Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Taby

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $2,122 in Taby, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Bucharest
🇷🇴 Romania
$1,337
/mo nomad
Taby
🇸🇪 Sweden
$2,122
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Taby

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,337 in Bucharest versus $2,122 in Taby.

  • Bucharest $1,337
  • Taby $2,122

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,029 in Bucharest versus $3,043 in Taby.

  • Bucharest $2,029
  • Taby $3,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,721 in Bucharest versus $3,964 in Taby.

  • Bucharest $2,721
  • Taby $3,964

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 37% less than in Taby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Taby is 57% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$14.45 RON 68.4
$13.66 SEK 135
5.78%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$58.1 RON 275
$65.8 SEK 652
-11.80%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.53 RON 35.65
$10.09 SEK 100.0
-25.37%
Cappuccino
$3.45 RON 16.33
$4.28 SEK 42.41
-19.39%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.46 RON 11.65
$3.58 SEK 35.48
-31.28%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.23 RON 10.54
$2.34 SEK 23.19
-4.70%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.76 RON 17.78
$6.95 SEK 68.9
-45.90%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.19 RON 19.84
$8.79 SEK 87.1
-52.33%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.62 RON 7.67
$1.70 SEK 16.83
-4.71%
White Bread (500g)
$1.30 RON 6.13
$3.02 SEK 29.90
-56.95%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.70 RON 8.05
$3.91 SEK 38.75
-56.52%
Eggs
$3.79 RON 17.93
$5.20 SEK 51.5
-27.12%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.86 RON 41.90
$12.81 SEK 127
-30.84%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.90 RON 32.67
$12.82 SEK 127
-46.18%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.14 RON 57.4
$17.59 SEK 174
-30.98%
Apples (1kg)
$1.30 RON 6.17
$3.13 SEK 31.05
-58.47%
Banana (1kg)
$1.60 RON 7.55
$2.62 SEK 25.97
-38.93%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.57 RON 7.42
$1.97 SEK 19.52
-20.30%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.68 RON 12.67
$4.50 SEK 44.60
-40.44%
Potato (1kg)
$0.81 RON 3.82
$1.70 SEK 16.88
-52.35%
Onion (1kg)
$0.79 RON 3.73
$1.80 SEK 17.80
-56.11%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.91 RON 4.30
$2.33 SEK 23.13
-60.94%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.97 RON 4.58
$1.90 SEK 18.87
-48.95%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.41 RON 30.34
$7.00 SEK 69.4
-8.43%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.18 RON 29.24
$12.21 SEK 121
-49.39%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.23 RON 5.83
$1.90 SEK 18.84
-35.26%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.67 RON 7.91
$2.21 SEK 21.90
-24.43%
🚌 Getting Around
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.87 RON 4.10
$4.17 SEK 41.32
-79.14%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$20.98 RON 99.3
$101 SEK 1,002
-79.25%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.66 RON 3.10
$5.87 SEK 58.1
-88.76%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.60 RON 2.85
$1.55 SEK 15.38
-61.29%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$6.19 RON 29.28
$57.4 SEK 569
-89.22%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.93 RON 9.15
$1.84 SEK 18.22
4.89%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.7K RON 135.9K
$33.3K SEK 330.3K
-13.82%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.3K RON 124.6K
$32.7K SEK 324.2K
-19.53%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$196 RON 926
$177 SEK 1,758
10.23%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$8.49 RON 40.19
$27.61 SEK 274
-69.25%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$9.05 RON 42.84
$40.66 SEK 403
-77.74%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$49.54 RON 234
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$25.03 RON 118
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$8.24 RON 39.01
$17.11 SEK 170
-51.84%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$636 RON 3,007
$156 SEK 1,543
308.03%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$14.6K RON 69.0K
$16.3K SEK 161.4K
-10.51%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$88.5 RON 419
$98.0 SEK 971
-9.67%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.77 RON 183
$53.0 SEK 526
-26.90%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$78.8 RON 373
$94.4 SEK 935
-16.58%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$90.6 RON 428
$183 SEK 1,813
-50.50%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$695 RON 3,288
$1,023 SEK 10.1K
-32.09%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$446 RON 2,109
$870 SEK 8,625
-48.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,084 RON 5,130
$1,411 SEK 14.0K
-23.16%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$712 RON 3,368
$1,189 SEK 11.8K
-40.15%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,797 RON 18.0K
$5,994 SEK 59.4K
-36.66%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,202 RON 10.4K
$6,951 SEK 68.9K
-68.32%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Bucharest
Taby
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,354 RON 6,406
$3,306 SEK 32.8K
-59.04%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6.75
2.8
141.07%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Last update for Taby: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Bucharest
$446
Taby
$870 95.3% $425
Eating Out
Bucharest
$226
Taby
$267 18.4% $41
Groceries & Markets
Bucharest
$225
Taby
$380 68.5% $154
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bucharest
$213
Taby
$246 15.3% $33
Clothing & Footwear
Bucharest
$133
Taby
$193 44.4% $59
Sport & Entertainment
Bucharest
$66
Taby
$34 * 48.2% $32
Getting Around
Bucharest
$28
Taby
$131 367% $103

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 $695 in Bucharest and $1,023 in Taby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taby pays 144% 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 Taby 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
🇸🇪 Taby
🕒 Local time
00:06 12:06 AM
23:06 11:06 PM
1 h behind Bucharest
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,883,425 Capital
58,123
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Bucharest Taby 1,760 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Bucharest
  • Taby

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 Taby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Bucharest and in Taby?
Bucharest and Taby differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($1,337 vs $2,122 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 144% lower in Taby. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How do apartment prices compare in Bucharest and in Taby?
Rent for a central apartment: $695 in Bucharest versus $1,023 in Taby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city is more expensive overall: Bucharest or Taby?
All in, you'll spend $1,337 per month in Bucharest versus $2,122 in Taby – a 59% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
How do commuting costs compare in Bucharest and in Taby?
A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 382% less than in Taby. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $2,122 in Taby, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Taby. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Bucharest and Taby?
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.
Is Bucharest or Taby safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Bucharest and Taby are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Where should expats move: Bucharest or Taby?
Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Taby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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