Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Salamanca, Spain

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,354 a month against $1,436 in Salamanca, rent and utilities included – about $980 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
69

Cost of Living Index in Salamanca
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Salamanca Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Salamanca

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,436

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Salamanca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,354 in Bucharest versus $1,436 in Salamanca.

Bucharest $1,354
Salamanca $1,436

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,043 in Bucharest versus $2,417 in Salamanca.

Bucharest $2,043
Salamanca $2,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,733 in Bucharest versus $3,399 in Salamanca.

Bucharest $2,733
Salamanca $3,399

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 6% less than in Salamanca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.66 RON 70.1

$14.81 €13.27

-1.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 276

$56.7 €50.8

1.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 RON 35.92

$10.15 €9.09

-25.91%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 16.99

$2.37 €2.13

50.21%

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

$2.47 RON 11.81

$1.98 €1.77

24.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.44

$1.14 €1.02

91.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 RON 17.62

$3.08 €2.76

19.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 RON 20.45

$2.97 €2.66

44.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.99

$1.33 €1.19

25.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.45

$1.21 €1.08

11.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.48

$1.77 €1.58

0.56%

Eggs

$3.56 RON 17.02

$3.65 €3.27

-2.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.12 RON 43.60

$12.53 €11.22

-27.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.82 RON 32.58

$7.94 €7.11

-14.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.13 RON 58.0

$15.03 €13.46

-19.29%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.04

$1.76 €1.57

-28.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.76

$1.44 €1.29

12.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.45

$3.34 €2.99

-53.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.14

$1.95 €1.75

30.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.74

$1.33 €1.19

-41.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.70

$1.84 €1.65

-58.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 RON 4.24

$1.26 €1.13

-29.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 RON 4.30

$0.43 €0.39

109.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 RON 31.30

$6.05 €5.41

8.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.37 RON 30.42

$4.43 €3.97

43.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 RON 5.94

$1.32 €1.18

-6.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 RON 7.75

$1.77 €1.58

-8.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 RON 4.08

$1.51 €1.36

-43.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 RON 99.0

$22.63 €20.27

-8.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$5.41 €4.85

-88.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$1.27 €1.13

-51.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 RON 29.45

$28.84 €25.83

-78.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 RON 9.55

$1.74 €1.56

14.94%

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

$27.9K RON 133.5K

$38.0K €34.0K

-26.41%

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

$25.3K RON 121.0K

$28.6K €25.6K

-11.31%

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

$192 RON 918

$142 €127

35.06%

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

$7.92 RON 37.83

$17.97 €16.10

-55.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.96 RON 42.81

$22.48 €20.14

-60.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.99 RON 239

$45.31 €40.58

10.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 RON 119

$11.03 €9.88

124.93%

Cinema Ticket

$8.51 RON 40.65

$9.00 €8.06

-5.44%

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

$686 RON 3,278

$472 €423

45.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.9K

$7,360 €6,592

95.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.2 RON 431

$84.2 €75.4

7.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 RON 185

$25.92 €23.21

49.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 RON 377

$77.1 €69.1

2.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 RON 440

$91.0 €81.5

1.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$711 RON 3,398

$768 €688

-7.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 RON 2,207

$566 €507

-18.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 5,034

$1,297 €1,161

-18.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 RON 3,453

$1,395 €1,250

-48.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 RON 17.4K

$3,450 €3,090

5.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,173 RON 10.4K

$1,572 €1,408

38.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,470

$1,628 €1,458

-16.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.43

96.79%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Last update for Salamanca: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$462 34.1%

Salamanca

$566 39.4% 22.5% $104

Eating Out

Bucharest

$228 16.9%

Salamanca

$211 14.7% 7.4% $17

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.6%

Salamanca

$247 17.2% 9.8% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$209 15.4%

Salamanca

$183 12.7% 12.6% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$135 10%

Salamanca

$125 8.7% 7.2% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Salamanca

$63 4.4% 5.5% $3.7

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Salamanca

$40 2.8% 45.4% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $711 in Bucharest and $768 in Salamanca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Salamanca pays 20% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Bucharest vs $57 in Salamanca. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $247, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇪🇸 Salamanca

🕒 Local time

02:47 2:47 AM

01:47 1:47 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

143,954

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Bucharest Salamanca 2,610 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Salamanca

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 Salamanca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,354 in Bucharest and $1,436 in Salamanca, so Bucharest is about 6% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 17% 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: $711 in Bucharest versus $768 in Salamanca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Salamanca. 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 $1,436 in Salamanca – Bucharest is about 6% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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, Salamanca on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.