Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Oued Zem

For one person, living is cheaper in Oued Zem: $745 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Oued Zem
Learn more

Oued Zem Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Oued Zem

🇲🇦 Morocco

$745

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Oued Zem

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Bucharest versus $745 in Oued Zem.

Bucharest $1,371
Oued Zem $745

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,067 in Bucharest versus $1,192 in Oued Zem.

Bucharest $2,067
Oued Zem $1,192

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,764 in Bucharest versus $1,639 in Oued Zem.

Bucharest $2,764
Oued Zem $1,639

Living in Bucharest is roughly 84% more expensive than in Oued Zem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.51 RON 69.0

$4.14 MAD 40.39

250.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 RON 291

$41.53 MAD 405

47.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 RON 35.46

$7.07 MAD 68.9

5.52%

Cappuccino

$3.64 RON 17.31

$1.87 MAD 18.20

94.65%

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

$2.62 RON 12.43

$0.56 MAD 5.51

367.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 RON 11.23

$0.34 MAD 3.27

594.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.78 RON 17.98

$5.21 MAD 50.8

-27.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.52

$3.19 MAD 31.08

28.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 RON 7.89

$0.89 MAD 8.72

86.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 RON 6.64

$0.61 MAD 5.94

129.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 RON 8.53

$1.92 MAD 18.73

-6.77%

Eggs

$3.63 RON 17.25

$1.86 MAD 18.18

95.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 RON 42.38

$11.31 MAD 110

-21.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.86 RON 32.62

$6.61 MAD 64.4

3.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 RON 57.0

$11.82 MAD 115

1.44%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.16

$1.56 MAD 15.22

-16.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.76

$1.41 MAD 13.77

15.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.09

$0.83 MAD 8.09

79.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.08

$0.89 MAD 8.67

185.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$0.67 MAD 6.53

20.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.78

$0.74 MAD 7.21

8.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 RON 4.07

$0.36 MAD 3.53

138.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$0.61 MAD 5.92

54.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 RON 31.38

$4.07 MAD 39.69

62.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.33 RON 30.08

$7.40 MAD 72.2

-14.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.64

$2.65 MAD 25.83

-55.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 RON 7.53

$2.55 MAD 24.90

-38.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 RON 4.64

$0.50 MAD 4.90

96.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.4

$20.47 MAD 200

2.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.69 MAD 6.73

-13.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.93

$0.78 MAD 7.62

-20.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.25

$4.18 MAD 40.76

52.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 RON 9.62

$1.48 MAD 14.44

36.49%

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

$28.2K RON 134.0K

$30.3K MAD 295.9K

-7.04%

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

$26.3K RON 124.8K

$31.5K MAD 307.6K

-16.69%

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

$196 RON 932

$36.07 MAD 352

443.89%

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

$8.60 RON 40.84

$10.11 MAD 98.6

-14.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.20 RON 43.69

$33.68 MAD 328

-72.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 RON 242

$25.89 MAD 253

97.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.04 RON 119

$21.02 MAD 205

19.12%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 RON 39.27

$6.00 MAD 58.6

37.67%

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

$681 RON 3,234

$179 MAD 1,744

280.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K RON 89.0K

$9,473 MAD 92.4K

97.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 443

$47.45 MAD 463

96.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.87 RON 189

$39.33 MAD 384

1.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

$93.5 MAD 912

-14.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 431

$65.9 MAD 642

37.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 RON 3,473

$278 MAD 2,709

163.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 RON 2,232

$175 MAD 1,705

168.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 RON 5,276

$449 MAD 4,380

147.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 RON 3,431

$268 MAD 2,612

169.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,749 RON 17.8K

$1,171 MAD 11.4K

220.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,233 RON 10.6K

$802 MAD 7,823

178.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,365 RON 6,487

$230 MAD 2,245

493.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.55

48.35%

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

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Last update for Oued Zem: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$470 34.3%

Oued Zem

$175 23.5% 62.8% $295

Eating Out

Bucharest

$229 16.7%

Oued Zem

$113 15.1% 50.8% $117

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.4%

Oued Zem

$202 27.1% 10.1% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 15.6%

Oued Zem

$80 10.7% 62.7% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$137 10%

Oued Zem

$111 14.9% 19% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$68 4.9%

Oued Zem

$38 5.1% 43.9% $30

Getting Around

Bucharest

$29 2.1%

Oued Zem

$27 3.6% 5% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $731 in Bucharest and $278 in Oued Zem. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 5.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Bucharest vs $42 in Oued Zem for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $202 per month, with Oued Zem cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇲🇦 Oued Zem

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

06:36 6:36 AM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

95,267

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 MAD = 10.25 USD

100 MAD = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.33 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.95 MAD (100 MAD = 9.13 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Oued Zem 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Oued Zem

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 Oued Zem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,371 in Bucharest and $745 in Oued Zem, so Oued Zem is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bucharest is about 5.9 times higher, 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: $731 in Bucharest versus $278 in Oued Zem. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,371 per month in Bucharest versus $745 in Oued Zem – Oued Zem is about 46% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $745 in Oued Zem versus $1,371 in Bucharest, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Oued Zem but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Oued Zem 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.

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