Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Skelleftea

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,961 in Skelleftea, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
96

Cost of Living Index in Skelleftea
Learn more

Skelleftea Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Skelleftea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,961

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Skelleftea

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,961 in Skelleftea.

Bucharest $1,340
Skelleftea $1,961

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,962 in Skelleftea.

Bucharest $2,037
Skelleftea $2,962

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $3,964 in Skelleftea.

Bucharest $2,734
Skelleftea $3,964

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 32% less than in Skelleftea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Skelleftea is 45% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$15.89 SEK 157

-8.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$78.2 SEK 775

-25.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$13.16 SEK 130

-43.16%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$4.65 SEK 46.09

-26.02%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.56 SEK 25.38

-7.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$2.30 SEK 22.75

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$7.88 SEK 78.1

-53.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$7.69 SEK 76.2

-45.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.59 SEK 15.76

5.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$2.47 SEK 24.43

-44.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$4.91 SEK 48.67

-64.97%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$5.14 SEK 51.0

-29.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$10.90 SEK 108

-16.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$10.78 SEK 107

-36.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$24.10 SEK 239

-50.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.17 SEK 31.45

-61.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.40 SEK 23.80

-32.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.07 SEK 30.42

-48.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$3.56 SEK 35.25

-28.65%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$2.24 SEK 22.17

-64.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.62 SEK 16.01

-52.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$2.28 SEK 22.58

-61.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.57 SEK 15.52

-36.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$7.34 SEK 72.8

-14.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$15.00 SEK 149

-58.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.71 SEK 16.90

-30.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.59 SEK 15.72

-1.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$2.78 SEK 27.53

-69.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$51.6 SEK 511

-59.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$7.83 SEK 77.6

-91.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.73 SEK 17.13

-65.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$58.9 SEK 583

-89.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.72 SEK 17.00

13.95%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$32.9K SEK 326.1K

-11.90%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$32.2K SEK 319.5K

-17.39%

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

$196 RON 927

$103 SEK 1,017

90.85%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$33.24 SEK 329

-75.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$51.7 SEK 513

-81.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$37.65 SEK 373

33.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$25.55 SEK 253

-0.86%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$14.79 SEK 147

-44.90%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$140 SEK 1,388

348.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,481 SEK 54.3K

156.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$94.8 SEK 940

-5.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$39.10 SEK 387

-1.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$78.9 SEK 781

0.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$153 SEK 1,515

-40.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,127 SEK 11.2K

-39.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$786 SEK 7,792

-42.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,588 SEK 15.7K

-31.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,195 SEK 11.8K

-39.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$4,005 SEK 39.7K

-6.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$2,822 SEK 28.0K

-22.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$2,556 SEK 25.3K

-47.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.9

73.08%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Skelleftea: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Skelleftea

$786 40.1% 75.4% $338

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Skelleftea

$297 15.1% 31.7% $71

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Skelleftea

$380 19.4% 68.7% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Skelleftea

$188 9.6% 12% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Skelleftea

$165 8.4% 22.9% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Skelleftea

$67 3.4% 1.1% $0.7

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Skelleftea

$79 4% 181% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $1,127 in Skelleftea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Skelleftea pays 92% 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 $78.0 in Skelleftea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $380 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Skelleftea

🕒 Local time

18:33 6:33 PM

17:33 5:33 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

32,775

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Skelleftea 2,280 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Skelleftea

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 Skelleftea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Skelleftea differ by about 46% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,961 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 92% lower in Skelleftea. 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $1,127 in Skelleftea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $1,961 in Skelleftea – a 46% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 145% less than in Skelleftea. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,961 in Skelleftea, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Skelleftea. 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 Skelleftea 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 46% less than in Skelleftea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.