Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Zhongli City

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhongli City: $993 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Zhongli City
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Zhongli City Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Zhongli City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$993

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Zhongli City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $993 in Zhongli City.

Bucharest $1,340
Zhongli City $993

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,675 in Zhongli City.

Bucharest $2,037
Zhongli City $1,675

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $2,357 in Zhongli City.

Bucharest $2,734
Zhongli City $2,357

Living in Bucharest is roughly 35% more expensive than in Zhongli City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucharest 1% lower, Zhongli City 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$4.62 NT$150

213.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$31.29 NT$1,015

85.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$4.77 NT$155

56.81%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$2.57 NT$83.4

33.85%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$1.03 NT$33.52

130.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$0.69 NT$22.35

233.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$1.61 NT$52.2

129.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$2.75 NT$89.1

51.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$3.18 NT$103

-47.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.74 NT$56.3

-21.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$2.71 NT$87.9

-36.53%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$2.60 NT$84.3

40.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$12.77 NT$414

-28.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$7.09 NT$230

-3.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$15.39 NT$499

-22.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$3.74 NT$121

-67.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.97 NT$63.8

-17.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$3.08 NT$99.9

-49.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$2.22 NT$72.1

14.41%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.23 NT$39.81

-35.77%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.90 NT$61.5

-59.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$2.44 NT$79.0

-64.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.85 NT$27.52

16.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$3.77 NT$122

67.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$15.45 NT$501

-59.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$1.55 NT$50.2

-23.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$2.55 NT$82.8

-38.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.61 NT$19.90

40.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$37.64 NT$1,221

-43.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$2.68 NT$86.8

-76.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.58 NT$18.72

3.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$9.61 NT$312

-33.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$0.97 NT$31.60

102.06%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$33.1K NT$1.1M

-12.31%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$23.3K NT$754.6K

14.47%

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

$196 RON 927

$106 NT$3,433

85.03%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$14.76 NT$479

-45.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$17.14 NT$556

-45.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$9.62 NT$312

-15.28%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$344 NT$11.1K

82.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$16.9K NT$546.5K

-16.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$72.1 NT$2,338

24.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$36.46 NT$1,182

5.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$55.0 NT$1,782

44.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$108 NT$3,505

-16.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$448 NT$14.5K

51.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$251 NT$8,125

78.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$874 NT$28.3K

23.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$716 NT$23.2K

1.26%

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

$2,288 NT$74.2K

-41.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

2.1

221.43%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Zhongli City: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Zhongli City

$251 25.2% 44.1% $198

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Zhongli City

$103 10.3% 54.5% $123

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Zhongli City

$315 31.8% 40.2% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Zhongli City

$138 13.9% 35.4% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Zhongli City

$122 12.3% 8.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Zhongli City

$19 * 1.9% 71.1% $47

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Zhongli City

$46 4.6% 61.9% $17

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 $448 in Zhongli City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhongli City pays 72% 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 $31.00 in Zhongli City. Groceries flip the comparison at $225 vs $315, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇹🇼 Zhongli City

🕒 Local time

03:15 3:15 AM

08:15 8:15 AM

5 h ahead of Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

396,453

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Zhongli City 8,480 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Zhongli City

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 Zhongli City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Zhongli City differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $993 including rent). Zhongli City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 72% lower in Zhongli City. 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: $678 in Bucharest versus $448 in Zhongli City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,340 per month in Bucharest versus $993 in Zhongli City – a 35% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Zhongli City runs roughly 78% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $993 in Zhongli City versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Zhongli City but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Zhongli City 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 Zhongli City 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 Zhongli City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.