Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucharest and Zielona Gora

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,430 in Zielona Gora, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Zielona Gora outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Zielona Gora
Learn more

Zielona Gora Living Index

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Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Zielona Gora

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,430

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bucharest and in Zielona Gora

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,430 in Zielona Gora.

Bucharest $1,340
Zielona Gora $1,430

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Bucharest versus $1,977 in Zielona Gora.

Bucharest $2,037
Zielona Gora $1,977

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,734 in Bucharest versus $2,524 in Zielona Gora.

Bucharest $2,734
Zielona Gora $2,524

Living in Bucharest costs roughly 6% less than in Zielona Gora, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bucharest is 1% below, Zielona Gora is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.49 RON 68.6

$10.20 zł 39.64

42.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.1 RON 275

$41.62 zł 162

39.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.40

$7.17 zł 27.85

4.32%

Cappuccino

$3.44 RON 16.29

$3.28 zł 12.73

4.88%

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

$2.37 RON 11.22

$1.47 zł 5.71

61.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RON 10.88

$1.51 zł 5.88

52.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 RON 17.51

$3.63 zł 14.10

1.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 RON 19.69

$2.61 zł 10.14

59.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 RON 7.90

$0.97 zł 3.77

72.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 RON 6.50

$1.43 zł 5.54

-4.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$0.94 zł 3.66

82.98%

Eggs

$3.64 RON 17.22

$3.48 zł 13.54

4.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 RON 42.98

$8.98 zł 34.88

1.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 RON 32.35

$4.30 zł 16.71

59.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.00 RON 56.8

$10.33 zł 40.15

16.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.80

$0.90 zł 3.51

36.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.45 zł 5.64

12.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.54 zł 5.98

1.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.01

$1.93 zł 7.50

31.61%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$0.74 zł 2.88

6.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.13 zł 4.38

-31.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.13

$1.00 zł 3.88

-13.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.70

$0.48 zł 1.85

106.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 RON 29.86

$5.35 zł 20.77

17.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$5.58 zł 21.69

11.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.63

$0.99 zł 3.85

20.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 RON 7.45

$1.36 zł 5.28

15.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.79 zł 3.06

8.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

$24.97 zł 97.0

-15.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.05

$2.20 zł 8.55

-70.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.78 zł 3.05

-23.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

$10.02 zł 38.94

-35.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.25

$1.54 zł 5.99

27.27%

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

$29.0K RON 137.2K

$30.6K zł 118.7K

-5.11%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

$27.4K zł 106.3K

-2.62%

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

$196 RON 927

$256 zł 994

-23.43%

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

$8.04 RON 38.04

$8.08 zł 31.39

-0.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.35 RON 44.21

$16.41 zł 63.7

-43.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

$37.08 zł 144

35.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

$8.95 zł 34.78

183.02%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.55

$7.44 zł 28.89

9.54%

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

$628 RON 2,971

$325 zł 1,263

93.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

$5,132 zł 19.9K

174.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 RON 424

$83.0 zł 322

8.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 181

$36.17 zł 141

5.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 RON 375

$77.5 zł 301

2.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.4 RON 428

$101 zł 392

-10.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 RON 3,209

$514 zł 1,996

32.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

$569 zł 2,210

-21.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

$930 zł 3,612

16.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

$759 zł 2,948

-4.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

$3,006 zł 11.7K

24.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

$2,226 zł 8,648

-1.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

$2,006 zł 7,796

-33.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

6.02

12.13%

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

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Last update for Zielona Gora: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Zielona Gora

$569 39.8% 26.9% $120

Eating Out

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Zielona Gora

$178 12.4% 21.1% $47

Groceries & Markets

Bucharest

$225 16.8%

Zielona Gora

$183 12.8% 18.6% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucharest

$213 15.9%

Zielona Gora

$280 19.6% 31.4% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Bucharest

$134 10%

Zielona Gora

$134 9.4% 0% $0

Sport & Entertainment

Bucharest

$67 5%

Zielona Gora

$52 3.6% 21.9% $15

Getting Around

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Zielona Gora

$34 2.4% 21.4% $6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Bucharest and $514 in Zielona Gora. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zielona Gora pays 51% 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 $42.00 in Zielona Gora for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $183 per month, with Zielona Gora cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🇵🇱 Zielona Gora

🕒 Local time

20:11 8:11 PM

19:11 7:11 PM

1 h behind Bucharest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,883,425 Capital

118,433

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, 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).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.89 PLN (1 PLN = 0.257 USD). 1 EUR = 4.37 PLN (1 PLN = 0.229 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bucharest Zielona Gora 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucharest
Zielona Gora

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 Zielona Gora: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucharest and Zielona Gora differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($1,340 vs $1,430 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Zielona Gora. 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 $514 in Zielona Gora. 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 $1,430 in Zielona Gora – a 7% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 18% less than in Zielona Gora. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,430 in Zielona Gora, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Zielona Gora. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest 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 Zielona Gora 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 Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Zielona Gora. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.