Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Settat

For one person, living is cheaper in Settat: $665 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Settat
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Settat Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Settat

🇲🇦 Morocco

$665

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Settat

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Bucharest versus $665 in Settat.

Bucharest $1,371
Settat $665

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,067 in Bucharest versus $1,048 in Settat.

Bucharest $2,067
Settat $1,048

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,764 in Bucharest versus $1,430 in Settat.

Bucharest $2,764
Settat $1,430

Living in Bucharest is roughly 106% more expensive than in Settat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.51 RON 69.0

$3.71 MAD 36.13

291.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 RON 291

$30.88 MAD 301

98.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 RON 35.50

$6.22 MAD 60.6

19.94%

Cappuccino

$3.64 RON 17.33

$1.04 MAD 10.18

250.00%

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

$2.62 RON 12.44

$0.41 MAD 4.02

539.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 RON 11.24

$0.30 MAD 2.92

686.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.78 RON 18.00

$1.20 MAD 11.73

215.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.54

$5.34 MAD 52.1

-23.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 RON 7.90

$0.80 MAD 7.76

107.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 RON 6.64

$0.84 MAD 8.19

66.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 RON 8.54

$1.51 MAD 14.73

18.54%

Eggs

$3.63 RON 17.27

$1.89 MAD 18.41

92.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 RON 42.43

$7.62 MAD 74.3

17.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.86 RON 32.65

$4.92 MAD 47.94

39.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.99 RON 57.0

$11.19 MAD 109

7.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$1.54 MAD 15.01

-15.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.77

$1.34 MAD 13.10

21.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.10

$0.87 MAD 8.52

71.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.09

$0.77 MAD 7.46

229.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$0.70 MAD 6.83

15.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$0.81 MAD 7.88

-1.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 RON 4.07

$0.23 MAD 2.23

273.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$0.53 MAD 5.15

77.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 RON 31.42

$4.02 MAD 39.18

64.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.33 RON 30.11

$7.68 MAD 74.9

-17.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.64

$2.28 MAD 22.25

-47.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 RON 7.54

$3.36 MAD 32.72

-52.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 RON 4.64

$0.49 MAD 4.77

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.5

$20.02 MAD 195

4.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.79 MAD 7.68

-24.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.93

$0.59 MAD 5.73

5.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.28

$7.01 MAD 68.4

-9.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 RON 9.63

$1.46 MAD 14.26

38.36%

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

$28.2K RON 134.1K

$29.9K MAD 291.7K

-5.76%

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

$26.3K RON 125.0K

$30.4K MAD 296.0K

-13.47%

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

$196 RON 933

$20.68 MAD 202

848.65%

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

$8.60 RON 40.89

$4.97 MAD 48.44

73.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.20 RON 43.74

$35.89 MAD 350

-74.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 RON 243

$18.78 MAD 183

171.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.04 RON 119

$20.38 MAD 199

22.87%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 RON 39.31

$6.33 MAD 61.7

30.49%

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

$681 RON 3,237

$97.4 MAD 949

599.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K RON 89.1K

$5,780 MAD 56.3K

224.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 444

$31.08 MAD 303

200.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.87 RON 190

$44.94 MAD 438

-11.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

$80.3 MAD 783

-0.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 431

$79.6 MAD 776

13.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 RON 3,477

$282 MAD 2,749

159.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 RON 2,234

$181 MAD 1,768

159.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 RON 5,282

$449 MAD 4,375

147.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 RON 3,435

$273 MAD 2,659

164.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,749 RON 17.8K

$1,270 MAD 12.4K

195.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,233 RON 10.6K

$858 MAD 8,368

160.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,365 RON 6,494

$200 MAD 1,947

583.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.5

50.00%

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

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Last update for Settat: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$470 34.3%

Settat

$181 27.3% 61.4% $288

Eating Out

Bucharest

$229 16.7%

Settat

$80 12.1% 64.9% $149

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.4%

Settat

$179 26.8% 20.6% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 15.6%

Settat

$62 9.3% 71.2% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$137 10%

Settat

$106 16% 22.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$68 4.9%

Settat

$31 4.7% 53.5% $36

Getting Around

Bucharest

$29 2.1%

Settat

$26 3.9% 9.8% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $731 in Bucharest and $282 in Settat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Bucharest vs $31 in Settat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $179 per month, with Settat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇲🇦 Settat

🕒 Local time

20:23 8:23 PM

18:23 6:23 PM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

142,250

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.95 MAD (100 MAD = 9.13 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Settat 3,160 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Settat

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 Settat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,371 in Bucharest and $665 in Settat, so Settat is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bucharest is about 6.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $731 in Bucharest versus $282 in Settat. 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 $665 in Settat – Settat is about 51% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Settat runs roughly 4% less than in Bucharest. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $665 in Settat versus $1,371 in Bucharest, a $800 budget is realistic in Settat but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Settat 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.

Expats usually find Settat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.