Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Petrosani

For one person, living is cheaper in Petrosani: $745 a month against $1,354 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 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 Petrosani
Learn more

Petrosani Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Petrosani

🇷🇴 Romania

$745

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Petrosani

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,354 in Bucharest versus $745 in Petrosani.

Bucharest $1,354
Petrosani $745

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,043 in Bucharest versus $1,154 in Petrosani.

Bucharest $2,043
Petrosani $1,154

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,733 in Bucharest versus $1,562 in Petrosani.

Bucharest $2,733
Petrosani $1,562

Living in Bucharest is roughly 82% more expensive than in Petrosani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.66 RON 70.5

$14.56 RON 70.0

0.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 277

$32.54 RON 156

77.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 RON 36.13

$7.47 RON 35.92

0.67%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 17.09

$2.14 RON 10.28

66.36%

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

$2.47 RON 11.88

$1.66 RON 7.96

48.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.50

$1.42 RON 6.82

53.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 RON 17.72

$1.44 RON 6.94

156.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 RON 20.57

$2.13 RON 10.24

100.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 8.04

$1.38 RON 6.63

21.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.49

$1.16 RON 5.58

16.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.53

$1.06 RON 5.12

67.92%

Eggs

$3.56 RON 17.12

$3.53 RON 16.98

0.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.12 RON 43.84

$8.28 RON 39.80

10.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.82 RON 32.76

$6.91 RON 33.20

-1.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.13 RON 58.3

$11.62 RON 55.8

4.39%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.08

$1.29 RON 6.18

-2.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.80

$1.30 RON 6.24

24.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.49

$1.50 RON 7.22

4.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.21

$1.48 RON 7.11

71.62%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.76

$0.65 RON 3.14

20.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.72

$0.61 RON 2.92

26.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 RON 4.27

$0.88 RON 4.22

1.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 RON 4.32

$0.91 RON 4.39

-1.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 RON 31.48

$6.34 RON 30.49

3.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.37 RON 30.60

$6.24 RON 30.00

2.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 RON 5.97

$1.25 RON 6.01

-0.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 RON 7.79

$1.65 RON 7.92

-1.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 RON 4.10

$0.81 RON 3.89

4.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 RON 99.6

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.95

$0.60 RON 2.90

1.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.95

$0.66 RON 3.15

-7.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 RON 29.62

$6.38 RON 30.65

-3.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 RON 9.60

$1.82 RON 8.74

9.89%

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

$27.9K RON 134.3K

$28.1K RON 134.9K

-0.47%

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

$25.3K RON 121.7K

$26.1K RON 125.3K

-2.89%

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

$192 RON 923

$193 RON 930

-0.73%

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

$7.92 RON 38.05

$8.03 RON 38.60

-1.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.96 RON 43.05

$5.09 RON 24.44

76.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.99 RON 240

$29.74 RON 143

68.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 RON 119

Cinema Ticket

$8.51 RON 40.88

$5.22 RON 25.07

63.03%

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

$686 RON 3,296

$667 RON 3,207

2.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 69.3K

0.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.2 RON 434

$16.70 RON 80.2

440.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 RON 186

$37.81 RON 182

2.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 RON 379

$78.2 RON 376

0.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 RON 442

$84.9 RON 408

8.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$711 RON 3,418

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 RON 2,220

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 5,063

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 RON 3,473

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 RON 17.5K

$895 RON 4,301

306.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,173 RON 10.4K

$867 RON 4,168

150.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,506

$1,100 RON 5,286

23.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Last update for Petrosani: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$462 34.1%

Petrosani

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Bucharest

$228 16.9%

Petrosani

$188 25.3% 17.4% $40

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.6%

Petrosani

$205 27.6% 8.7% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$209 15.4%

Petrosani

$207 27.7% 1.1% $2.4

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$135 10%

Petrosani

$98 13.1% 27.4% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Petrosani

$40 5.4% 40.1% $27

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Petrosani

$7.1 * 1% 74.4% $21

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Bucharest pays 23% 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 in Bucharest vs $33 in Petrosani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $205 per month, with Petrosani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇷🇴 Petrosani

🕒 Local time

22:26 10:26 PM

Same time as Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

51,476

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Bucharest Petrosani 240 km

From you

Bucharest
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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 Petrosani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,354 in Bucharest and $745 in Petrosani, so Petrosani is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 23% higher in Bucharest, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,354 per month in Bucharest versus $745 in Petrosani – Petrosani is about 45% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $745 in Petrosani versus $1,354 in Bucharest, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Petrosani but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Petrosani 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 – Petrosani wins on affordability, Bucharest on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.