Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Skien

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,336 in Skien, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 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
113

Cost of Living Index in Skien
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Skien Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Skien

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,336

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Skien

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,336 in Skien.

Bucharest $1,340
Skien $2,336

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $3,267 in Skien.

Bucharest $2,037
Skien $3,267

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $4,197 in Skien.

Bucharest $2,734
Skien $4,197

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 43% less than in Skien, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Skien is 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$21.21 NOK 200

-31.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$103 NOK 971

-43.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$15.47 NOK 146

-51.65%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$5.11 NOK 48.11

-32.68%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$4.36 NOK 41.01

-45.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$2.97 NOK 27.96

-22.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$11.89 NOK 112

-68.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$12.33 NOK 116

-66.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$2.11 NOK 19.84

-20.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$3.92 NOK 36.90

-65.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$4.57 NOK 42.98

-62.36%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$5.66 NOK 53.3

-35.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$13.16 NOK 124

-31.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$15.17 NOK 143

-54.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$21.79 NOK 205

-44.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.35 NOK 31.49

-63.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.70 NOK 25.42

-39.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.49 NOK 32.86

-55.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$5.95 NOK 56.0

-57.31%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$2.24 NOK 21.04

-64.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$2.78 NOK 26.12

-72.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$3.04 NOK 28.63

-71.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$2.48 NOK 23.33

-60.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$19.02 NOK 179

-66.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$15.76 NOK 148

-60.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$3.35 NOK 31.58

-64.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$4.33 NOK 40.76

-63.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$3.26 NOK 30.64

-73.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$47.91 NOK 451

-55.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$11.13 NOK 105

-94.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.81 NOK 17.02

-66.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$70.8 NOK 667

-90.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.27 NOK 21.39

-13.66%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$47.5K NOK 447.3K

-38.97%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$43.4K NOK 408.1K

-38.56%

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

$196 RON 927

$93.9 NOK 884

108.70%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$33.89 NOK 319

-76.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$53.6 NOK 504

-82.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$43.10 NOK 406

16.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$15.29 NOK 144

-46.70%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$239 NOK 2,247

163.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$15.7K NOK 148.1K

-10.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$63.7 NOK 600

40.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$60.4 NOK 568

-36.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$87.9 NOK 827

-9.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$153 NOK 1,442

-40.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,042 NOK 9,811

-34.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$975 NOK 9,183

-54.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,035 NOK 9,746

4.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$939 NOK 8,841

-22.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$3,395 NOK 32.0K

10.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$3,149 NOK 29.6K

-30.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$4,236 NOK 39.9K

-68.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.37

54.46%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Skien: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Skien

$975 41.8% 118% $527

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Skien

$391 16.7% 73.5% $166

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Skien

$470 20.1% 109% $245

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Skien

$181 7.8% 15% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Skien

$164 7% 22.7% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Skien

$74 3.2% 10.8% $7.2

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Skien

$81 3.5% 188% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $1,042 in Skien. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Skien pays 219% 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 $103 in Skien for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $470 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇳🇴 Skien

🕒 Local time

19:58 7:58 PM

18:58 6:58 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

56,769

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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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Between locations

Bucharest Skien 1,990 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Skien

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 Skien: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Skien differ by about 74% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $2,336 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 219% lower in Skien. 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 $1,042 in Skien. 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 $2,336 in Skien – a 74% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 127% less than in Skien. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,336 in Skien, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Skien. 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 Skien 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 74% less than in Skien. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.