Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durres and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Durres: $1,138 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Durres
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Durres Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Durres

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,138

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,138 in Durres versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Durres $1,138
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,733 in Durres versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Durres $1,733
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,329 in Durres versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Durres $2,329
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Durres costs roughly 15% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Durres 16% lower, Bucharest 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.51 ALL 846

$14.49 RON 68.6

-27.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.27 ALL 3,001

$58.1 RON 275

-35.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.18 ALL 820

$7.48 RON 35.40

36.10%

Cappuccino

$1.98 ALL 160

$3.44 RON 16.29

-42.44%

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

$2.04 ALL 164

$2.37 RON 11.22

-13.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 ALL 84.2

$2.30 RON 10.88

-54.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 ALL 240

$3.70 RON 17.51

-19.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 ALL 340

$4.16 RON 19.69

1.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 ALL 170

$1.67 RON 7.90

26.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 ALL 86.2

$1.37 RON 6.50

-21.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 ALL 190

$1.72 RON 8.14

37.79%

Eggs

$3.69 ALL 297

$3.64 RON 17.22

1.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.79 ALL 1,030

$9.08 RON 42.98

40.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.64 ALL 615

$6.84 RON 32.35

11.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.57 ALL 1,173

$12.00 RON 56.8

21.42%

Apples (1kg)

$1.15 ALL 93.0

$1.23 RON 5.80

-6.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 ALL 192

$1.63 RON 7.73

46.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 ALL 124

$1.57 RON 7.45

-1.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 ALL 106

$2.54 RON 12.01

-48.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 ALL 74.0

$0.79 RON 3.75

16.46%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 ALL 76.1

$0.77 RON 3.66

22.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ALL 101

$0.87 RON 4.13

43.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 ALL 56.7

$0.99 RON 4.70

-29.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.24 ALL 341

$6.31 RON 29.86

-32.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.01 ALL 887

$6.20 RON 29.34

77.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 ALL 121

$1.19 RON 5.63

26.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ALL 166

$1.57 RON 7.45

31.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ALL 38.53

$0.86 RON 4.08

-44.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.19 ALL 1,545

$21.10 RON 99.8

-9.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.57 ALL 287

$0.64 RON 3.05

457.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.47 ALL 199

$0.60 RON 2.86

311.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 RON 30.43

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.18 ALL 176

$1.96 RON 9.25

11.22%

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

$16.1K ALL 1.3M

$29.0K RON 137.2K

-44.59%

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

$26.6K RON 126.0K

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

$93.6 ALL 7,534

$196 RON 927

-52.24%

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

$16.62 ALL 1,338

$8.04 RON 38.04

106.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.68 ALL 1,343

$9.35 RON 44.21

78.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.50 ALL 3,262

$50.2 RON 238

-19.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$61.3 ALL 4,932

$25.33 RON 120

141.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.48 ALL 602

$8.15 RON 38.55

-8.22%

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

$183 ALL 14.7K

$628 RON 2,971

-70.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,590 ALL 369.6K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-67.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.06 ALL 3,146

$89.6 RON 424

-56.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.02 ALL 3,303

$38.32 RON 181

7.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.4 ALL 7,195

$79.3 RON 375

12.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 ALL 12.8K

$90.4 RON 428

76.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$444 ALL 35.8K

$678 RON 3,209

-34.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$336 ALL 27.0K

$448 RON 2,121

-25.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$690 ALL 55.6K

$1,083 RON 5,125

-36.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$469 ALL 37.8K

$725 RON 3,430

-35.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,774 ALL 142.9K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

-52.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,154 ALL 92.9K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

-47.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$940 ALL 75.7K

$1,329 RON 6,290

-29.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

6.75

-22.22%

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

Last update for Durres: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Durres

$336 29.5%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 33.6% $113

Groceries & Markets

Durres

$261 22.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 13.7% $36

Eating Out

Durres

$174 15.3%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 29.3% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Durres

$148 13%

Bucharest

$134 10% 9.5% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durres

$127 11.2%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 68.1% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Durres

$55 4.9%

Bucharest

$67 5% 20% $11

Getting Around

Durres

$37 3.3%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 23.8% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $444 in Durres and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 41% 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: $37.00 in Durres vs $58.0 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $261 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Durres

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

09:34 9:34 AM

10:34 10:34 AM

1 h ahead of Durres

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

175,110

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ALL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Durres Bucharest 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Durres
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

Durres vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Durres and Bucharest differ by about 18% in total monthly costs ($1,138 vs $1,340 including rent). Durres is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 41% lower in Bucharest. 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: $444 in Durres versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,138 per month in Durres versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Durres runs roughly 10% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,138 in Durres versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Durres but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Durres 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 Durres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.