Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Saint Helier

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $3,351 in Saint Helier, rent and utilities included – about $24,000 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
162

Cost of Living Index in Saint Helier
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Saint Helier Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Saint Helier

🇯🇪 Jersey

$3,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Saint Helier

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $3,351 in Saint Helier.

Bucharest $1,351
Saint Helier $3,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $5,022 in Saint Helier.

Bucharest $2,033
Saint Helier $5,022

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $6,693 in Saint Helier.

Bucharest $2,715
Saint Helier $6,693

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 60% less than in Saint Helier, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bucharest 1% above, Saint Helier 150% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$40.27 JEP 30.49

-64.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$118 JEP 89.3

-51.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$10.42 JEP 7.89

-28.02%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$4.71 JEP 3.57

-27.18%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$3.33 JEP 2.52

-26.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$2.45 JEP 1.85

-4.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$7.73 JEP 5.85

-50.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$6.12 JEP 4.63

-33.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$2.29 JEP 1.74

-27.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$2.70 JEP 2.04

-50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$3.76 JEP 2.85

-52.66%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$6.12 JEP 4.63

-40.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$7.17 JEP 5.43

19.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$11.79 JEP 8.92

-42.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$18.11 JEP 13.71

-35.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$4.27 JEP 3.23

-69.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$3.39 JEP 2.56

-53.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$4.24 JEP 3.21

-63.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$4.40 JEP 3.33

-43.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$3.18 JEP 2.41

-73.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$3.06 JEP 2.32

-73.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$1.81 JEP 1.37

-53.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$2.51 JEP 1.90

-62.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$19.58 JEP 14.82

-67.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$10.44 JEP 7.90

-39.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$4.68 JEP 3.54

-73.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$7.59 JEP 5.75

-78.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

$3.25 JEP 2.46

-75.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

$69.6 JEP 52.7

-69.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$5.32 JEP 4.03

-88.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$2.49 JEP 1.88

-75.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$53.2 JEP 40.27

-88.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$2.05 JEP 1.55

-4.39%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$26.3K JEP 19.9K

6.98%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$35.9K JEP 27.1K

-26.68%

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

$197 RON 931

$318 JEP 241

-38.04%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$45.82 JEP 34.69

-81.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$72.2 JEP 54.7

-87.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$75.8 JEP 57.4

-34.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

$28.03 JEP 21.22

-10.85%

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$20.18 JEP 15.28

-58.08%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$2,731 JEP 2,067

-76.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$12.0K JEP 9,051

20.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$103 JEP 77.8

-11.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$73.2 JEP 55.4

-48.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$121 JEP 91.6

-34.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$208 JEP 157

-55.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

$1,816 JEP 1,375

-62.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

$1,587 JEP 1,201

-71.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

$3,324 JEP 2,516

-66.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$2,554 JEP 1,933

-71.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

$11.6K JEP 8,810

-67.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

$10.2K JEP 7,685

-78.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

$4,528 JEP 3,428

-70.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

4.08

65.20%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Saint Helier: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Saint Helier

$1.6K 47.1% 253% $1.1K

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Saint Helier

$484 14.4% 115% $258

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Saint Helier

$417 12.4% 88.2% $196

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Saint Helier

$436 12.9% 103% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Saint Helier

$227 6.8% 67.4% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Saint Helier

$116 3.5% 74% $49

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Saint Helier

$100 3% 258% $72

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $673 in Bucharest and $1,816 in Saint Helier. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint Helier pays 242% 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: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $118 in Saint Helier for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $417 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇯🇪 Saint Helier

🕒 Local time

07:55 7:55 AM

05:55 5:55 AM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

32,522 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Jersey Pound JEP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

1 JEP = 1.32 USD

1 JEP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JEP, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

Jersey Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.757 JEP (1 JEP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.849 JEP (1 JEP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Saint Helier 2,200 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Saint Helier

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 Saint Helier: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Saint Helier differ by about 148% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $3,351 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 242% lower in Saint Helier. 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: $673 in Bucharest versus $1,816 in Saint Helier. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,351 per month in Bucharest versus $3,351 in Saint Helier – a 148% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 229% less than in Saint Helier. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $3,351 in Saint Helier, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Saint Helier. 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 Saint Helier 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 148% less than in Saint Helier. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.