Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dakar and Bucharest

For one person, living costs are similar in Dakar and in Bucharest: $1,385 and $1,371 a month, rent and utilities included.

66

Cost of Living Index in Dakar
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Dakar Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Dakar

🇸🇳 Senegal

$1,385

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,385 in Dakar versus $1,371 in Bucharest.

Dakar $1,385
Bucharest $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,180 in Dakar versus $2,067 in Bucharest.

Dakar $2,180
Bucharest $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,974 in Dakar versus $2,764 in Bucharest.

Dakar $2,974
Bucharest $2,764

Monthly costs are close between Dakar and Bucharest; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.04 F CFA 2,941

$14.51 RON 69.0

-65.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.6 F CFA 30.7K

$61.2 RON 291

-14.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.11 F CFA 6,486

$7.46 RON 35.50

48.93%

Cappuccino

$3.43 F CFA 2,005

$3.64 RON 17.33

-5.77%

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

$1.19 F CFA 698

$2.62 RON 12.44

-54.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 F CFA 484

$2.36 RON 11.24

-64.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 F CFA 1,460

$3.78 RON 18.00

-33.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.21 F CFA 2,461

$4.11 RON 19.54

2.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.61 F CFA 1,526

$1.66 RON 7.90

57.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 F CFA 504

$1.40 RON 6.64

-38.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 F CFA 904

$1.79 RON 8.54

-13.41%

Eggs

$2.49 F CFA 1,454

$3.63 RON 17.27

-31.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.62 F CFA 10.3K

$8.92 RON 42.43

97.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.18 F CFA 5,363

$6.86 RON 32.65

33.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 F CFA 6,435

$11.99 RON 57.0

-8.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 F CFA 1,861

$1.30 RON 6.17

145.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 F CFA 1,135

$1.63 RON 7.77

19.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 F CFA 1,714

$1.49 RON 7.10

96.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.79 F CFA 1,044

$2.54 RON 12.09

-29.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 F CFA 786

$0.81 RON 3.86

66.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 F CFA 533

$0.80 RON 3.79

13.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 F CFA 662

$0.86 RON 4.07

31.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 F CFA 379

$0.94 RON 4.46

-30.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.09 F CFA 1,222

$6.60 RON 31.42

-68.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.72 F CFA 8,594

$6.33 RON 30.11

132.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 F CFA 899

$1.19 RON 5.64

29.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 F CFA 1,942

$1.58 RON 7.54

110.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 F CFA 378

$0.98 RON 4.64

-33.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.8 F CFA 30.8K

$20.91 RON 99.5

152.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 F CFA 1,251

$0.60 RON 2.86

256.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 F CFA 1,209

$0.62 RON 2.93

233.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.72 F CFA 9,765

$6.37 RON 30.28

162.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 F CFA 963

$2.02 RON 9.63

-18.32%

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

$50.5K F CFA 29.5M

$28.2K RON 134.1K

78.96%

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

$48.6K F CFA 28.4M

$26.3K RON 125.0K

84.89%

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

$201 F CFA 117.5K

$196 RON 933

2.57%

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

$11.62 F CFA 6,786

$8.60 RON 40.89

35.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.23 F CFA 27.0K

$9.20 RON 43.74

402.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.88 F CFA 25.6K

$51.0 RON 243

-14.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.27 F CFA 13.6K

$25.04 RON 119

-7.07%

Cinema Ticket

$8.58 F CFA 5,012

$8.26 RON 39.31

3.87%

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

$325 F CFA 189.6K

$681 RON 3,237

-52.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K F CFA 7.1M

$18.7K RON 89.1K

-34.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.5 F CFA 33.6K

$93.3 RON 444

-38.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.37 F CFA 26.5K

$39.87 RON 190

13.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 F CFA 49.0K

$80.1 RON 381

4.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 F CFA 56.2K

$90.6 RON 431

6.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$807 F CFA 471.1K

$731 RON 3,477

10.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$433 F CFA 252.9K

$470 RON 2,234

-7.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,722 F CFA 1.0M

$1,110 RON 5,282

55.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$923 F CFA 538.9K

$722 RON 3,435

27.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,921 F CFA 2.9M

$3,749 RON 17.8K

31.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,514 F CFA 884.3K

$2,233 RON 10.6K

-32.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 F CFA 199.4K

$1,365 RON 6,494

-74.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.75

6.75

29.63%

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

Last update for Dakar: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dakar

$433 31.3%

Bucharest

$470 34.3% 8.5% $37

Groceries & Markets

Dakar

$293 21.2%

Bucharest

$225 16.4% 23.3% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dakar

$259 18.7%

Bucharest

$214 15.6% 17.4% $45

Eating Out

Dakar

$144 10.4%

Bucharest

$229 16.7% 59.4% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Dakar

$127 9.2%

Bucharest

$137 10% 7.4% $9.4

Getting Around

Dakar

$68 4.9%

Bucharest

$29 2.1% 58% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Dakar

$61 4.4%

Bucharest

$68 4.9% 10.6% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $807 in Dakar and $731 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $53 in Dakar vs $61 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $293 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇳 Dakar

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

18:30 6:30 PM

20:30 8:30 PM

2 h ahead of Dakar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,396,800 Capital

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to XOF – West African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 West African CFA Franc (Fr)

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 584 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to XOF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dakar Bucharest 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dakar
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

Dakar vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 75% lower in Dakar. 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: $807 in Dakar versus $731 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 60% less than in Dakar. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Dakar. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Bucharest gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.