Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Sisak

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $1,484 in Sisak, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Sisak despite lower rent and utilities.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Sisak
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Sisak Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Sisak

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,484

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Sisak

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,484 in Sisak.

Bucharest $1,337
Sisak $1,484

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $2,292 in Sisak.

Bucharest $2,029
Sisak $2,292

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $3,101 in Sisak.

Bucharest $2,721
Sisak $3,101

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 10% less than in Sisak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Sisak is 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.45 RON 68.4

$14.54 €12.93

-0.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$68.1 €60.6

-14.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 RON 35.65

$9.02 €8.02

-16.52%

Cappuccino

$3.45 RON 16.33

$2.47 €2.20

39.68%

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

$2.46 RON 11.65

$2.99 €2.66

-17.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 RON 10.54

$2.11 €1.87

5.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.76 RON 17.78

$3.32 €2.96

13.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 RON 19.84

$4.56 €4.06

-8.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 RON 7.67

$1.11 €0.98

45.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 RON 6.13

$1.10 €0.98

18.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.05

$2.23 €1.98

-23.77%

Eggs

$3.79 RON 17.93

$3.94 €3.50

-3.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 RON 41.90

$11.02 €9.80

-19.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.90 RON 32.67

$10.78 €9.59

-35.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.14 RON 57.4

$19.01 €16.91

-36.14%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$1.93 €1.72

-32.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.55

$1.89 €1.68

-15.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.42

$2.22 €1.97

-29.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 RON 12.67

$2.62 €2.33

2.29%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.82

$1.38 €1.23

-41.30%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.73

$1.34 €1.19

-41.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$1.29 €1.14

-29.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.58

$1.26 €1.12

-23.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 RON 30.34

$5.46 €4.86

17.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 RON 29.24

$8.06 €7.17

-23.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.83

$1.86 €1.66

-33.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 RON 7.91

$2.49 €2.21

-32.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.98 RON 99.3

$136 €121

-84.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.10

$3.37 €3.00

-80.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.85

$2.27 €2.02

-73.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$21.77 €19.37

-71.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.15

$1.80 €1.60

7.22%

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

$28.7K RON 135.9K

$26.2K €23.3K

9.52%

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

$26.3K RON 124.6K

$26.2K €23.3K

0.63%

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

$196 RON 926

$152 €135

28.81%

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

$8.49 RON 40.19

$22.42 €19.94

-62.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.05 RON 42.84

$40.04 €35.61

-77.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.54 RON 234

$34.26 €30.48

44.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.03 RON 118

$15.61 €13.88

60.35%

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 RON 39.01

$10.87 €9.67

-24.20%

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

$636 RON 3,007

$245 €218

159.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K RON 69.0K

$2,808 €2,498

419.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 419

$99.2 €88.2

-10.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 RON 183

$33.77 €30.03

14.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 RON 373

$90.4 €80.4

-12.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 428

$113 €101

-20.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 RON 3,288

$498 €443

39.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 RON 2,109

$401 €357

11.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 RON 5,130

$790 €703

37.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 RON 3,368

$633 €563

12.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,797 RON 18.0K

$2,577 €2,292

47.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 RON 10.4K

$1,812 €1,612

21.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,406

$1,082 €962

25.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.54

90.68%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sisak: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$446 33.3%

Sisak

$401 27.1% 9.9% $44

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.9%

Sisak

$219 14.8% 2.8% $6.4

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.9%

Sisak

$291 19.6% 29.1% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Sisak

$214 14.4% 0.5% $1.2

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$133 10%

Sisak

$152 10.2% 13.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$66 4.9%

Sisak

$56 3.8% 15.2% $10

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Sisak

$150 * 10.1% 435% $122

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Bucharest and $498 in Sisak. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 25% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $68.0 in Sisak for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $291 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇭🇷 Sisak

🕒 Local time

20:03 8:03 PM

19:03 7:03 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

40,121

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 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 October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Sisak 770 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Sisak

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 Sisak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Sisak differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $1,484 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 25% higher in Bucharest, 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: $695 in Bucharest versus $498 in Sisak. 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 $1,484 in Sisak – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 547% less than in Sisak. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,484 in Sisak, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Sisak. 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 Sisak 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 11% less than in Sisak. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.