Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caen and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,669 in Caen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Caen
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Caen Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Caen

🇫🇷 France

$1,669

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Caen 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 Caen and in Bucharest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,669 in Caen versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Caen $1,669
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,558 in Caen versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Caen $2,558
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,447 in Caen versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Caen $3,447
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Caen is roughly 25% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Caen is 24% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.49 €14.67

$14.49 RON 68.6

13.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 €49.04

$58.1 RON 275

-5.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.17 €11.72

$7.48 RON 35.40

76.07%

Cappuccino

$2.82 €2.51

$3.44 RON 16.29

-18.02%

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

$3.10 €2.76

$2.37 RON 11.22

30.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.30 RON 10.88

-6.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.56 €7.61

$3.70 RON 17.51

131.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.73 €5.10

$4.16 RON 19.69

37.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.18

$1.67 RON 7.90

-20.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.37 RON 6.50

29.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.72 RON 8.14

12.79%

Eggs

$3.75 €3.33

$3.64 RON 17.22

3.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.04 €8.93

$9.08 RON 42.98

10.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.49 €10.22

$6.84 RON 32.35

67.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.98 €14.21

$12.00 RON 56.8

33.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 €2.64

$1.23 RON 5.80

141.46%

Banana (1kg)

$3.08 €2.74

$1.63 RON 7.73

88.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.57 RON 7.45

-8.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.25 €3.78

$2.54 RON 12.01

67.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 €1.58

$0.79 RON 3.75

125.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$0.77 RON 3.66

153.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$0.87 RON 4.13

87.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.13 €0.11

$0.99 RON 4.70

-86.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.58 €11.19

$6.31 RON 29.86

99.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$6.20 RON 29.34

-8.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.19 RON 5.63

19.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 €1.42

$1.57 RON 7.45

1.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.75 €1.56

$0.86 RON 4.08

103.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.77 €43.38

$21.10 RON 99.8

131.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.30 €2.04

$0.64 RON 3.05

259.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.11 €0.99

$0.60 RON 2.86

85.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.86 €29.23

$6.43 RON 30.43

411.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.96 RON 9.25

9.69%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

19.26%

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

$32.1K €28.6K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

20.65%

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

$138 €123

$196 RON 927

-29.60%

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

$32.99 €29.34

$8.04 RON 38.04

310.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.71 €28.20

$9.35 RON 44.21

239.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.67 €29.06

$50.2 RON 238

-34.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.06 €19.62

$25.33 RON 120

-12.91%

Cinema Ticket

$8.98 €7.98

$8.15 RON 38.55

10.18%

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

$903 €803

$628 RON 2,971

43.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 €95.5

$89.6 RON 424

19.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.27 €34.04

$38.32 RON 181

-0.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.3

$79.3 RON 375

28.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 €132

$90.4 RON 428

63.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 €684

$678 RON 3,209

13.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$605 €539

$448 RON 2,121

35.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,501 €1,335

$1,083 RON 5,125

38.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 €926

$725 RON 3,430

43.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,428 €3,939

$3,751 RON 17.7K

18.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,484 €2,210

$2,195 RON 10.4K

13.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,373 €2,111

$1,329 RON 6,290

78.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

6.75

-43.85%

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

Last update for Caen: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Caen

$606 36.3%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 26% $157

Groceries & Markets

Caen

$289 17.3%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 22% $64

Eating Out

Caen

$281 16.8%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 19.7% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caen

$203 12.1%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 5.3% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Caen

$178 10.7%

Bucharest

$134 10% 24.7% $44

Getting Around

Caen

$64 3.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 55.7% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Caen

$51 3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 31.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Caen and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Caen pays 78% 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: $55.0 in Caen vs $58.0 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $289 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Caen

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

16:38 4:38 PM

17:38 5:38 PM

1 h ahead of Caen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,200

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Caen Bucharest 2,070 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Caen
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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

Caen vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caen and Bucharest differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($1,669 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 78% higher in Caen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $769 in Caen versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,669 per month in Caen versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 25% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 131% less than in Caen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,669 in Caen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Caen. 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, Caen and Bucharest 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 25% less than in Caen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.