Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Charleroi and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,019 in Charleroi, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

98

Cost of Living Index in Charleroi
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Charleroi Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Charleroi

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,019

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,019 in Charleroi versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Charleroi $2,019
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,917 in Charleroi versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Charleroi $2,917
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,815 in Charleroi versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Charleroi $3,815
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Charleroi is roughly 51% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Charleroi is 50% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.39 €20.01

$14.49 RON 69.1

54.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.0 €73.3

$58.1 RON 277

41.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.52 €12.08

$7.48 RON 35.69

80.75%

Cappuccino

$3.03 €2.71

$3.44 RON 16.42

-11.92%

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

$2.14 €1.91

$2.37 RON 11.31

-9.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$2.30 RON 10.97

-5.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 €2.88

$3.70 RON 17.65

-12.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.49

$4.16 RON 19.85

-6.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.67 RON 7.96

-31.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 €2.26

$1.37 RON 6.55

84.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$1.72 RON 8.20

25.00%

Eggs

$3.59 €3.20

$3.64 RON 17.35

-1.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.52 €15.65

$9.08 RON 43.32

92.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.09 €10.80

$6.84 RON 32.61

76.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.70 €19.39

$12.00 RON 57.2

80.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 €2.33

$1.23 RON 5.85

112.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.63 RON 7.79

41.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.57 RON 7.51

68.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 €3.03

$2.54 RON 12.11

33.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 €1.91

$0.79 RON 3.78

170.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$0.77 RON 3.68

42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.87 RON 4.16

50.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.64

$0.99 RON 4.74

-27.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.67 €11.32

$6.31 RON 30.09

100.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 €7.87

$6.20 RON 29.58

42.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 €1.48

$1.19 RON 5.67

39.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.57 RON 7.51

25.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.85 €2.55

$0.86 RON 4.11

231.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.92 €36.56

$21.10 RON 101

93.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.66 €5.06

$0.64 RON 3.07

784.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.76 €2.47

$0.60 RON 2.88

360.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.80 €39.14

$6.43 RON 30.68

581.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.96 RON 9.33

-6.12%

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

$29.7K €26.5K

$29.0K RON 138.3K

2.44%

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

$32.8K €29.3K

$26.6K RON 127.0K

23.06%

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

$208 €186

$196 RON 934

5.99%

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

$21.74 €19.42

$8.04 RON 38.35

170.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.26 €42.23

$9.35 RON 44.57

405.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.19 €28.77

$50.2 RON 240

-35.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.18 €25.18

$25.33 RON 121

11.25%

Cinema Ticket

$15.02 €13.42

$8.15 RON 38.86

84.29%

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

$1,628 €1,455

$628 RON 2,995

159.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$14.1K RON 67.2K

16.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$109 €97.1

$89.6 RON 427

21.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.3 €46.70

$38.32 RON 183

36.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 €78.7

$79.3 RON 378

11.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 €79.0

$90.4 RON 431

-2.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$798 €713

$678 RON 3,235

17.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$815 €728

$448 RON 2,138

81.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,031 €921

$1,083 RON 5,166

-4.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,043 €932

$725 RON 3,457

43.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,863 €2,558

$3,751 RON 17.9K

-23.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,916 €2,606

$2,195 RON 10.5K

32.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,306 €2,061

$1,329 RON 6,340

73.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

6.75

-48.74%

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

Last update for Charleroi: October 13, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Charleroi

$815 40.4%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 45% $367

Groceries & Markets

Charleroi

$344 17.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 34.7% $119

Eating Out

Charleroi

$297 14.7%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 24.3% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Charleroi

$277 13.7%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 22.9% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Charleroi

$152 7.5%

Bucharest

$134 10% 11.8% $18

Getting Around

Charleroi

$72 3.6%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 60.7% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Charleroi

$62 3.1%

Bucharest

$67 5% 6.9% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $798 in Charleroi and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Charleroi pays 73% 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: $82.0 in Charleroi vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $344 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Charleroi

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

03:41 3:41 AM

04:41 4:41 AM

1 h ahead of Charleroi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,730

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Charleroi Bucharest 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Charleroi
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

Charleroi vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Charleroi and Bucharest differ by about 51% in total monthly costs ($2,019 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 73% higher in Charleroi, 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: $798 in Charleroi versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,019 per month in Charleroi versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 94% less than in Charleroi. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,019 in Charleroi, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Charleroi. 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Charleroi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.