RON 4.30

$0.70 Kč 15.34

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 RON 31.30

$7.76 Kč 169

-15.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.37 RON 30.42

$6.98 Kč 152

-8.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 RON 5.94

$0.94 Kč 20.50

31.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 RON 7.75

$2.03 Kč 44.34

-20.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 RON 4.08

$1.41 Kč 30.70

-39.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 RON 99.0

$25.49 Kč 555

-18.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$2.32 Kč 50.5

-73.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$1.60 Kč 34.79

-61.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 RON 29.45

$23.04 Kč 502

-73.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 RON 9.55

$1.91 Kč 41.55

4.71%

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

$27.9K RON 133.5K

$30.8K Kč 671.0K

-9.24%

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

$25.3K RON 121.0K

$32.7K Kč 712.6K

-22.55%

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

$192 RON 918

$225 Kč 4,912

-14.79%

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

$7.92 RON 37.83

$23.59 Kč 514

-66.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.96 RON 42.81

$17.24 Kč 376

-48.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.99 RON 239

$55.2 Kč 1,203

-9.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 RON 119

$19.44 Kč 424

27.62%

Cinema Ticket

$8.51 RON 40.65

$9.35 Kč 204

-8.98%

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

$686 RON 3,278

$363 Kč 7,918

88.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.9K

$9,454 Kč 206.0K

52.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.2 RON 431

$76.3 Kč 1,664

18.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 RON 185

$42.08 Kč 917

-7.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 RON 377

$97.9 Kč 2,133

-19.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 RON 440

$110 Kč 2,392

-16.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$711 RON 3,398

$762 Kč 16.6K

-6.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 RON 2,207

$552 Kč 12.0K

-16.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 5,034

$1,486 Kč 32.4K

-29.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 RON 3,453

$1,010 Kč 22.0K

-28.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 RON 17.4K

$3,636 Kč 79.2K

-0.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,173 RON 10.4K

$2,644 Kč 57.6K

-17.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,470

$1,689 Kč 36.8K

-19.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

5.06

33.40%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ostrava: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$462 34.1%

Ostrava

$552 36.2% 19.5% $90

Eating Out

Bucharest

$228 16.9%

Ostrava

$176 11.6% 22.6% $52

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.6%

Ostrava

$267 17.5% 18.6% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$209 15.4%

Ostrava

$266 17.5% 27.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$135 10%

Ostrava

$147 9.6% 8.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Ostrava

$74 4.9% 10.3% $6.9

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Ostrava

$41 2.7% 48.9% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $711 in Bucharest and $762 in Ostrava. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ostrava pays 25% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Bucharest vs $49 in Ostrava. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $267, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇨🇿 Ostrava

🕒 Local time

01:08 1:08 AM

00:08 12:08 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

304,880

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Czech Koruna CZK Kč

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 CZK = 4.59 USD

100 CZK = 4.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CZK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Czech Koruna exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 21.79 CZK (100 CZK = 4.59 USD). 1 EUR = 24.33 CZK (100 CZK = 4.11 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Ostrava 840 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Ostrava

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 Ostrava: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,354 in Bucharest and $1,523 in Ostrava, so Bucharest is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 20% lower in Bucharest. 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: $711 in Bucharest versus $762 in Ostrava. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,354 per month in Bucharest versus $1,523 in Ostrava – Bucharest is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 19% less than in Ostrava. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Bucharest gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Bucharest wins on affordability, Ostrava on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.