Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $2,463 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,463

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,463 in Cardiff versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Cardiff $2,463
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,467 in Cardiff versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Cardiff $3,467
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,470 in Cardiff versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Cardiff $4,470
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Cardiff is roughly 82% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cardiff 84% above, Bucharest 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.59 £14.80

$14.46 RON 68.4

35.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.6 £62.4

$57.7 RON 273

43.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 £8.11

$7.50 RON 35.46

43.07%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.47

$3.43 RON 16.20

34.11%

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

$2.98 £2.25

$2.46 RON 11.63

21.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 £1.51

$2.33 RON 11.01

-14.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.79 £5.88

$3.80 RON 17.97

105.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.42 £4.85

$4.10 RON 19.41

56.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.30

$1.65 RON 7.79

4.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 £1.11

$1.35 RON 6.39

8.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.70

$1.78 RON 8.42

26.40%

Eggs

$3.72 £2.81

$3.66 RON 17.33

1.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.18 £6.93

$8.57 RON 40.54

7.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.75 £6.61

$6.80 RON 32.17

28.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.29 £12.31

$11.72 RON 55.4

38.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 £2.12

$1.29 RON 6.11

117.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.56 RON 7.37

-1.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 £2.25

$1.54 RON 7.28

93.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.65 £2.76

$2.48 RON 11.75

47.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 £1.43

$0.83 RON 3.92

128.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 £1.12

$0.80 RON 3.77

85.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 £0.84

$0.84 RON 3.98

32.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.93 RON 4.39

75.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.34 £17.64

$6.44 RON 30.45

262.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.17 £8.44

$6.32 RON 29.91

76.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.35

$1.26 RON 5.94

146.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.52

$1.60 RON 7.59

108.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.50

$0.81 RON 3.85

307.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.6 £59.4

$21.13 RON 99.9

272.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.56 £3.45

$0.60 RON 2.86

660.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.74 £1.31

$0.61 RON 2.91

185.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.83 £27.08

$6.17 RON 29.19

480.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.62

$1.96 RON 9.27

9.18%

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

$37.8K £28.6K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

34.44%

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

$41.3K £31.2K

$26.3K RON 124.3K

56.92%

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

$343 £259

$197 RON 931

74.41%

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

$25.85 £19.54

$8.34 RON 39.44

209.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.60 £32.95

$9.19 RON 43.47

374.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.02 £28.73

$49.87 RON 236

-23.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.52 £8.70

$24.99 RON 118

-53.90%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £8.05

$8.46 RON 40.01

25.89%

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

$1,978 £1,495

$639 RON 3,023

209.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.8K £24.8K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

128.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £75.6

$90.6 RON 429

10.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.31 £35.75

$38.05 RON 180

24.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 £90.6

$79.7 RON 377

50.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 £75.0

$93.2 RON 441

6.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,158 £875

$673 RON 3,184

72.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,097 £829

$449 RON 2,123

144.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,185 £1,651

$1,098 RON 5,195

98.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,514 £1,144

$729 RON 3,448

107.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,353 £4,045

$3,740 RON 17.7K

43.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,479 £2,629

$2,189 RON 10.4K

58.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,223 £2,435

$1,323 RON 6,259

143.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

6.74

-24.18%

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

Last update for Cardiff: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.6%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 59.1% $648

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cardiff

$413 16.8%

Bucharest

$214 16% 48.1% $198

Eating Out

Cardiff

$316 12.8%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 28.5% $90

Groceries & Markets

Cardiff

$307 12.5%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 27.7% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Cardiff

$165 6.7%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 17.7% $29

Getting Around

Cardiff

$105 4.3%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 73.3% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Cardiff

$59 2.4%

Bucharest

$67 5% 12.6% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,158 in Cardiff and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 144% 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: $83.0 in Cardiff vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $222 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

06:22 6:22 AM

08:22 8:22 AM

2 h ahead of Cardiff

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,100

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cardiff Bucharest 2,300 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cardiff
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

Cardiff vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cardiff and Bucharest differ by about 82% in total monthly costs ($2,463 vs $1,351 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 144% higher in Cardiff, 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: $1,158 in Cardiff versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,463 per month in Cardiff versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 82% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 272% less than in Cardiff. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $2,463 in Cardiff, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. 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, Cardiff 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 82% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.