Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Ystad

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,354 a month against $1,646 in Ystad, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
79

Cost of Living Index in Ystad
Learn more

Ystad Living Index

Jump to prices

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Ystad

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Ystad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,354 in Bucharest versus $1,646 in Ystad.

Bucharest $1,354
Ystad $1,646

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,043 in Bucharest versus $2,592 in Ystad.

Bucharest $2,043
Ystad $2,592

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,733 in Bucharest versus $3,538 in Ystad.

Bucharest $2,733
Ystad $3,538

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 18% less than in Ystad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.66 RON 70.5

$12.15 SEK 121

20.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.7 RON 277

$86.1 SEK 857

-33.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 RON 36.14

$10.23 SEK 102

-26.49%

Cappuccino

$3.56 RON 17.09

$3.06 SEK 30.48

16.34%

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

$2.47 RON 11.88

$2.98 SEK 29.66

-17.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.50

$2.27 SEK 22.57

-3.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 RON 17.73

$6.99 SEK 69.6

-47.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 RON 20.57

$7.39 SEK 73.5

-42.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 8.04

$1.71 SEK 16.98

-2.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.49

$2.80 SEK 27.86

-51.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.53

$3.15 SEK 31.31

-43.49%

Eggs

$3.56 RON 17.12

$3.10 SEK 30.82

14.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.12 RON 43.86

$11.51 SEK 115

-20.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.82 RON 32.77

$8.84 SEK 88.0

-22.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.13 RON 58.3

$16.46 SEK 164

-26.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.08

$2.99 SEK 29.76

-57.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.80

$2.44 SEK 24.32

-33.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.49

$2.93 SEK 29.20

-46.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.21

$4.52 SEK 44.94

-43.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.76

$1.54 SEK 15.36

-49.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.72

$1.70 SEK 16.87

-54.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 RON 4.27

$1.96 SEK 19.46

-54.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 RON 4.32

$1.66 SEK 16.50

-45.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 RON 31.49

$8.19 SEK 81.5

-20.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.37 RON 30.60

$12.05 SEK 120

-47.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 RON 5.98

$2.05 SEK 20.39

-39.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 RON 7.80

$2.28 SEK 22.73

-28.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 RON 4.11

$3.36 SEK 33.42

-74.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 RON 99.6

$79.1 SEK 787

-73.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.95

$6.05 SEK 60.2

-89.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.95

$1.74 SEK 17.31

-64.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.16 RON 29.62

$59.2 SEK 589

-89.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 RON 9.60

$1.77 SEK 17.61

12.99%

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

$27.9K RON 134.4K

$29.9K SEK 297.7K

-6.57%

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

$25.3K RON 121.7K

$33.3K SEK 331.4K

-23.95%

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

$192 RON 923

$105 SEK 1,044

83.12%

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

$7.92 RON 38.06

$19.69 SEK 196

-59.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.96 RON 43.06

$30.14 SEK 300

-70.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.99 RON 240

$37.44 SEK 373

33.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 RON 119

$26.36 SEK 262

-5.88%

Cinema Ticket

$8.51 RON 40.90

$12.15 SEK 121

-29.96%

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

$686 RON 3,297

$180 SEK 1,789

281.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K RON 69.3K

$4,351 SEK 43.3K

231.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.2 RON 434

$51.3 SEK 510

75.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 RON 186

$33.38 SEK 332

16.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 RON 379

$87.4 SEK 870

-9.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 RON 443

$133 SEK 1,328

-31.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$711 RON 3,419

$792 SEK 7,883

-10.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 RON 2,220

$612 SEK 6,096

-24.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 5,064

$1,354 SEK 13.5K

-22.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 RON 3,474

$1,023 SEK 10.2K

-29.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 RON 17.5K

$4,023 SEK 40.0K

-9.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,173 RON 10.4K

$2,767 SEK 27.5K

-21.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,508

$1,881 SEK 18.7K

-28.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

3.06

120.59%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ystad: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$462 34.1%

Ystad

$612 37.2% 32.6% $151

Eating Out

Bucharest

$228 16.9%

Ystad

$235 14.3% 3.2% $7.3

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.6%

Ystad

$337 20.5% 49.8% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$209 15.4%

Ystad

$155 9.4% 26% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$135 10%

Ystad

$137 8.4% 1.9% $2.5

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Ystad

$62 3.8% 7.9% $5.3

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Ystad

$107 6.5% 286% $79

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $711 in Bucharest and $792 in Ystad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ystad pays 39% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Bucharest vs $86 in Ystad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $337 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇸🇪 Ystad

🕒 Local time

12:58 12:58 PM

11:58 11:58 AM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

18,350

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 SEK = 10.05 USD

100 SEK = 9.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.95 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.08 SEK (100 SEK = 9.03 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucharest Ystad 1,500 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Ystad

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 Ystad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Ystad differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,354 vs $1,646 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Bucharest. 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: $711 in Bucharest versus $792 in Ystad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,354 per month in Bucharest versus $1,646 in Ystad – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 74% less than in Ystad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Bucharest gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Ystad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.