Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bulawayo and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bulawayo: $763 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Bulawayo
Learn more

Bulawayo Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Bulawayo

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$763

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bulawayo and in Bucharest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bulawayo and in Bucharest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $763 in Bulawayo versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Bulawayo $763
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,192 in Bulawayo versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Bulawayo $1,192
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,622 in Bulawayo versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Bulawayo $1,622
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Bulawayo costs roughly 44% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bulawayo is 43% below, Bucharest is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ZWL 122

$14.46 RON 68.9

-68.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.29 ZWL 809

$57.7 RON 275

-47.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 ZWL 131

$7.50 RON 35.72

-34.80%

Cappuccino

$2.09 ZWL 55.9

$3.43 RON 16.32

-39.07%

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

$0.52 ZWL 13.86

$2.46 RON 11.72

-78.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 ZWL 9.85

$2.33 RON 11.09

-84.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 ZWL 39.14

$3.80 RON 18.10

-61.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ZWL 54.2

$4.10 RON 19.56

-50.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ZWL 44.28

$1.65 RON 7.85

0.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 ZWL 27.05

$1.35 RON 6.44

-25.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 ZWL 41.32

$1.78 RON 8.48

-12.92%

Eggs

$1.91 ZWL 50.9

$3.66 RON 17.46

-47.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.59 ZWL 256

$8.57 RON 40.84

11.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.02 ZWL 107

$6.80 RON 32.41

-40.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.46 ZWL 119

$11.72 RON 55.8

-61.95%

Apples (1kg)

$1.85 ZWL 49.29

$1.29 RON 6.16

43.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 ZWL 42.68

$1.56 RON 7.43

2.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 ZWL 64.8

$1.54 RON 7.34

57.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.04 ZWL 27.89

$2.48 RON 11.84

-58.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ZWL 34.19

$0.83 RON 3.95

54.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 ZWL 37.02

$0.80 RON 3.80

73.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ZWL 29.29

$0.84 RON 4.01

30.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ZWL 19.93

$0.93 RON 4.42

-19.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.54 ZWL 41.04

$6.44 RON 30.68

-76.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.10 ZWL 136

$6.32 RON 30.13

-19.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 ZWL 36.15

$1.26 RON 5.99

7.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ZWL 49.48

$1.60 RON 7.65

15.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 ZWL 20.65

$0.81 RON 3.88

-4.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.55 ZWL 816

$21.13 RON 101

44.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.94 ZWL 78.6

$0.60 RON 2.88

390.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

$0.61 RON 2.93

219.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 ZWL 135

$6.17 RON 29.41

-18.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.64 ZWL 43.75

$1.96 RON 9.34

-16.33%

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

$24.6K ZWL 656.4K

$28.1K RON 134.2K

-12.70%

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

$24.6K ZWL 657.7K

$26.3K RON 125.3K

-6.34%

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

$95.3 ZWL 2,547

$197 RON 938

-51.57%

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

$17.21 ZWL 460

$8.34 RON 39.74

106.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$105 ZWL 2,816

$9.19 RON 43.80

1047.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.62 ZWL 845

$49.87 RON 238

-36.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.07 ZWL 536

$24.99 RON 119

-19.69%

Cinema Ticket

$9.86 ZWL 263

$8.46 RON 40.31

16.55%

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

$231 ZWL 6,175

$639 RON 3,046

-63.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,512 ZWL 93.8K

$14.4K RON 68.6K

-75.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.96 ZWL 560

$90.6 RON 432

-76.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$11.58 ZWL 309

$38.05 RON 181

-69.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.58 ZWL 1,217

$79.7 RON 380

-42.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 ZWL 1,548

$93.2 RON 444

-37.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$176 ZWL 4,695

$673 RON 3,209

-73.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$107 ZWL 2,863

$449 RON 2,139

-76.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 ZWL 11.1K

$1,098 RON 5,234

-62.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$325 ZWL 8,679

$729 RON 3,474

-55.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,053 ZWL 54.8K

$3,740 RON 17.8K

-45.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,046 ZWL 54.7K

$2,189 RON 10.4K

-6.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$306 ZWL 8,161

$1,323 RON 6,306

-76.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

122.55%

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

Last update for Bulawayo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bulawayo

$218 29%

Bucharest

$214 16% 1.7% $3.6

Groceries & Markets

Bulawayo

$177 23.5%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 25.2% $45

Accommodation & Living

Bulawayo

$107 14.2%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 319% $342

Eating Out

Bulawayo

$91 12.1%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 147% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Bulawayo

$61 8.1%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 122% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Bulawayo

$51 6.8%

Bucharest

$67 5% 30.1% $15

Getting Around

Bulawayo

$46 6.2%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 39.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $176 in Bulawayo and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 333% 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: $30.00 in Bulawayo vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $177 vs $222 per month, with Bulawayo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇼 Bulawayo

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

06:46 6:46 AM

07:46 7:46 AM

1 h ahead of Bulawayo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

653,337

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZWL = 3.74 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to ZWL – Zimbabwean Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇼 Zimbabwean Dollar ($)

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 26.71 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.74 USD). 1 EUR = 29.96 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to ZWL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bulawayo Bucharest 7,190 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bulawayo
Bucharest

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

Bulawayo vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bulawayo and Bucharest differ by about 77% in total monthly costs ($763 vs $1,351 including rent). Bulawayo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 333% 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: $176 in Bulawayo versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $763 per month in Bulawayo versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 77% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bulawayo runs roughly 45% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $763 in Bulawayo versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bulawayo but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Bulawayo 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 Bulawayo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.