Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elbasan and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Elbasan: $882 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Elbasan
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Elbasan Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Elbasan

🇦🇱 Albania

$882

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $882 in Elbasan versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Elbasan $882
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,391 in Elbasan versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Elbasan $1,391
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,901 in Elbasan versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Elbasan $1,901
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Elbasan costs roughly 34% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Elbasan 35% lower, Bucharest 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.79 ALL 788

$14.49 RON 68.6

-32.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.36 ALL 2,928

$58.1 RON 275

-37.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.85 ALL 552

$7.48 RON 35.40

-8.42%

Cappuccino

$1.68 ALL 135

$3.44 RON 16.29

-51.16%

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

$1.35 ALL 109

$2.37 RON 11.22

-43.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 ALL 50.8

$2.30 RON 10.88

-72.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 ALL 174

$3.70 RON 17.51

-41.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 ALL 228

$4.16 RON 19.69

-31.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ALL 151

$1.67 RON 7.90

12.57%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 ALL 73.4

$1.37 RON 6.50

-33.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 ALL 131

$1.72 RON 8.14

-5.81%

Eggs

$2.70 ALL 218

$3.64 RON 17.22

-25.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.98 ALL 804

$9.08 RON 42.98

9.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.87 ALL 473

$6.84 RON 32.35

-14.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.19 ALL 901

$12.00 RON 56.8

-6.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 ALL 96.3

$1.23 RON 5.80

-2.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 ALL 184

$1.63 RON 7.73

39.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 ALL 109

$1.57 RON 7.45

-13.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 ALL 86.1

$2.54 RON 12.01

-57.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 ALL 79.0

$0.79 RON 3.75

24.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ALL 87.5

$0.77 RON 3.66

41.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.81 ALL 65.1

$0.87 RON 4.13

-6.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 ALL 52.1

$0.99 RON 4.70

-34.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ALL 353

$6.31 RON 29.86

-30.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.07 ALL 649

$6.20 RON 29.34

30.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 ALL 82.0

$1.19 RON 5.63

-14.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ALL 149

$1.57 RON 7.45

17.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ALL 38.46

$0.86 RON 4.08

-44.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.51 ALL 1,571

$21.10 RON 99.8

-7.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.77 ALL 303

$0.64 RON 3.05

489.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 ALL 122

$0.60 RON 2.86

151.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.94 ALL 1,203

$6.43 RON 30.43

132.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 ALL 173

$1.96 RON 9.25

9.69%

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

$28.9K ALL 2.3M

$29.0K RON 137.2K

-0.25%

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

$29.9K ALL 2.4M

$26.6K RON 126.0K

12.25%

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

$61.1 ALL 4,918

$196 RON 927

-68.82%

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

$15.20 ALL 1,224

$8.04 RON 38.04

89.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.00 ALL 966

$9.35 RON 44.21

28.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.6 ALL 4,558

$50.2 RON 238

12.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.22 ALL 1,386

$25.33 RON 120

-32.02%

Cinema Ticket

$4.33 ALL 349

$8.15 RON 38.55

-46.87%

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

$139 ALL 11.2K

$628 RON 2,971

-77.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,835 ALL 147.8K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-86.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 ALL 5,804

$89.6 RON 424

-19.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.85 ALL 3,611

$38.32 RON 181

17.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.8 ALL 7,630

$79.3 RON 375

19.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 ALL 7,754

$90.4 RON 428

6.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$299 ALL 24.1K

$678 RON 3,209

-55.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$204 ALL 16.4K

$448 RON 2,121

-54.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$442 ALL 35.6K

$1,083 RON 5,125

-59.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 ALL 25.1K

$725 RON 3,430

-57.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,361 ALL 109.6K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

-63.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$858 ALL 69.1K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

-60.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$539 ALL 43.4K

$1,329 RON 6,290

-59.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.1

6.75

-9.63%

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

Last update for Elbasan: October 13, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Elbasan

$210 23.8%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 7.4% $15

Accommodation & Living

Elbasan

$204 23.1%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 120% $245

Eating Out

Elbasan

$143 16.3%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 57.1% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Elbasan

$139 15.7%

Bucharest

$134 10% 3.4% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elbasan

$88 10%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 142% $125

Sport & Entertainment

Elbasan

$65 7.4%

Bucharest

$67 5% 1.9% $1.3

Getting Around

Elbasan

$33 3.7%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 13.8% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $299 in Elbasan and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 147% 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: $36.00 in Elbasan vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $225 per month, with Elbasan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Elbasan

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

02:46 2:46 AM

03:46 3:46 AM

1 h ahead of Elbasan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,703

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

Elbasan Bucharest 610 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Elbasan
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

Elbasan vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elbasan and Bucharest differ by about 52% in total monthly costs ($882 vs $1,340 including rent). Elbasan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 147% 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: $299 in Elbasan versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $882 per month in Elbasan versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 52% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Elbasan runs roughly 8% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $882 in Elbasan versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Elbasan but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Elbasan 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 Elbasan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.