Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Polokwane

For one person, living is cheaper in Polokwane: $959 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Polokwane
Learn more

Polokwane Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Polokwane

🇿🇦 South Africa

$959

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Polokwane

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $959 in Polokwane.

Bucharest $1,340
Polokwane $959

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,417 in Polokwane.

Bucharest $2,037
Polokwane $1,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $1,875 in Polokwane.

Bucharest $2,734
Polokwane $1,875

Living in Bucharest is roughly 40% more expensive than in Polokwane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Polokwane 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$12.24 R 202

18.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$29.66 R 489

95.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$7.46 R 123

0.27%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$2.38 R 39.26

44.54%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.77 R 12.68

207.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.88 R 14.47

161.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$1.68 R 27.65

120.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$1.88 R 30.95

121.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.32 R 21.71

26.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.08 R 17.82

26.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.70 R 28.03

1.18%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$2.65 R 43.69

37.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$7.84 R 129

15.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$4.59 R 75.6

49.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$6.04 R 99.6

98.68%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.01 R 33.19

-38.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.85 R 30.53

-11.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.81 R 29.80

-13.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.96 R 32.30

29.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.67 R 27.49

-52.69%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.50 R 24.73

-48.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.12 R 18.48

-22.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.82 R 13.46

20.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$2.68 R 44.22

135.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$4.87 R 80.2

27.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.15 R 18.88

3.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.61 R 26.54

-2.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.92 R 15.22

-6.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$30.03 R 495

-29.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.87 R 14.41

-26.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.95 R 15.66

-36.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$14.36 R 237

-55.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.43 R 23.52

37.06%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$26.1K R 430.1K

11.08%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$28.5K R 469.0K

-6.42%

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

$196 RON 927

$138 R 2,281

41.48%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$38.10 R 628

-78.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$32.99 R 544

-71.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$23.29 R 384

115.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$8.00 R 132

1.88%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$179 R 2,946

251.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$1,452 R 23.9K

870.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$45.30 R 746

97.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$37.73 R 622

1.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$80.6 R 1,328

-1.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$93.7 R 1,544

-3.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$290 R 4,785

133.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$203 R 3,338

121.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$420 R 6,922

157.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$284 R 4,683

155.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$1,343 R 22.1K

-1.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

10.91

-38.13%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Polokwane: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Polokwane

$203 21.1% 54.8% $246

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Polokwane

$168 17.5% 25.6% $58

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Polokwane

$185 19.3% 17.7% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Polokwane

$210 21.8% 1.7% $3.7

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Polokwane

$116 12.1% 13.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Polokwane

$39 4.1% 40.9% $27

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Polokwane

$39 4.1% 39.5% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $290 in Polokwane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Polokwane pays 1% 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 $30.00 in Polokwane for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $185 per month, with Polokwane cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇿🇦 Polokwane

🕒 Local time

14:25 2:25 PM

13:25 1:25 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

628,999

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Polokwane 7,610 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

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Polokwane

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 Polokwane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Polokwane differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $959 including rent). Polokwane is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1% lower in Polokwane. 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $290 in Polokwane. 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 $959 in Polokwane – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

At $959 in Polokwane versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Polokwane but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Polokwane 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.

Expats usually find Polokwane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.