Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cugir and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Cugir: $879 a month against $1,354 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Cugir
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Cugir Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Cugir

🇷🇴 Romania

$879

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $879 in Cugir versus $1,354 in Bucharest.

Cugir $879
Bucharest $1,354

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,300 in Cugir versus $2,043 in Bucharest.

Cugir $1,300
Bucharest $2,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,721 in Cugir versus $2,733 in Bucharest.

Cugir $1,721
Bucharest $2,733

Living in Cugir costs roughly 35% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.85 RON 28.12

$14.66 RON 70.5

-60.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.39 RON 103

$57.7 RON 277

-62.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.55 RON 36.32

$7.52 RON 36.14

0.40%

Cappuccino

$1.50 RON 7.22

$3.56 RON 17.09

-57.87%

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

$1.29 RON 6.20

$2.47 RON 11.88

-47.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 RON 5.65

$2.18 RON 10.50

-46.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 RON 7.28

$3.69 RON 17.73

-59.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 RON 10.23

$4.28 RON 20.57

-50.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 RON 5.53

$1.67 RON 8.04

-31.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 RON 5.90

$1.35 RON 6.49

-8.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 RON 8.42

$1.78 RON 8.53

-1.69%

Eggs

$2.70 RON 13.00

$3.56 RON 17.12

-24.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.97 RON 33.51

$9.12 RON 43.86

-23.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.85 RON 23.32

$6.82 RON 32.77

-28.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.51 RON 50.5

$12.13 RON 58.3

-13.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.78

$1.26 RON 6.08

28.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 RON 8.48

$1.62 RON 7.80

8.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 RON 7.91

$1.56 RON 7.49

5.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.41 RON 6.77

$2.54 RON 12.21

-44.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.77

$0.78 RON 3.76

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 RON 3.93

$0.77 RON 3.72

6.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 RON 5.73

$0.89 RON 4.27

33.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 RON 3.67

$0.90 RON 4.32

-15.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 RON 26.23

$6.55 RON 31.49

-16.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.78 RON 27.77

$6.37 RON 30.60

-9.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 RON 5.87

$1.24 RON 5.98

-1.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 RON 8.18

$1.62 RON 7.80

4.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 RON 3.47

$0.85 RON 4.11

-15.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.74 RON 105

$20.71 RON 99.6

4.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.54 RON 2.62

$0.61 RON 2.95

-11.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.54 RON 2.61

$0.61 RON 2.95

-11.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.32 RON 25.56

$6.16 RON 29.62

-13.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 RON 6.50

$2.00 RON 9.60

-32.50%

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

$28.1K RON 135.0K

$27.9K RON 134.4K

0.51%

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

$24.9K RON 119.9K

$25.3K RON 121.7K

-1.51%

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

$124 RON 595

$192 RON 923

-35.55%

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

$7.97 RON 38.33

$7.92 RON 38.06

0.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.31 RON 35.13

$8.96 RON 43.06

-18.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.47 RON 185

$49.99 RON 240

-23.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.29 RON 97.5

$24.81 RON 119

-18.22%

Cinema Ticket

$5.41 RON 26.01

$8.51 RON 40.90

-36.43%

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

$155 RON 746

$686 RON 3,297

-77.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,824 RON 18.4K

$14.4K RON 69.3K

-73.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.46 RON 151

$90.2 RON 434

-65.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$8.30 RON 39.89

$38.74 RON 186

-78.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.8 RON 336

$78.9 RON 379

-11.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.1 RON 356

$92.1 RON 443

-19.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$379 RON 1,824

$711 RON 3,419

-46.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$281 RON 1,352

$462 RON 2,220

-39.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$585 RON 2,814

$1,053 RON 5,064

-44.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 RON 2,168

$723 RON 3,474

-37.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,831 RON 8,802

$3,634 RON 17.5K

-49.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,352 RON 6,501

$2,173 RON 10.4K

-37.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$519 RON 2,494

$1,354 RON 6,508

-61.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.35

6.75

8.89%

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

Last update for Cugir: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cugir

$281 32%

Bucharest

$462 34.1% 64.2% $181

Groceries & Markets

Cugir

$190 21.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.6% 18.6% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cugir

$139 15.8%

Bucharest

$209 15.4% 50.2% $70

Eating Out

Cugir

$109 12.4%

Bucharest

$228 16.9% 109% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Cugir

$83 9.4%

Bucharest

$135 10% 63.3% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Cugir

$49 5.6%

Bucharest

$67 5% 36% $18

Getting Around

Cugir

$28 3.2%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 0.3% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $379 in Cugir and $711 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $21 in Cugir vs $58 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $190 vs $225 per month, with Cugir cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cugir

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

13:56 1:56 PM

Same time as Cugir

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,780

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cugir Bucharest 260 km

From you

Cugir
Bucharest

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

Cugir vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cugir and Bucharest differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($879 vs $1,354 including rent). Cugir is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 62% lower in Cugir. 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: $379 in Cugir versus $711 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $879 per month in Cugir versus $1,354 in Bucharest – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 5% less than in Cugir. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $879 in Cugir versus $1,354 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cugir but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Cugir 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.

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