Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Solna

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,760 in Solna, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 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
85

Cost of Living Index in Solna
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Solna Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Solna

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,760

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Solna

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,760 in Solna.

Bucharest $1,340
Solna $1,760

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $2,721 in Solna.

Bucharest $2,037
Solna $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $3,682 in Solna.

Bucharest $2,734
Solna $3,682

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 24% less than in Solna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Solna is 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$14.11 SEK 140

2.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$66.0 SEK 653

-11.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$11.19 SEK 111

-33.15%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$4.74 SEK 46.94

-27.43%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$2.26 SEK 22.44

4.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$1.42 SEK 14.10

61.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$7.48 SEK 74.1

-50.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$7.32 SEK 72.5

-43.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$1.38 SEK 13.71

21.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$2.54 SEK 25.13

-46.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$3.51 SEK 34.82

-51.00%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.88 SEK 38.47

-6.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$9.11 SEK 90.2

-0.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$12.75 SEK 126

-46.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$21.97 SEK 218

-45.38%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.18 SEK 31.53

-61.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.03 SEK 20.08

-19.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.45 SEK 24.29

-35.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$2.92 SEK 28.93

-13.01%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.47 SEK 14.54

-46.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.87 SEK 18.49

-58.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$2.11 SEK 20.94

-58.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$1.02 SEK 10.09

-2.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$7.38 SEK 73.1

-14.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$13.19 SEK 131

-52.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.37 SEK 13.57

-13.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.20 SEK 21.82

-28.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$4.17 SEK 41.30

-79.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$95.7 SEK 948

-77.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$3.56 SEK 35.24

-82.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$2.51 SEK 24.83

-76.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$80.4 SEK 796

-92.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.80 SEK 17.87

8.89%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$33.4K SEK 330.5K

-13.05%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$32.4K SEK 320.9K

-17.75%

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

$196 RON 927

$103 SEK 1,022

89.93%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$22.72 SEK 225

-64.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$40.38 SEK 400

-76.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$37.85 SEK 375

32.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$26.05 SEK 258

-2.76%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$14.67 SEK 145

-44.44%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$152 SEK 1,505

313.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,015 SEK 49.7K

180.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$105 SEK 1,039

-14.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$40.38 SEK 400

-5.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$86.8 SEK 860

-8.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$135 SEK 1,334

-32.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$794 SEK 7,869

-14.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$619 SEK 6,132

-27.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,354 SEK 13.4K

-20.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,032 SEK 10.2K

-29.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$6,838 SEK 67.7K

-45.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$2,815 SEK 27.9K

-22.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$3,500 SEK 34.7K

-62.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.53

91.22%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Solna: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Solna

$619 35.2% 38% $171

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Solna

$270 15.3% 19.9% $45

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Solna

$345 19.6% 53.2% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Solna

$166 9.4% 22.1% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Solna

$165 9.4% 23.2% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Solna

$67 3.8% 1% $0.7

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Solna

$128 7.3% 355% $100

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $794 in Solna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Solna pays 163% 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 $66.0 in Solna for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $345 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Solna

🕒 Local time

11:16 11:16 AM

10:16 10:16 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

85,540

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Solna 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Solna

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 Solna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Solna differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,760 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 163% lower in Solna. 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 $794 in Solna. 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 $1,760 in Solna – a 31% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 353% less than in Solna. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,760 in Solna, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Solna. 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 Solna 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 31% less than in Solna. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.