Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Solothurn

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,728 in Solothurn, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 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
133

Cost of Living Index in Solothurn
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Solothurn Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Solothurn

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,728

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Solothurn

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,728 in Solothurn.

Bucharest $1,340
Solothurn $2,728

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $4,408 in Solothurn.

Bucharest $2,037
Solothurn $4,408

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $6,088 in Solothurn.

Bucharest $2,734
Solothurn $6,088

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 51% less than in Solothurn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Solothurn is 102% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$30.10 CHF 24.79

-51.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$143 CHF 118

-59.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$18.34 CHF 15.10

-59.21%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$6.40 CHF 5.27

-46.25%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$5.50 CHF 4.53

-56.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$5.11 CHF 4.21

-54.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$6.42 CHF 5.28

-42.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$5.95 CHF 4.90

-30.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$2.20 CHF 1.81

-24.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$3.71 CHF 3.05

-63.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$3.42 CHF 2.81

-49.71%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$8.35 CHF 6.88

-56.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$22.38 CHF 18.43

-59.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$26.23 CHF 21.61

-73.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$62.0 CHF 51.1

-80.65%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.80 CHF 2.30

-56.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.40 CHF 1.16

16.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.46 CHF 2.85

-54.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$4.31 CHF 3.55

-41.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.63 CHF 1.34

-51.53%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.74 CHF 1.44

-55.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.60 CHF 1.32

-45.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.95 CHF 0.78

4.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$10.83 CHF 8.92

-41.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$13.82 CHF 11.38

-55.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$2.76 CHF 2.27

-56.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.04 CHF 2.50

-48.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$4.77 CHF 3.93

-81.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$8.21 CHF 6.76

-92.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$4.66 CHF 3.84

-87.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$87.2 CHF 71.8

-92.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$2.26 CHF 1.86

-13.27%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$29.9K CHF 24.6K

-3.09%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$35.8K CHF 29.5K

-25.69%

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

$196 RON 927

$96.7 CHF 79.6

102.68%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$30.46 CHF 25.09

-73.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$54.5 CHF 44.86

-82.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$90.0 CHF 74.2

-44.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$16.71 CHF 13.76

51.59%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$17.70 CHF 14.57

-53.95%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$3,585 CHF 2,952

-82.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$19.6K CHF 16.1K

-27.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$142 CHF 117

-36.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$42.66 CHF 35.14

-10.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$162 CHF 134

-51.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$251 CHF 206

-63.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$1,132 CHF 933

-40.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$1,020 CHF 840

-56.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$1,823 CHF 1,501

-40.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$1,760 CHF 1,449

-58.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$9,738 CHF 8,021

-61.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$4,850 CHF 3,994

-54.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$6,725 CHF 5,538

-80.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

2.07

226.09%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Solothurn: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Solothurn

$1K 37.4% 128% $572

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Solothurn

$459 16.8% 104% $234

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Solothurn

$622 22.8% 176% $397

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Solothurn

$182 6.7% 14.9% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Solothurn

$269 9.9% 101% $135

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Solothurn

$125 4.6% 88.5% $59

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Solothurn

$51 * 1.9% 79.3% $22

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 $678 in Bucharest and $1,132 in Solothurn. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Solothurn pays 406% 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 $143 in Solothurn for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $622 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇨🇭 Solothurn

🕒 Local time

06:15 6:15 AM

05:15 5:15 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

16,599

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Solothurn 1,470 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Solothurn

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 Solothurn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Solothurn differ by about 103% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $2,728 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 406% lower in Solothurn. 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 $1,132 in Solothurn. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 176% higher in Solothurn. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $2,728 in Solothurn – a 103% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,728 in Solothurn, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Solothurn. 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 Solothurn 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 103% less than in Solothurn. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.