Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Essaouira and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Essaouira: $772 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Essaouira
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Essaouira Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

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Essaouira

🇲🇦 Morocco

$772

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $772 in Essaouira versus $1,371 in Bucharest.

Essaouira $772
Bucharest $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,155 in Essaouira versus $2,067 in Bucharest.

Essaouira $1,155
Bucharest $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,537 in Essaouira versus $2,764 in Bucharest.

Essaouira $1,537
Bucharest $2,764

Living in Essaouira costs roughly 44% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.93 MAD 48.10

$14.51 RON 69.0

-66.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.98 MAD 175

$61.2 RON 291

-70.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.28 MAD 71.0

$7.46 RON 35.46

-2.41%

Cappuccino

$1.40 MAD 13.61

$3.64 RON 17.31

-61.54%

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

$0.39 MAD 3.83

$2.62 RON 12.43

-85.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.21 MAD 2.09

$2.36 RON 11.23

-91.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.06 MAD 49.33

$3.78 RON 17.98

33.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 MAD 44.49

$4.11 RON 19.52

10.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 MAD 8.81

$1.66 RON 7.89

-45.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.49 MAD 4.82

$1.40 RON 6.64

-65.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MAD 16.91

$1.79 RON 8.53

-3.35%

Eggs

$1.61 MAD 15.72

$3.63 RON 17.25

-55.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.82 MAD 76.3

$8.92 RON 42.38

-12.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.70 MAD 55.6

$6.86 RON 32.62

-16.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.40 MAD 101

$11.99 RON 57.0

-13.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 MAD 12.59

$1.30 RON 6.16

-0.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 MAD 11.31

$1.63 RON 7.76

-28.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.65 MAD 6.31

$1.49 RON 7.09

-56.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.74 MAD 7.20

$2.54 RON 12.08

-70.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.54 MAD 5.29

$0.81 RON 3.86

-33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 MAD 6.19

$0.80 RON 3.78

-20.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.34 MAD 3.34

$0.86 RON 4.07

-60.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MAD 5.29

$0.94 RON 4.46

-42.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 MAD 37.44

$6.60 RON 31.38

-41.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.27 MAD 61.2

$6.33 RON 30.08

-0.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 MAD 17.47

$1.19 RON 5.64

50.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 MAD 19.30

$1.58 RON 7.53

25.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MAD 7.78

$0.98 RON 4.64

-18.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.62 MAD 6.09

$0.60 RON 2.86

3.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 MAD 5.66

$0.62 RON 2.93

-6.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.25

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MAD 14.13

$2.02 RON 9.62

-28.22%

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

$30.6K MAD 298.7K

$28.2K RON 134.0K

8.59%

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

$31.2K MAD 304.0K

$26.3K RON 124.8K

18.61%

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

$23.98 MAD 234

$196 RON 932

-87.78%

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

$17.44 MAD 170

$8.60 RON 40.84

102.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.74 MAD 290

$9.20 RON 43.69

223.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 RON 242

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.04 RON 119

Cinema Ticket

$5.20 MAD 50.7

$8.26 RON 39.27

-37.05%

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

$69.6 MAD 679

$681 RON 3,234

-89.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,244 MAD 51.1K

$18.7K RON 89.0K

-72.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.83 MAD 281

$93.3 RON 443

-69.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.22 MAD 422

$39.87 RON 189

8.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.3 MAD 569

$80.1 RON 381

-27.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.40 MAD 394

$90.6 RON 431

-55.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$374 MAD 3,650

$731 RON 3,473

-48.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$326 MAD 3,179

$470 RON 2,232

-30.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$902 MAD 8,799

$1,110 RON 5,276

-18.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$549 MAD 5,352

$722 RON 3,431

-24.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,749 RON 17.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,233 RON 10.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$252 MAD 2,453

$1,365 RON 6,487

-81.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.5

6.75

-3.70%

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

Last update for Essaouira: October 31, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Essaouira

$326 42.2%

Bucharest

$470 34.3% 44.1% $144

Groceries & Markets

Essaouira

$166 21.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.4% 35% $58

Eating Out

Essaouira

$115 14.9%

Bucharest

$229 16.7% 99.6% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Essaouira

$77 10%

Bucharest

$137 10% 78% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Essaouira

$71 9.2%

Bucharest

$214 15.6% 201% $143

Sport & Entertainment

Essaouira

$10 * 1.4%

Bucharest

$68 4.9% 550% $57

Getting Around

Essaouira

$6.7 * 0.9%

Bucharest

$29 2.1% 325% $22

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $374 in Essaouira and $731 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 5.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $18 in Essaouira vs $61 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $166 vs $225 per month, with Essaouira cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Essaouira

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

15:59 3:59 PM

17:59 5:59 PM

2 h ahead of Essaouira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

77,966

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.25 USD

100 MAD = 9.13 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.95 MAD (100 MAD = 9.13 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Essaouira Bucharest 3,420 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Essaouira
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

Essaouira vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $772 in Essaouira and $1,371 in Bucharest, so Essaouira is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 82% lower in Essaouira. 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: $374 in Essaouira versus $731 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $772 per month in Essaouira versus $1,371 in Bucharest – Essaouira is about 44% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $772 in Essaouira versus $1,371 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Essaouira but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Essaouira 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 – Essaouira wins on affordability, Bucharest on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.