Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Sarpsborg

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $2,841 in Sarpsborg, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
135

Cost of Living Index in Sarpsborg
Learn more

Sarpsborg Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Sarpsborg

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,841

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Sarpsborg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $2,841 in Sarpsborg.

Bucharest $1,337
Sarpsborg $2,841

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $4,154 in Sarpsborg.

Bucharest $2,029
Sarpsborg $4,154

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $5,467 in Sarpsborg.

Bucharest $2,721
Sarpsborg $5,467

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 53% less than in Sarpsborg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Sarpsborg is 110% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.45 RON 68.4

$40.33 NOK 380

-64.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$99.6 NOK 938

-41.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 RON 35.65

$19.43 NOK 183

-61.25%

Cappuccino

$3.45 RON 16.33

$5.72 NOK 53.8

-39.69%

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

$2.46 RON 11.65

$2.78 NOK 26.16

-11.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 RON 10.54

$2.60 NOK 24.48

-14.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.76 RON 17.78

$6.25 NOK 58.8

-39.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 RON 19.84

$8.41 NOK 79.1

-50.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 RON 7.67

$2.80 NOK 26.36

-42.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 RON 6.13

$3.33 NOK 31.37

-60.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.05

$4.13 NOK 38.86

-58.84%

Eggs

$3.79 RON 17.93

$4.28 NOK 40.27

-11.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 RON 41.90

$12.60 NOK 119

-29.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.90 RON 32.67

$15.89 NOK 150

-56.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.14 RON 57.4

$36.18 NOK 341

-66.45%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$3.76 NOK 35.39

-65.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.55

$2.83 NOK 26.60

-43.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.42

$3.88 NOK 36.55

-59.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 RON 12.67

$5.00 NOK 47.07

-46.40%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.82

$2.98 NOK 28.05

-72.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.73

$3.32 NOK 31.28

-76.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$2.60 NOK 24.45

-65.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.58

$2.61 NOK 24.58

-62.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 RON 30.34

$17.94 NOK 169

-64.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 RON 29.24

$17.77 NOK 167

-65.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.83

$3.30 NOK 31.02

-62.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 RON 7.91

$4.59 NOK 43.22

-63.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.10

$2.70 NOK 25.40

-67.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.98 RON 99.3

$75.1 NOK 707

-72.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.10

$12.17 NOK 115

-94.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.85

$1.92 NOK 18.10

-68.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$62.9 NOK 592

-90.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.15

$2.23 NOK 21.00

-13.45%

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

$28.7K RON 135.9K

$54.3K NOK 511.0K

-47.07%

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

$26.3K RON 124.6K

$43.0K NOK 405.0K

-38.81%

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

$196 RON 926

$299 NOK 2,815

-34.58%

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

$8.49 RON 40.19

$31.27 NOK 294

-72.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.05 RON 42.84

$54.1 NOK 509

-83.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.54 RON 234

$50.1 NOK 472

-1.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.03 RON 118

$40.34 NOK 380

-37.95%

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 RON 39.01

$19.99 NOK 188

-58.78%

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

$636 RON 3,007

$243 NOK 2,286

161.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K RON 69.0K

$13.1K NOK 123.0K

11.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 419

$114 NOK 1,073

-22.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 RON 183

$62.2 NOK 586

-37.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 RON 373

$115 NOK 1,086

-31.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 428

$178 NOK 1,679

-49.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 RON 3,288

$1,232 NOK 11.6K

-43.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 RON 2,109

$1,013 NOK 9,537

-56.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 RON 5,130

$1,563 NOK 14.7K

-30.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 RON 3,368

$1,370 NOK 12.9K

-48.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,797 RON 18.0K

$5,847 NOK 55.0K

-35.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 RON 10.4K

$4,175 NOK 39.3K

-47.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,406

$2,626 NOK 24.7K

-48.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

5.18

30.31%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sarpsborg: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$446 33.3%

Sarpsborg

$1K 35.7% 127% $567

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.9%

Sarpsborg

$519 18.3% 130% $294

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.9%

Sarpsborg

$516 18.1% 129% $290

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Sarpsborg

$384 13.5% 80.3% $171

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$133 10%

Sarpsborg

$211 7.4% 58.4% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$66 4.9%

Sarpsborg

$90 3.2% 36.4% $24

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Sarpsborg

$108 3.8% 283% $80

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Bucharest and $1,232 in Sarpsborg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sarpsborg pays 94% 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 $100 in Sarpsborg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $516 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇳🇴 Sarpsborg

🕒 Local time

00:56 12:56 AM

23:56 11:56 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

59,906

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Sarpsborg 1,930 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Sarpsborg

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 Sarpsborg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Sarpsborg differ by about 112% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $2,841 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 94% lower in Sarpsborg. 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: $695 in Bucharest versus $1,232 in Sarpsborg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,337 per month in Bucharest versus $2,841 in Sarpsborg – a 112% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 258% less than in Sarpsborg. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $2,841 in Sarpsborg, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Sarpsborg. 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 Sarpsborg 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 112% less than in Sarpsborg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.