Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cluj-Napoca and Onesti

For one person, living is cheaper in Onesti: $1,042 a month against $1,424 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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 Onesti
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Onesti Living Index

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Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,424

/mo nomad

Onesti

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,424 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,042 in Onesti.

Cluj-Napoca $1,424
Onesti $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,141 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,597 in Onesti.

Cluj-Napoca $2,141
Onesti $1,597

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,858 in Cluj-Napoca versus $2,153 in Onesti.

Cluj-Napoca $2,858
Onesti $2,153

Living in Cluj-Napoca is roughly 37% more expensive than in Onesti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cluj-Napoca is 5% above, Onesti is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.23 RON 58.3

$10.35 RON 49.33

18.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.3 RON 263

$41.83 RON 199

32.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.39 RON 44.75

$7.13 RON 33.98

31.70%

Cappuccino

$3.79 RON 18.06

$2.97 RON 14.15

27.61%

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

$2.40 RON 11.45

$2.20 RON 10.50

9.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.10

$1.78 RON 8.48

30.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 RON 15.24

$3.16 RON 15.08

1.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.60

$3.72 RON 17.73

10.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 RON 7.49

$1.04 RON 4.94

50.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 RON 6.71

$1.34 RON 6.40

5.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 RON 8.59

$1.92 RON 9.17

-6.25%

Eggs

$3.70 RON 17.62

$2.94 RON 14.00

25.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.23 RON 44.00

$7.46 RON 35.56

23.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.16 RON 34.12

$6.56 RON 31.27

9.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.81 RON 56.3

$10.11 RON 48.20

16.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.37 RON 6.54

$1.03 RON 4.92

33.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.62

$1.45 RON 6.91

10.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 RON 8.90

$1.68 RON 8.02

11.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 RON 11.00

$2.06 RON 9.83

12.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.36

$0.80 RON 3.81

15.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 RON 4.17

$0.82 RON 3.91

7.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.96 RON 4.59

$1.12 RON 5.33

-14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 RON 4.56

$0.61 RON 2.89

57.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.33 RON 30.19

$6.32 RON 30.14

0.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.50 RON 35.73

$5.34 RON 25.45

40.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 RON 5.81

$1.34 RON 6.37

-8.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 RON 8.33

$2.14 RON 10.18

-18.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 RON 3.35

$0.70 RON 3.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.90 RON 209

$22.70 RON 108

93.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 RON 3.87

$0.80 RON 3.82

1.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 RON 3.91

$0.88 RON 4.17

-6.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.25 RON 39.34

$8.57 RON 40.85

-3.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 RON 9.45

$1.43 RON 6.83

38.46%

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

$28.3K RON 134.8K

$28.5K RON 136.0K

-0.85%

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

$24.6K RON 117.2K

$26.1K RON 124.4K

-5.77%

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

$152 RON 723

$186 RON 884

-18.20%

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

$8.05 RON 38.38

$7.43 RON 35.41

8.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.37 RON 44.66

$8.70 RON 41.46

7.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.94 RON 233

$36.79 RON 175

33.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.31 RON 106

$20.40 RON 97.2

9.36%

Cinema Ticket

$9.32 RON 44.41

$8.50 RON 40.52

9.65%

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

$577 RON 2,752

$389 RON 1,854

48.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K RON 58.6K

$7,819 RON 37.3K

57.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.3 RON 416

$37.62 RON 179

132.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.70 RON 208

$39.20 RON 187

11.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 RON 476

$94.7 RON 451

5.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 RON 511

$91.9 RON 438

16.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 RON 3,156

$406 RON 1,936

63.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$539 RON 2,567

$261 RON 1,245

106.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 RON 5,942

$653 RON 3,110

91.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$836 RON 3,986

$464 RON 2,209

80.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,596 RON 21.9K

$1,929 RON 9,195

138.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,264 RON 15.6K

$1,329 RON 6,332

145.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,293 RON 6,165

$634 RON 3,023

103.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

7.18

-7.38%

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

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: November 3, 2026

Last update for Onesti: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cluj-Napoca

$539 37.8%

Onesti

$261 25.1% 51.5% $277

Groceries & Markets

Cluj-Napoca

$231 16.2%

Onesti

$197 18.9% 14.5% $34

Eating Out

Cluj-Napoca

$215 15.1%

Onesti

$179 17.2% 16.6% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cluj-Napoca

$169 11.9%

Onesti

$202 19.4% 19.2% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7%

Onesti

$119 11.4% 22% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Cluj-Napoca

$68 4.7%

Onesti

$54 5.2% 20.4% $14

Getting Around

Cluj-Napoca

$52 3.6%

Onesti

$31 2.9% 40.6% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $662 in Cluj-Napoca and $406 in Onesti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cluj-Napoca pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Cluj-Napoca vs $42 in Onesti for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $231 vs $197 per month, with Onesti cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Onesti

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

Same time as Cluj-Napoca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

324,576

57,333

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cluj-Napoca Onesti 250 km

From you

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 Onesti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Onesti is about 27% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cluj-Napoca is about 2 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: $662 in Cluj-Napoca versus $406 in Onesti. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Onesti runs roughly 48% less than in Cluj-Napoca. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $577 in Cluj-Napoca versus $389 in Onesti. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Onesti is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Onesti are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Onesti gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.