Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cluj-Napoca and Roman

For one person, living is cheaper in Roman: $842 a month against $1,424 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Roman
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Roman Living Index

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Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,424

/mo nomad

Roman

🇷🇴 Romania

$842

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,424 in Cluj-Napoca versus $842 in Roman.

Cluj-Napoca $1,424
Roman $842

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,141 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,393 in Roman.

Cluj-Napoca $2,141
Roman $1,393

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,858 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,944 in Roman.

Cluj-Napoca $2,858
Roman $1,944

Living in Cluj-Napoca is roughly 69% more expensive than in Roman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cluj-Napoca is 5% above, Roman is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.23 RON 58.1

$10.46 RON 49.67

16.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.3 RON 262

$33.05 RON 157

67.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.39 RON 44.58

$7.27 RON 34.51

29.16%

Cappuccino

$3.79 RON 18.00

$2.54 RON 12.05

49.21%

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

$2.40 RON 11.41

$1.35 RON 6.40

77.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 RON 11.05

$1.04 RON 4.93

124.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 RON 15.19

$2.14 RON 10.16

49.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.52

$2.18 RON 10.35

88.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 RON 7.47

$1.18 RON 5.61

33.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 RON 6.69

$0.66 RON 3.14

113.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 RON 8.55

$1.43 RON 6.81

25.87%

Eggs

$3.70 RON 17.56

$2.91 RON 13.82

27.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.23 RON 43.84

$7.85 RON 37.28

17.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.16 RON 33.99

$5.76 RON 27.35

24.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.81 RON 56.1

$8.25 RON 39.18

43.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.37 RON 6.51

$1.07 RON 5.06

28.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 RON 7.59

$1.49 RON 7.10

7.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 RON 8.87

$1.39 RON 6.58

34.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 RON 10.96

$1.83 RON 8.69

26.23%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.35

$0.68 RON 3.25

35.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 RON 4.16

$0.83 RON 3.94

6.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.96 RON 4.57

$0.81 RON 3.86

18.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 RON 4.55

$0.73 RON 3.45

31.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.33 RON 30.08

$5.32 RON 25.24

18.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.50 RON 35.60

$5.38 RON 25.56

39.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 RON 5.78

$0.96 RON 4.55

27.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 RON 8.30

$1.17 RON 5.58

49.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 RON 3.34

$0.74 RON 3.53

-5.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.90 RON 208

$20.48 RON 97.3

114.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$0.65 RON 3.11

24.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 RON 3.90

$0.65 RON 3.08

26.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.25 RON 39.19

$7.36 RON 34.94

12.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 RON 9.41

$1.82 RON 8.65

8.79%

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

$28.3K RON 134.3K

$28.3K RON 134.4K

-0.10%

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

$24.6K RON 116.8K

$24.7K RON 117.5K

-0.60%

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

$152 RON 721

$147 RON 698

3.18%

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

$8.05 RON 38.23

$6.70 RON 31.82

20.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.37 RON 44.49

$8.03 RON 38.14

16.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.94 RON 232

$37.42 RON 178

30.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.31 RON 106

$17.23 RON 81.8

29.48%

Cinema Ticket

$9.32 RON 44.24

$6.26 RON 29.70

48.88%

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

$577 RON 2,742

$290 RON 1,375

99.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K RON 58.4K

$6,433 RON 30.5K

91.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.3 RON 414

$96.0 RON 456

-9.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.70 RON 207

$25.20 RON 120

73.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 RON 474

$61.6 RON 292

62.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 RON 509

$58.4 RON 277

83.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 RON 3,144

$213 RON 1,013

210.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$539 RON 2,558

$159 RON 754

239.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 RON 5,919

$611 RON 2,903

103.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$836 RON 3,971

$459 RON 2,179

82.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,596 RON 21.8K

$1,818 RON 8,634

152.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,264 RON 15.5K

$1,519 RON 7,212

114.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,293 RON 6,142

$828 RON 3,931

56.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

7.2

-7.64%

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

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: November 3, 2026

Last update for Roman: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cluj-Napoca

$539 37.8%

Roman

$159 18.8% 70.5% $380

Groceries & Markets

Cluj-Napoca

$231 16.2%

Roman

$176 20.8% 23.9% $55

Eating Out

Cluj-Napoca

$215 15.1%

Roman

$161 19.1% 25.2% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cluj-Napoca

$169 11.9%

Roman

$162 19.2% 4.4% $7.4

Clothing & Footwear

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7%

Roman

$109 12.9% 28.6% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Cluj-Napoca

$68 4.7%

Roman

$50 5.9% 26.1% $18

Getting Around

Cluj-Napoca

$52 3.6%

Roman

$27 3.3% 47% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $662 in Cluj-Napoca and $213 in Roman. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cluj-Napoca pays 56% 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: $55 in Cluj-Napoca vs $33 in Roman for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $231 vs $176 per month, with Roman cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Roman

🕒 Local time

04:17 4:17 AM

Same time as Cluj-Napoca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

324,576

80,328

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cluj-Napoca Roman 250 km

From you

Cluj-Napoca
Roman

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 Roman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Roman is about 41% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 56% higher in Cluj-Napoca, 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 $213 in Roman. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Roman runs roughly 53% less than in Cluj-Napoca. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $577 in Cluj-Napoca versus $290 in Roman. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $842 in Roman versus $1,424 in Cluj-Napoca, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Roman but tight or insufficient in Cluj-Napoca. The gap between the two cities makes Roman 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 Roman gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.