Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Tongi

For one person, living is cheaper in Tongi: $329 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 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
16

Cost of Living Index in Tongi
Learn more

Tongi Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Tongi

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$329

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Tongi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $329 in Tongi.

Bucharest $1,340
Tongi $329

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $536 in Tongi.

Bucharest $2,037
Tongi $536

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $743 in Tongi.

Bucharest $2,734
Tongi $743

Living in Bucharest is roughly 308% more expensive than in Tongi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Tongi 76% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$2.08 ৳257

596.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$9.21 ৳1,137

530.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$4.29 ৳530

74.36%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.52 ৳311

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 ৳512

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$1.77 ৳219

94.35%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$0.34 ৳41.41

597.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.13 ৳15.66

1669.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$0.75 ৳92.7

122.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$0.49 ৳61.0

179.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$0.58 ৳71.7

196.55%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$1.16 ৳144

213.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$7.57 ৳935

19.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$2.21 ৳273

209.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$6.06 ৳749

98.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$2.51 ৳310

-51.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$0.78 ৳96.7

108.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.38 ৳294

-34.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$0.54 ৳66.2

370.37%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.25 ৳31.23

216.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.49 ৳61.2

57.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$0.49 ৳60.8

77.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.23 ৳28.27

330.43%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$7.46 ৳922

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.83 ৳350

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 ৳497

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$2.90 ৳358

117.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.46 ৳56.6

86.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$0.79 ৳97.4

-18.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.39 ৳47.78

53.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$2.92 ৳361

120.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.19 ৳147

64.71%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$32.5K ৳4.0M

-10.89%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$32.3K ৳4.0M

-17.54%

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

$196 RON 927

$29.47 ৳3,641

564.71%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$4.24 ৳523

89.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$8.04 ৳994

16.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$13.89 ৳1,716

261.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$3.61 ৳446

125.76%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$26.09 ৳3,223

2307.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$1,540 ৳190.3K

814.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$21.94 ৳2,711

308.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$23.70 ৳2,928

61.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$32.92 ৳4,068

140.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$34.47 ৳4,259

162.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$90.0 ৳11.1K

653.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$50.9 ৳6,287

781.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$167 ৳20.7K

546.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$117 ৳14.5K

518.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$671 ৳82.9K

458.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$103 ৳12.7K

1195.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

10.48

-35.59%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Tongi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Tongi

$51 15.5% 88.7% $397

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Tongi

$53 16% 76.7% $173

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Tongi

$107 32.6% 52.3% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Tongi

$42 12.7% 80.4% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Tongi

$51 15.5% 62% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Tongi

$21 6.4% 68.3% $45

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Tongi

$4.6 * 1.4% 83.9% $24

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 $90.0 in Tongi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 1195% 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 $9.00 in Tongi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $107 per month, with Tongi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇧🇩 Tongi

🕒 Local time

03:21 3:21 AM

06:21 6:21 AM

3 h ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

406,420

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, 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).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Tongi 6,170 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Tongi

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 Tongi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Tongi differ by about 308% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $329 including rent). Tongi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1195% higher in Bucharest, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $678 in Bucharest versus $90.0 in Tongi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 110% 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 $329 in Tongi – a 308% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $329 in Tongi versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tongi but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Tongi 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.

Expats usually find Tongi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 308% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.