Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Skovde

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $1,791 in Skovde, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Skovde
Learn more

Skovde Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Skovde

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,791

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Skovde

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,791 in Skovde.

Bucharest $1,337
Skovde $1,791

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $2,796 in Skovde.

Bucharest $2,029
Skovde $2,796

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $3,801 in Skovde.

Bucharest $2,721
Skovde $3,801

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 25% less than in Skovde, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Skovde is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.45 RON 68.4

$13.15 SEK 130

9.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$82.2 SEK 814

-29.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 RON 35.65

$10.25 SEK 102

-26.54%

Cappuccino

$3.45 RON 16.33

$4.14 SEK 41.06

-16.67%

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

$2.46 RON 11.65

$3.04 SEK 30.12

-19.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 RON 10.54

$2.33 SEK 23.09

-4.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.76 RON 17.78

$8.12 SEK 80.5

-53.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.19 RON 19.84

$10.05 SEK 99.6

-58.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 RON 7.67

$1.40 SEK 13.84

15.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 RON 6.13

$2.86 SEK 28.30

-54.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 RON 8.05

$4.59 SEK 45.50

-62.96%

Eggs

$3.79 RON 17.93

$3.58 SEK 35.49

5.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 RON 41.90

$10.08 SEK 99.9

-12.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.90 RON 32.67

$12.86 SEK 127

-46.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.14 RON 57.4

$17.98 SEK 178

-32.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.17

$4.13 SEK 40.94

-68.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.55

$2.67 SEK 26.48

-40.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.42

$3.66 SEK 36.23

-57.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 RON 12.67

$5.17 SEK 51.2

-48.16%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 RON 3.82

$1.52 SEK 15.10

-46.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.73

$1.76 SEK 17.44

-55.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$2.66 SEK 26.36

-65.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.58

$1.33 SEK 13.17

-27.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 RON 30.34

$8.00 SEK 79.3

-19.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 RON 29.24

$8.20 SEK 81.2

-24.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.83

$2.42 SEK 23.95

-49.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 RON 7.91

$2.62 SEK 25.93

-36.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.10

$3.61 SEK 35.73

-75.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.98 RON 99.3

$84.5 SEK 838

-75.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.10

$5.55 SEK 55.0

-88.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.85

$1.29 SEK 12.76

-53.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 RON 29.28

$62.5 SEK 620

-90.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 RON 9.15

$1.77 SEK 17.54

9.04%

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

$28.7K RON 135.9K

$33.1K SEK 327.9K

-13.17%

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

$26.3K RON 124.6K

$33.6K SEK 332.6K

-21.56%

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

$196 RON 926

$113 SEK 1,122

72.70%

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

$8.49 RON 40.19

$11.00 SEK 109

-22.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.05 RON 42.84

$47.37 SEK 469

-80.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.54 RON 234

$38.41 SEK 381

28.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.03 RON 118

$27.31 SEK 271

-8.35%

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 RON 39.01

$18.25 SEK 181

-54.85%

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

$636 RON 3,007

$129 SEK 1,274

394.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K RON 69.0K

$4,654 SEK 46.1K

213.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 419

$107 SEK 1,065

-17.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 RON 183

$30.76 SEK 305

26.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 RON 373

$61.6 SEK 611

27.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 RON 428

$205 SEK 2,032

-55.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 RON 3,288

$793 SEK 7,853

-12.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$446 RON 2,109

$615 SEK 6,089

-27.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,084 RON 5,130

$1,336 SEK 13.2K

-18.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 RON 3,368

$1,014 SEK 10.0K

-29.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,797 RON 18.0K

$4,079 SEK 40.4K

-6.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 RON 10.4K

$2,821 SEK 28.0K

-21.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,406

$3,350 SEK 33.2K

-59.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

125.00%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Skovde: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$446 33.3%

Skovde

$615 34.3% 37.9% $169

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.9%

Skovde

$268 15% 18.8% $42

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.9%

Skovde

$369 20.6% 63.8% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Skovde

$172 9.6% 19.5% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$133 10%

Skovde

$182 10.2% 36.5% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$66 4.9%

Skovde

$75 4.2% 13.4% $8.9

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Skovde

$111 6.2% 295% $83

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $695 in Bucharest and $793 in Skovde. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Skovde pays 147% 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 $82.0 in Skovde for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $369 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Skovde

🕒 Local time

22:09 10:09 PM

21:09 9:09 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

34,466

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Skovde 1,760 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Skovde

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 Skovde: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Skovde differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $1,791 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 147% lower in Skovde. 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 $793 in Skovde. 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 $1,791 in Skovde – a 34% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 303% less than in Skovde. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,791 in Skovde, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Skovde. 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 Skovde 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 34% less than in Skovde. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.