Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Veldhoven

For one person, living is cheaper in Veldhoven: $1,215 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Veldhoven
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Veldhoven Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Veldhoven

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$1,215

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Veldhoven

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,351 in Bucharest versus $1,215 in Veldhoven.

Bucharest $1,351
Veldhoven $1,215

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,033 in Bucharest versus $2,792 in Veldhoven.

Bucharest $2,033
Veldhoven $2,792

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,715 in Bucharest versus $4,368 in Veldhoven.

Bucharest $2,715
Veldhoven $4,368

Living in Bucharest is roughly 11% more expensive than in Veldhoven, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% above, Veldhoven is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.46 RON 68.4

$24.90 €22.22

-41.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 273

$77.2 €68.9

-25.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.50 RON 35.46

$14.14 €12.62

-46.96%

Cappuccino

$3.43 RON 16.20

$4.53 €4.04

-24.28%

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

$2.46 RON 11.63

$3.91 €3.49

-37.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$3.67 €3.28

-36.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

$5.69 €5.08

-33.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

$5.69 €5.07

-27.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 RON 7.79

$1.39 €1.24

18.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

$1.98 €1.76

-31.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$2.29 €2.04

-22.27%

Eggs

$3.66 RON 17.33

$4.32 €3.85

-15.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 RON 40.54

$13.31 €11.88

-35.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 RON 32.17

$12.91 €11.52

-47.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 RON 55.4

$15.59 €13.91

-24.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.11

$2.74 €2.44

-52.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.37

$2.46 €2.20

-36.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

$1.87 €1.66

-17.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

$3.36 €3.00

-26.19%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

$1.52 €1.36

-45.39%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

$1.37 €1.22

-41.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

$1.27 €1.14

-33.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

$0.75 €0.67

24.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 RON 30.45

$14.18 €12.65

-54.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

$6.91 €6.17

-8.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

$1.52 €1.36

-17.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$2.60 €2.32

-38.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$3.62 €3.23

-83.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

$2.96 €2.64

-79.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

$39.67 €35.40

-84.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

$2.52 €2.25

-22.22%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$41.7K €37.2K

-32.49%

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

$26.3K RON 124.3K

$39.4K €35.2K

-33.32%

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

$197 RON 931

$199 €178

-1.23%

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

$8.34 RON 39.44

$22.42 €20.01

-62.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.19 RON 43.47

$42.59 €38.01

-78.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.87 RON 236

$51.0 €45.50

-2.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.99 RON 118

Cinema Ticket

$8.46 RON 40.01

$15.32 €13.67

-44.78%

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

$639 RON 3,023

$2,779 €2,480

-77.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 68.1K

$8,792 €7,846

63.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

$98.4 €87.8

-7.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

$43.52 €38.84

-12.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

$107 €95.6

-25.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

$133 €119

-29.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 RON 2,123

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 RON 5,195

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 RON 3,448

$1,660 €1,481

-56.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,740 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,189 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

$4,410 €3,936

-70.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

3.8

77.37%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Last update for Veldhoven: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Veldhoven

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Veldhoven

$366 30.2% 62.2% $140

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Veldhoven

$312 25.7% 40.8% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$214 16%

Veldhoven

$264 21.8% 23.3% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Veldhoven

$172 14.2% 26.7% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Veldhoven

$82 6.7% 22.2% $15

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Veldhoven

$18 * 1.5% 34.4% $9.6

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

Cost Breakdown

Veldhoven pays 233% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $58.0 in Bucharest vs $77.0 in Veldhoven for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $312 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇳🇱 Veldhoven

🕒 Local time

15:34 3:34 PM

14:34 2:34 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

45,466

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Veldhoven 1,720 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Veldhoven

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 Veldhoven: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Veldhoven differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($1,351 vs $1,215 including rent). Veldhoven is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 233% lower in Veldhoven. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Shoppers in Bucharest pay roughly 41% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,351 per month in Bucharest versus $1,215 in Veldhoven – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,215 in Veldhoven versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Veldhoven but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Veldhoven 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 Veldhoven 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 Veldhoven gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.