Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cluj-Napoca and Harare

For one person, living is cheaper in Harare: $1,065 a month against $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Harare
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Harare Living Index

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Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,423

/mo nomad

Harare

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$1,065

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cluj-Napoca and in Harare

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 Harare actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,065 in Harare.

Cluj-Napoca $1,423
Harare $1,065

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,126 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,788 in Harare.

Cluj-Napoca $2,126
Harare $1,788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,830 in Cluj-Napoca versus $2,512 in Harare.

Cluj-Napoca $2,830
Harare $2,512

Living in Cluj-Napoca is roughly 34% more expensive than in Harare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cluj-Napoca is 5% above, Harare is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.58 RON 60.5

$9.89 ZWL 263

27.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.8 RON 264

$45.10 ZWL 1,199

21.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.59 RON 46.13

$5.73 ZWL 152

67.36%

Cappuccino

$3.78 RON 18.15

$3.02 ZWL 80.2

25.17%

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

$2.30 RON 11.08

$0.93 ZWL 24.83

147.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 RON 10.68

$0.47 ZWL 12.38

372.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 RON 15.95

$1.21 ZWL 32.27

174.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 RON 20.18

$2.03 ZWL 53.9

106.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 RON 7.71

$1.55 ZWL 41.11

3.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 RON 6.93

$1.01 ZWL 26.88

42.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 RON 8.14

$1.70 ZWL 45.14

-0.59%

Eggs

$3.76 RON 18.05

$1.88 ZWL 49.94

100.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.07 RON 43.59

$11.25 ZWL 299

-19.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.14 RON 34.31

$5.53 ZWL 147

29.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 RON 55.1

$6.79 ZWL 180

68.78%

Apples (1kg)

$1.39 RON 6.66

$3.02 ZWL 80.3

-53.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 RON 7.60

$1.65 ZWL 43.96

-4.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 RON 9.05

$1.99 ZWL 52.8

-5.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 RON 11.38

$1.51 ZWL 40.25

56.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.43

$1.70 ZWL 45.19

-45.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 RON 4.32

$1.75 ZWL 46.46

-48.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 RON 4.35

$1.22 ZWL 32.52

-26.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 RON 4.84

$0.94 ZWL 25.08

7.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.42 RON 30.87

$2.01 ZWL 53.5

219.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.41 RON 35.63

$8.18 ZWL 217

-9.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 RON 5.99

$1.37 ZWL 36.52

-8.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 RON 8.32

$1.90 ZWL 50.5

-8.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 RON 3.65

$0.98 ZWL 26.14

-22.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.23 RON 213

$60.1 ZWL 1,597

-26.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.84 RON 4.02

$4.06 ZWL 108

-79.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 RON 4.63

$1.95 ZWL 51.7

-50.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.27 RON 39.75

$5.05 ZWL 134

63.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 RON 9.32

$1.77 ZWL 47.14

9.60%

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

$28.3K RON 136.2K

$22.2K ZWL 590.9K

27.42%

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

$24.7K RON 118.9K

$27.4K ZWL 729.4K

-9.85%

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

$151 RON 725

$50.4 ZWL 1,340

199.21%

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

$8.44 RON 40.56

$21.76 ZWL 578

-61.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.16 RON 44.05

$67.8 ZWL 1,802

-86.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.36 RON 228

$47.98 ZWL 1,275

-1.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.01 RON 106

$22.74 ZWL 604

-3.21%

Cinema Ticket

$9.35 RON 44.97

$10.12 ZWL 269

-7.61%

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

$577 RON 2,774

$412 ZWL 10.9K

40.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,450 RON 45.4K

$8,493 ZWL 225.7K

11.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 RON 419

$23.42 ZWL 622

271.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.26 RON 213

$20.83 ZWL 554

112.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 RON 475

$38.19 ZWL 1,015

158.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 RON 513

$40.76 ZWL 1,083

161.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$668 RON 3,213

$399 ZWL 10.6K

67.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$536 RON 2,575

$362 ZWL 9,609

48.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 RON 5,897

$999 ZWL 26.6K

22.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$807 RON 3,882

$887 ZWL 23.6K

-8.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,568 RON 22.0K

$917 ZWL 24.4K

398.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,342 RON 16.1K

$389 ZWL 10.3K

758.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,241 RON 5,964

$418 ZWL 11.1K

196.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

13.69

-51.42%

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

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 25, 2026

Last update for Harare: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cluj-Napoca

$536 37.7%

Harare

$362 34% 32.5% $174

Groceries & Markets

Cluj-Napoca

$230 16.2%

Harare

$214 20.1% 7% $16

Eating Out

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.3%

Harare

$148 13.9% 31.9% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cluj-Napoca

$168 11.8%

Harare

$140 13.1% 16.9% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7%

Harare

$55 5.2% 63.4% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.6%

Harare

$68 6.4% 3.3% $2.2

Getting Around

Cluj-Napoca

$53 3.7%

Harare

$78 7.3% 47% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $668 in Cluj-Napoca and $399 in Harare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cluj-Napoca 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 $45 in Harare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $230 vs $214 per month, with Harare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🇿🇼 Harare

🕒 Local time

05:11 5:11 AM

Same time as Cluj-Napoca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

324,576

1,606,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.76 USD

100 ZWL = 3.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.36 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 26.58 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.63 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.37 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cluj-Napoca Harare 7,220 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cluj-Napoca
Harare

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 Harare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harare is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and groceries. The 34% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cluj-Napoca is about 3 times higher, 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: $668 in Cluj-Napoca versus $399 in Harare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cluj-Napoca runs roughly 26% less than in Harare. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $577 in Cluj-Napoca versus $412 in Harare. 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.

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