Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cluj-Napoca and Esch-sur-Alzette

For one person, living is cheaper in Cluj-Napoca: $1,423 a month against $2,839 in Esch-sur-Alzette, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Esch-sur-Alzette
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Esch-sur-Alzette Living Index

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Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,423

/mo nomad

Esch-sur-Alzette

🇱🇺 Luxembourg

$2,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cluj-Napoca and in Esch-sur-Alzette

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 Esch-sur-Alzette actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca versus $2,839 in Esch-sur-Alzette.

Cluj-Napoca $1,423
Esch-sur-Alzette $2,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,126 in Cluj-Napoca versus $4,347 in Esch-sur-Alzette.

Cluj-Napoca $2,126
Esch-sur-Alzette $4,347

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,830 in Cluj-Napoca versus $5,855 in Esch-sur-Alzette.

Cluj-Napoca $2,830
Esch-sur-Alzette $5,855

Living in Cluj-Napoca costs roughly 50% less than in Esch-sur-Alzette, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cluj-Napoca 5% above, Esch-sur-Alzette 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.58 RON 60.2

$22.39 €20.06

-43.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.8 RON 262

$55.7 €49.87

-1.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.59 RON 45.90

$15.19 €13.61

-36.87%

Cappuccino

$3.78 RON 18.07

$4.62 €4.14

-18.18%

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

$2.30 RON 11.02

$2.49 €2.23

-7.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 RON 10.63

$2.45 €2.20

-9.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 RON 15.87

$4.20 €3.77

-20.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 RON 20.08

$3.67 €3.29

14.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 RON 7.67

$1.80 €1.61

-11.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 RON 6.90

$3.66 €3.28

-60.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 RON 8.10

$3.33 €2.99

-49.25%

Eggs

$3.76 RON 17.97

$4.56 €4.09

-17.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.07 RON 43.38

$30.49 €27.32

-70.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.14 RON 34.15

$15.91 €14.26

-55.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 RON 54.8

$25.64 €22.98

-55.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.39 RON 6.63

$2.65 €2.38

-47.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 RON 7.56

$1.94 €1.74

-18.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 RON 9.00

$3.01 €2.70

-37.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 RON 11.33

$3.37 €3.02

-29.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.41

$3.31 €2.96

-72.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 RON 4.30

$2.11 €1.89

-57.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 RON 4.32

$1.86 €1.66

-51.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 RON 4.81

$1.06 €0.95

-4.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.42 RON 30.72

$6.62 €5.93

-3.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.41 RON 35.46

$10.01 €8.97

-25.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 RON 5.96

$3.96 €3.55

-68.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 RON 8.28

$4.49 €4.03

-61.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 RON 3.63

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.23 RON 212

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.84 RON 4.00

$11.11 €9.96

-92.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 RON 4.60

$3.56 €3.19

-73.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.27 RON 39.56

$43.93 €39.37

-81.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 RON 9.27

$1.85 €1.66

4.86%

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

$28.3K RON 135.5K

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

$24.7K RON 118.4K

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

$151 RON 722

$266 €238

-43.21%

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

$8.44 RON 40.37

$32.60 €29.21

-74.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.16 RON 43.84

$88.0 €78.9

-89.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.36 RON 227

$41.76 €37.42

13.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.01 RON 105

Cinema Ticket

$9.35 RON 44.75

$15.71 €14.08

-40.48%

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

$577 RON 2,761

$1,513 €1,356

-61.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,450 RON 45.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 RON 417

$67.9 €60.8

28.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.26 RON 212

$38.95 €34.90

13.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 RON 473

$128 €115

-22.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 RON 511

$156 €140

-31.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$668 RON 3,197

$1,817 €1,628

-63.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$536 RON 2,563

$1,375 €1,232

-61.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 RON 5,868

$3,454 €3,095

-64.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$807 RON 3,863

$2,800 €2,509

-71.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,568 RON 21.9K

$7,185 €6,438

-36.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,342 RON 16.0K

$6,164 €5,524

-45.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,241 RON 5,935

$3,696 €3,312

-66.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

3.26

103.99%

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

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 25, 2026

Last update for Esch-sur-Alzette: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cluj-Napoca

$536 37.7%

Esch-sur-Alzette

$1.4K 48.4% 157% $840

Groceries & Markets

Cluj-Napoca

$230 16.2%

Esch-sur-Alzette

$471 16.6% 105% $241

Eating Out

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.3%

Esch-sur-Alzette

$328 11.6% 50.7% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cluj-Napoca

$168 11.8%

Esch-sur-Alzette

$386 13.6% 129% $218

Clothing & Footwear

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7%

Esch-sur-Alzette

$176 6.2% 16% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.6%

Esch-sur-Alzette

$73 2.6% 10.8% $7.1

Getting Around

Cluj-Napoca

$53 3.7%

Esch-sur-Alzette

$29 * 1% 45.3% $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 $668 in Cluj-Napoca and $1,817 in Esch-sur-Alzette. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Esch-sur-Alzette pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Cluj-Napoca vs $56 in Esch-sur-Alzette for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $230 vs $471 per month, with Cluj-Napoca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🇱🇺 Esch-sur-Alzette

🕒 Local time

15:55 3:55 PM

14:55 2:55 PM

1 h behind Cluj-Napoca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

324,576

36,218

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cluj-Napoca Esch-sur-Alzette 1,340 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cluj-Napoca
Esch-sur-Alzette

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 Esch-sur-Alzette: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cluj-Napoca is about 50% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Cluj-Napoca. 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: $668 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,817 in Esch-sur-Alzette. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 105% higher in Esch-sur-Alzette. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Childcare runs $577 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,513 in Esch-sur-Alzette. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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 Esch-sur-Alzette are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Cluj-Napoca wins on affordability, Esch-sur-Alzette on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.