Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chittagong and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Chittagong: $375 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

18

Cost of Living Index in Chittagong
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Chittagong Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

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Chittagong

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$375

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $375 in Chittagong versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Chittagong $375
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $624 in Chittagong versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Chittagong $624
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $874 in Chittagong versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Chittagong $874
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Chittagong costs roughly 72% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chittagong is 72% below, Bucharest is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.06 ৳254

$14.46 RON 68.4

-85.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.14 ৳1,492

$57.7 RON 273

-78.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.32 ৳653

$7.50 RON 35.46

-29.07%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.71 ৳333

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 ৳486

Cappuccino

$1.91 ৳235

$3.43 RON 16.20

-44.31%

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

$0.37 ৳45.16

$2.46 RON 11.63

-84.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 ৳15.64

$2.33 RON 11.01

-94.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 RON 17.97

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 ৳99.2

$1.65 RON 7.79

-50.91%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 ৳68.8

$1.35 RON 6.39

-58.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ৳80.6

$1.78 RON 8.42

-62.92%

Eggs

$1.13 ৳139

$3.66 RON 17.33

-69.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.33 ৳900

$8.57 RON 40.54

-14.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.14 ৳262

$6.80 RON 32.17

-68.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 ৳901

$11.72 RON 55.4

-37.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.28 ৳280

$1.29 RON 6.11

76.74%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 ৳112

$1.56 RON 7.37

-41.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 ৳255

$1.54 RON 7.28

34.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.85 ৳105

$2.48 RON 11.75

-65.73%

Potato (1kg)

$0.44 ৳53.5

$0.83 RON 3.92

-46.99%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 ৳94.8

$0.80 RON 3.77

-3.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 ৳56.4

$0.84 RON 3.98

-45.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.32 ৳39.34

$0.93 RON 4.39

-65.59%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.22 ৳519

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ৳97.4

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 ৳175

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.03 ৳372

$6.44 RON 30.45

-52.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 RON 5.94

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 RON 7.59

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ৳28.34

$0.81 RON 3.85

-71.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.80 ৳98.0

$0.60 RON 2.86

33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.55 ৳67.8

$0.61 RON 2.91

-9.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 ৳490

$6.17 RON 29.19

-35.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ৳141

$1.96 RON 9.27

-41.33%

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

$31.9K ৳3.9M

$28.1K RON 133.1K

13.32%

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

$44.5K ৳5.5M

$26.3K RON 124.3K

69.29%

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

$29.48 ৳3,622

$197 RON 931

-85.02%

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

$5.58 ৳685

$8.34 RON 39.44

-33.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.14 ৳1,492

$9.19 RON 43.47

32.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.55 ৳2,401

$49.87 RON 236

-60.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.27 ৳1,753

$24.99 RON 118

-42.90%

Cinema Ticket

$3.72 ৳457

$8.46 RON 40.01

-56.03%

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

$35.12 ৳4,314

$639 RON 3,023

-94.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,439 ৳176.8K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

-90.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.03 ৳2,828

$90.6 RON 429

-74.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.37 ৳2,379

$38.05 RON 180

-49.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.4 ৳6,925

$79.7 RON 377

-29.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.48 ৳4,358

$93.2 RON 441

-61.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$126 ৳15.4K

$673 RON 3,184

-81.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$61.3 ৳7,524

$449 RON 2,123

-86.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$272 ৳33.4K

$1,098 RON 5,195

-75.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 ৳20.6K

$729 RON 3,448

-76.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 ৳98.3K

$3,740 RON 17.7K

-78.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$476 ৳58.5K

$2,189 RON 10.4K

-78.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$284 ৳34.9K

$1,323 RON 6,259

-78.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

6.74

70.62%

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

Last update for Chittagong: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chittagong

$113 30.6%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 95.5% $108

Accommodation & Living

Chittagong

$61 16.5%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 633% $388

Clothing & Footwear

Chittagong

$60 16.3%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 125% $75

Eating Out

Chittagong

$57 15.5%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 293% $168

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chittagong

$47 12.7%

Bucharest

$214 16% 354% $167

Sport & Entertainment

Chittagong

$27 7.3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 147% $40

Getting Around

Chittagong

$4.5 * 1.2%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 526% $24

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $126 in Chittagong and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 366% 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: $12.00 in Chittagong vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $113 vs $222 per month, with Chittagong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Chittagong

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

10:03 10:03 AM

07:03 7:03 AM

3 h behind Chittagong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,592,439

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 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 BDT in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chittagong Bucharest 6,390 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Chittagong
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

Chittagong vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chittagong and Bucharest differ by about 260% in total monthly costs ($375 vs $1,351 including rent). Chittagong is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 366% 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: $126 in Chittagong versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 95% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $375 per month in Chittagong versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 260% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $375 in Chittagong versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Chittagong but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Chittagong 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 Chittagong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 260% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.