Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $2,625 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,625

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,625 in Edinburgh versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Edinburgh $2,625
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,915 in Edinburgh versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Edinburgh $3,915
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,205 in Edinburgh versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Edinburgh $5,205
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Edinburgh is roughly 94% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Edinburgh 96% above, Bucharest 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.18 £18.28

$14.46 RON 68.9

67.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 £80.0

$57.7 RON 275

83.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.90

$7.50 RON 35.72

39.33%

Cappuccino

$5.24 £3.96

$3.43 RON 16.32

52.77%

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

$2.48 £1.88

$2.46 RON 11.72

0.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.63

$2.33 RON 11.09

-7.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.95 £6.01

$3.80 RON 18.10

109.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.09 £6.12

$4.10 RON 19.56

97.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.65 RON 7.85

3.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 £1.77

$1.35 RON 6.44

73.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 £1.76

$1.78 RON 8.48

30.90%

Eggs

$5.17 £3.91

$3.66 RON 17.46

41.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.33 £7.05

$8.57 RON 40.84

8.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.42 £7.12

$6.80 RON 32.41

38.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.77 £11.92

$11.72 RON 55.8

34.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 £2.32

$1.29 RON 6.16

137.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.56 RON 7.43

25.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 £2.53

$1.54 RON 7.34

116.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.61 £2.73

$2.48 RON 11.84

45.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 £1.52

$0.83 RON 3.95

142.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.15

$0.80 RON 3.80

90.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.96

$0.84 RON 4.01

51.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.39

$0.93 RON 4.42

96.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.76

$6.44 RON 30.68

264.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.05 £8.35

$6.32 RON 30.13

74.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.44

$1.26 RON 5.99

156.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.43

$1.60 RON 7.65

100.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.10 £2.34

$0.81 RON 3.88

282.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.8 £72.4

$21.13 RON 101

353.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 £3.95

$0.60 RON 2.88

771.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 £1.43

$0.61 RON 2.93

209.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.39 £21.46

$6.17 RON 29.41

360.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.57

$1.96 RON 9.34

5.61%

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

$37.9K £28.6K

$28.1K RON 134.2K

34.49%

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

$39.7K £30.0K

$26.3K RON 125.3K

51.04%

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

$324 £245

$197 RON 938

64.81%

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

$16.36 £12.37

$8.34 RON 39.74

96.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.13 £32.61

$9.19 RON 43.80

369.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.93 £33.96

$49.87 RON 238

-9.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.12 £17.48

$24.99 RON 119

-7.48%

Cinema Ticket

$14.35 £10.85

$8.46 RON 40.31

69.62%

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

$1,783 £1,348

$639 RON 3,046

179.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.1K £19.0K

$14.4K RON 68.6K

74.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.8 £61.8

$90.6 RON 432

-9.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.85 £37.68

$38.05 RON 181

31.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £81.0

$79.7 RON 380

34.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 £88.8

$93.2 RON 444

26.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,623 £1,227

$673 RON 3,209

141.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 £892

$449 RON 2,139

162.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,741 £2,072

$1,098 RON 5,234

149.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,084 £1,576

$729 RON 3,474

185.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,661 £5,035

$3,740 RON 17.8K

78.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,622 £3,493

$2,189 RON 10.4K

111.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,603 £2,724

$1,323 RON 6,306

172.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

6.74

-29.23%

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

Last update for Edinburgh: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.1%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 62% $731

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$384 14.7%

Bucharest

$214 16% 44.2% $170

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$362 13.9%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 37.7% $137

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$332 12.7%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 33.2% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$160 6.1%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 15.4% $25

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$123 4.7%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 77.2% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$74 2.8%

Bucharest

$67 5% 9.3% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,623 in Edinburgh and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Edinburgh pays 172% 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: $106 in Edinburgh vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $222 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

02:52 2:52 AM

04:52 4:52 AM

2 h ahead of Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Edinburgh Bucharest 2,420 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Edinburgh
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

Edinburgh vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Edinburgh and Bucharest differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($2,625 vs $1,351 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 172% higher in Edinburgh, 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: $1,623 in Edinburgh versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,625 per month in Edinburgh versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 94% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 353% less than in Edinburgh. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $2,625 in Edinburgh, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Edinburgh. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest 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.

Safety-wise, Edinburgh and Bucharest are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 94% less than in Edinburgh. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.