Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Ponta Delgada

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,371 a month against $1,661 in Ponta Delgada, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
80

Cost of Living Index in Ponta Delgada
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Ponta Delgada Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Ponta Delgada

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,661

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Ponta Delgada

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Bucharest versus $1,661 in Ponta Delgada.

Bucharest $1,371
Ponta Delgada $1,661

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,067 in Bucharest versus $2,357 in Ponta Delgada.

Bucharest $2,067
Ponta Delgada $2,357

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,764 in Bucharest versus $3,054 in Ponta Delgada.

Bucharest $2,764
Ponta Delgada $3,054

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 17% less than in Ponta Delgada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.51 RON 69.0

$13.45 €11.98

7.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 RON 291

$45.60 €40.60

34.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 RON 35.46

$10.75 €9.57

-30.60%

Cappuccino

$3.64 RON 17.31

$1.80 €1.61

102.22%

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

$2.62 RON 12.43

$1.79 €1.59

46.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 RON 11.23

$1.81 €1.61

30.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.78 RON 17.98

$3.16 €2.81

19.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.52

$3.58 €3.19

14.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 RON 7.89

$1.01 €0.90

64.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 RON 6.64

$1.60 €1.42

-12.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 RON 8.53

$1.73 €1.54

3.47%

Eggs

$3.63 RON 17.25

$2.93 €2.61

23.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 RON 42.38

$16.44 €14.64

-45.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.86 RON 32.62

$11.19 €9.97

-38.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 RON 57.0

$16.96 €15.10

-29.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.16

$2.37 €2.11

-45.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.76

$1.69 €1.51

-3.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.09

$2.08 €1.85

-28.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.08

$2.99 €2.66

-15.05%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$1.53 €1.36

-47.06%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.78

$1.71 €1.52

-53.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 RON 4.07

$2.82 €2.51

-69.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$1.06 €0.95

-11.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 RON 31.38

$4.97 €4.43

32.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.33 RON 30.08

$5.73 €5.11

10.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.64

$2.39 €2.13

-50.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 RON 7.53

$3.08 €2.74

-48.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 RON 4.64

$1.66 €1.48

-40.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.4

$56.3 €50.1

-62.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$5.49 €4.89

-89.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.93

$1.37 €1.22

-54.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.25

$5.74 €5.11

10.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 RON 9.62

$1.98 €1.76

2.02%

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

$28.2K RON 134.0K

$33.1K €29.5K

-14.75%

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

$26.3K RON 124.8K

$40.2K €35.8K

-34.64%

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

$196 RON 932

$141 €125

39.53%

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

$8.60 RON 40.84

$18.53 €16.49

-53.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.20 RON 43.69

$43.00 €38.29

-78.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 RON 242

$33.20 €29.56

53.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.04 RON 119

$19.78 €17.61

26.59%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 RON 39.27

$9.58 €8.53

-13.78%

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

$681 RON 3,234

$278 €247

145.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K RON 89.0K

$6,837 €6,088

174.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 443

$46.80 €41.67

99.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.87 RON 189

$33.31 €29.66

19.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

$65.9 €58.6

21.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 431

$135 €120

-32.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 RON 3,473

$1,178 €1,049

-37.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 RON 2,232

$698 €621

-32.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 RON 5,276

$1,386 €1,234

-19.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 RON 3,431

$929 €827

-22.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,749 RON 17.8K

$4,050 €3,606

-7.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,233 RON 10.6K

$2,988 €2,661

-25.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,365 RON 6,487

$1,411 €1,256

-3.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.71

81.94%

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

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ponta Delgada: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$470 34.3%

Ponta Delgada

$698 42% 48.6% $228

Eating Out

Bucharest

$229 16.7%

Ponta Delgada

$199 12% 13.3% $30

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.4%

Ponta Delgada

$308 18.5% 37% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 15.6%

Ponta Delgada

$202 12.2% 5.5% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$137 10%

Ponta Delgada

$126 7.6% 7.6% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$68 4.9%

Ponta Delgada

$52 3.2% 22.5% $15

Getting Around

Bucharest

$29 2.1%

Ponta Delgada

$75 4.5% 164% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $731 in Bucharest and $1,178 in Ponta Delgada. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ponta Delgada pays 3% 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: $61 in Bucharest vs $46 in Ponta Delgada. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $308, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇵🇹 Ponta Delgada

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

09:36 9:36 AM

3 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

67,233

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Ponta Delgada 4,330 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Ponta Delgada

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 Ponta Delgada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,371 in Bucharest and $1,661 in Ponta Delgada, so Bucharest is about 17% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 3% 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: $731 in Bucharest versus $1,178 in Ponta Delgada. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,371 per month in Bucharest versus $1,661 in Ponta Delgada – Bucharest is about 17% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 63% less than in Ponta Delgada. 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, Ponta Delgada on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.