Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest

For one person, living costs are similar in Cluj-Napoca and in Bucharest: $1,406 and $1,340 a month, rent and utilities included.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,406

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,406 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Cluj-Napoca $1,406
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Cluj-Napoca versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Cluj-Napoca $2,113
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,819 in Cluj-Napoca versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Cluj-Napoca $2,819
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Cluj-Napoca is roughly 5% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cluj-Napoca is 4% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.77 RON 60.4

$14.49 RON 68.6

-11.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.8 RON 259

$58.1 RON 275

-5.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.60 RON 45.41

$7.48 RON 35.40

28.34%

Cappuccino

$3.63 RON 17.18

$3.44 RON 16.29

5.52%

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

$2.31 RON 10.92

$2.37 RON 11.22

-2.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.01

$2.30 RON 10.88

1.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.27 RON 15.47

$3.70 RON 17.51

-11.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 RON 20.21

$4.16 RON 19.69

2.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 RON 7.26

$1.67 RON 7.90

-8.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 RON 7.13

$1.37 RON 6.50

10.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.81 RON 8.55

$1.72 RON 8.14

5.23%

Eggs

$3.86 RON 18.28

$3.64 RON 17.22

6.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.15 RON 43.28

$9.08 RON 42.98

0.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.28 RON 34.45

$6.84 RON 32.35

6.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.73 RON 55.5

$12.00 RON 56.8

-2.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.42 RON 6.70

$1.23 RON 5.80

15.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 RON 8.00

$1.63 RON 7.73

3.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 RON 9.21

$1.57 RON 7.45

24.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.39 RON 11.30

$2.54 RON 12.01

-5.91%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 RON 4.44

$0.79 RON 3.75

18.99%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 RON 4.26

$0.77 RON 3.66

16.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 RON 4.25

$0.87 RON 4.13

3.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 RON 4.79

$0.99 RON 4.70

2.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.11 RON 28.89

$6.31 RON 29.86

-3.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.36 RON 34.84

$6.20 RON 29.34

18.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 RON 6.08

$1.19 RON 5.63

8.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 RON 8.38

$1.57 RON 7.45

12.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 RON 3.29

$0.86 RON 4.08

-18.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.67 RON 145

$21.10 RON 99.8

45.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.89 RON 4.22

$0.64 RON 3.05

39.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 RON 4.37

$0.60 RON 2.86

53.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.39 RON 39.71

$6.43 RON 30.43

30.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 RON 9.00

$1.96 RON 9.25

-3.06%

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

$28.0K RON 132.5K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

-3.42%

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

$24.8K RON 117.2K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

-6.97%

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

$153 RON 725

$196 RON 927

-21.72%

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

$8.59 RON 40.64

$8.04 RON 38.04

6.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.77 RON 46.24

$9.35 RON 44.21

4.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.15 RON 218

$50.2 RON 238

-8.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.53 RON 107

$25.33 RON 120

-11.05%

Cinema Ticket

$9.32 RON 44.09

$8.15 RON 38.55

14.36%

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

$587 RON 2,780

$628 RON 2,971

-6.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,476 RON 44.8K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-32.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 RON 419

$89.6 RON 424

-1.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.73 RON 216

$38.32 RON 181

19.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 RON 479

$79.3 RON 375

27.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 RON 512

$90.4 RON 428

19.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$622 RON 2,941

$678 RON 3,209

-8.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$524 RON 2,480

$448 RON 2,121

16.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 RON 5,429

$1,083 RON 5,125

5.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$806 RON 3,816

$725 RON 3,430

11.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,709 RON 22.3K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

25.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,348 RON 15.8K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

52.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,234 RON 5,837

$1,329 RON 6,290

-7.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.8

6.75

0.74%

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

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: 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

Cluj-Napoca

$524 37.3%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 14.5% $76

Groceries & Markets

Cluj-Napoca

$234 16.7%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 3.9% $9.1

Eating Out

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.5%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 3.3% $7.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cluj-Napoca

$172 12.2%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 24.2% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Cluj-Napoca

$155 11%

Bucharest

$134 10% 13.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Cluj-Napoca

$65 4.6%

Bucharest

$67 5% 2.7% $1.7

Getting Around

Cluj-Napoca

$39 2.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 27.6% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $622 in Cluj-Napoca and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Cluj-Napoca vs $58.0 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

20:56 8:56 PM

Same time as Cluj-Napoca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

324,576

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Cluj-Napoca Bucharest 320 km

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Cluj-Napoca
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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

Cluj-Napoca vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,406 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% 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: $622 in Cluj-Napoca versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,406 per month in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,406 in Cluj-Napoca, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Cluj-Napoca. 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, Cluj-Napoca 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 5% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.