Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Ostroda

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,425 in Ostroda, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ostroda outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Ostroda
Learn more

Ostroda Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Ostroda

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,425

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Ostroda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,425 in Ostroda.

Bucharest $1,340
Ostroda $1,425

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,005 in Ostroda.

Bucharest $2,037
Ostroda $2,005

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $2,585 in Ostroda.

Bucharest $2,734
Ostroda $2,585

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 6% less than in Ostroda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Ostroda is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$10.35 zł 40.23

40.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$35.93 zł 140

61.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$7.64 zł 29.70

-2.09%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$3.10 zł 12.06

10.97%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.00 zł 7.75

18.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$1.56 zł 6.08

47.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$3.47 zł 13.46

6.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$3.49 zł 13.55

19.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$0.91 zł 3.54

83.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.31 zł 5.08

4.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.29 zł 5.00

33.33%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$2.99 zł 11.62

21.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$7.56 zł 29.36

20.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$6.31 zł 24.51

8.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$11.58 zł 44.99

3.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$0.74 zł 2.86

66.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.00 zł 3.89

63.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.23 zł 4.79

27.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.24 zł 4.80

104.84%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.79 zł 3.05

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.74 zł 2.89

4.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.30 zł 5.06

-33.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.52 zł 2.04

90.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$4.74 zł 18.42

33.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$6.42 zł 24.93

-3.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.01 zł 3.92

17.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.49 zł 5.79

5.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$1.16 zł 4.51

-25.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$29.98 zł 116

-29.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$2.33 zł 9.03

-72.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.03 zł 4.01

-41.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$12.83 zł 49.83

-49.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.64 zł 6.36

19.51%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$30.2K zł 117.4K

-4.07%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$27.1K zł 105.2K

-1.65%

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

$196 RON 927

$299 zł 1,162

-34.52%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$10.31 zł 40.04

-22.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$18.41 zł 71.5

-49.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$34.18 zł 133

46.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$22.16 zł 86.1

14.31%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$9.75 zł 37.86

-16.41%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$405 zł 1,575

54.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,581 zł 21.7K

152.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$92.7 zł 360

-3.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$40.85 zł 159

-6.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$102 zł 397

-22.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$106 zł 413

-15.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$670 zł 2,603

1.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$480 zł 1,866

-6.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,099 zł 4,268

-1.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$714 zł 2,774

1.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$2,761 zł 10.7K

35.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$1,897 zł 7,371

15.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$1,287 zł 4,999

3.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

6.6

2.27%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Ostroda: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Ostroda

$480 33.7% 7.2% $32

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Ostroda

$182 12.7% 19.4% $44

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Ostroda

$185 13% 17.7% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Ostroda

$328 23% 53.7% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Ostroda

$154 10.8% 15% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Ostroda

$54 3.8% 19.3% $13

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Ostroda

$42 3% 49.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $670 in Ostroda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 3% 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 $36.00 in Ostroda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $185 per month, with Ostroda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇵🇱 Ostroda

🕒 Local time

06:42 6:42 AM

05:42 5:42 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

32,547

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, 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).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.89 PLN (1 PLN = 0.257 USD). 1 EUR = 4.37 PLN (1 PLN = 0.229 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Ostroda 1,120 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Ostroda

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 Ostroda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Ostroda differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,425 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $670 in Ostroda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $1,425 in Ostroda – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 42% less than in Ostroda. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,425 in Ostroda, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Ostroda. 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 Ostroda 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 6% less than in Ostroda. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.