Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Tlemcen

For one person, living is cheaper in Tlemcen: $396 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in Tlemcen
Learn more

Tlemcen Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Tlemcen

🇩🇿 Algeria

$396

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Tlemcen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $396 in Tlemcen.

Bucharest $1,340
Tlemcen $396

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $716 in Tlemcen.

Bucharest $2,037
Tlemcen $716

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $1,037 in Tlemcen.

Bucharest $2,734
Tlemcen $1,037

Living in Bucharest is roughly 239% more expensive than in Tlemcen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Tlemcen 71% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$3.22 DZD 431

350.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$10.09 DZD 1,350

475.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$3.94 DZD 527

89.85%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$0.64 DZD 85.7

437.50%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.66 DZD 88.7

259.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.50 DZD 67.1

360.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$1.14 DZD 152

224.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$2.17 DZD 290

91.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$0.87 DZD 117

91.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.13 DZD 17.21

953.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$0.97 DZD 130

77.32%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$1.48 DZD 198

145.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$9.46 DZD 1,267

-4.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$3.32 DZD 445

106.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$8.91 DZD 1,193

34.68%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.82 DZD 378

-56.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$2.70 DZD 361

-39.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.36 DZD 182

15.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$0.93 DZD 124

173.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.82 DZD 110

-3.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.70 DZD 93.9

10.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.61 DZD 81.5

42.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.39 DZD 52.1

153.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$1.60 DZD 214

294.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$10.15 DZD 1,359

-38.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$0.91 DZD 122

30.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.06 DZD 142

48.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.15 DZD 19.71

473.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.85 DZD 114

-24.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.34 DZD 44.91

76.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$2.28 DZD 306

182.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$0.31 DZD 41.16

532.26%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$16.0K DZD 2.1M

81.22%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$29.4K DZD 3.9M

-9.49%

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

$196 RON 927

$18.48 DZD 2,474

960.01%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$7.66 DZD 1,025

4.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$16.07 DZD 2,152

-41.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$4.61 DZD 617

76.79%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$38.63 DZD 5,171

1525.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$3,283 DZD 439.5K

329.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$33.18 DZD 4,442

170.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$53.1 DZD 7,112

-27.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$79.1 DZD 10.6K

0.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$82.6 DZD 11.1K

9.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$262 DZD 35.0K

313.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$151 DZD 20.2K

380.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

6.5

3.85%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Tlemcen: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Tlemcen

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Tlemcen

$60 15.1% 73.4% $165

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Tlemcen

$170 42.9% 24.5% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Tlemcen

$42 10.7% 80.2% $171

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Tlemcen

$112 28.2% 16.7% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Tlemcen

$9.2 * 2.3% 86.1% $57

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Tlemcen

$3.1 * 0.8% 88.9% $25

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $10.00 in Tlemcen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $170 per month, with Tlemcen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇩🇿 Tlemcen

🕒 Local time

18:53 6:53 PM

16:53 4:53 PM

2 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

140,158

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1,000 DZD = 7.47 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, 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).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 134 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.47 USD). 1 EUR = 151 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.64 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Tlemcen 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Tlemcen

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 Tlemcen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Tlemcen differ by about 239% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $396 including rent). Tlemcen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,011 in Bucharest and $594 in Tlemcen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Bucharest. 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 $396 in Tlemcen – a 239% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $396 in Tlemcen versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tlemcen but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Tlemcen 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 Tlemcen 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 Tlemcen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 239% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.