Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Sao Tome and Principe

Name: Sao Tome and Principe
Address: ST

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,204 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,204

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Bucharest is 9.9% cheaper than Sao Tome and Principe without rent, and 13.8% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Bucharest is 3.4% cheaper than Sao Tome and Principe without rent, and 7.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.51 RON 69.0

$9.06 STN 197

60.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 RON 291

$44.54 STN 971

37.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 RON 35.46

$8.26 STN 180

-9.69%

Cappuccino

$3.64 RON 17.31

$2.30 STN 50.2

58.26%

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

$2.62 RON 12.43

$1.73 STN 37.66

51.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 RON 11.23

$1.12 STN 24.49

110.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.78 RON 17.98

$1.76 STN 38.27

114.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.52

$1.86 STN 40.63

120.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 RON 7.89

$1.54 STN 33.55

7.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 RON 6.64

$1.45 STN 31.55

-3.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 RON 8.53

$2.06 STN 44.87

-13.11%

Eggs

$3.63 RON 17.25

$4.48 STN 97.7

-18.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 RON 42.38

$20.77 STN 453

-57.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.86 RON 32.62

$16.83 STN 367

-59.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 RON 57.0

$21.19 STN 462

-43.42%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.16

$3.92 STN 85.5

-66.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.76

$1.77 STN 38.59

-7.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.09

$3.78 STN 82.4

-60.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.08

$3.84 STN 83.7

-33.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$3.16 STN 68.9

-74.37%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.78

$3.07 STN 66.9

-73.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 RON 4.07

$0.53 STN 11.63

62.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$2.09 STN 45.55

-55.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 RON 31.38

$2.23 STN 48.53

195.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.33 RON 30.08

$6.94 STN 151

-8.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.64

$1.57 STN 34.18

-24.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 RON 7.53

$1.68 STN 36.64

-5.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 RON 4.64

$1.35 STN 29.50

-27.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.72 STN 37.55

-65.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.93

$2.63 STN 57.3

-76.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.25

$13.90 STN 303

-54.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 RON 9.62

$1.65 STN 36.01

22.42%

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

$28.2K RON 134.0K

$24.5K STN 533.2K

15.30%

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

$26.3K RON 124.8K

$31.5K STN 685.6K

-16.46%

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

$196 RON 932

$227 STN 4,944

-13.50%

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

$8.60 RON 40.84

$31.02 STN 676

-72.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.20 RON 43.69

$67.5 STN 1,470

-86.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 RON 242

$34.31 STN 748

48.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.04 RON 119

$25.44 STN 555

-1.57%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 RON 39.27

$19.79 STN 431

-58.26%

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

$681 RON 3,234

$224 STN 4,889

203.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K RON 89.0K

$2,175 STN 47.4K

761.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 443

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.87 RON 189

$76.3 STN 1,662

-47.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 431

$18.12 STN 395

400.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 RON 3,473

$286 STN 6,241

155.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 RON 2,232

$195 STN 4,255

140.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 RON 5,276

$921 STN 20.1K

20.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 RON 3,431

$437 STN 9,529

65.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,749 RON 17.8K

$1,852 STN 40.4K

102.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,233 RON 10.6K

$1,131 STN 24.7K

97.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,365 RON 6,487

$443 STN 9,659

208.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

7.38

-8.54%

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

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$470 34.3%

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.2% 58.4% $275

Eating Out

Bucharest

$229 16.7%

Sao Tome and Principe

$149 12.4% 35.1% $81

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.4%

Sao Tome and Principe

$399 33.1% 77.3% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 15.6%

Sao Tome and Principe

$325 27% 52% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$137 10%

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5% 69% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$68 4.9%

Sao Tome and Principe

$74 6.1% 9.4% $6.4

Getting Around

Bucharest

$29 2.1%

Sao Tome and Principe

$20 * 1.7% 28.8% $8.2

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

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🕒 Local time

12:23 12:23 PM

10:23 10:23 AM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

204,327

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 STN = 4.59 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

STN, USD, EUR 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).

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 21.8 STN (100 STN = 4.59 USD). 1 EUR = 24.48 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

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