Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fredrikstad and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,983 in Fredrikstad, rent and utilities included – about $19,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

144

Cost of Living Index in Fredrikstad
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Fredrikstad Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Fredrikstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,983

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,983 in Fredrikstad versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Fredrikstad $2,983
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,345 in Fredrikstad versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Fredrikstad $4,345
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,707 in Fredrikstad versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Fredrikstad $5,707
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Fredrikstad is roughly 123% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Fredrikstad is 121% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.28 NOK 247

$14.49 RON 68.6

81.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$124 NOK 1,170

$58.1 RON 275

113.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.65 NOK 119

$7.48 RON 35.40

69.12%

Cappuccino

$6.77 NOK 63.7

$3.44 RON 16.29

96.80%

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

$5.55 NOK 52.3

$2.37 RON 11.22

134.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 NOK 41.36

$2.30 RON 10.88

90.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.55 NOK 109

$3.70 RON 17.51

212.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.57 NOK 90.1

$4.16 RON 19.69

130.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.34 NOK 22.00

$1.67 RON 7.90

40.12%

White Bread (500g)

$4.31 NOK 40.56

$1.37 RON 6.50

214.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.43 NOK 32.31

$1.72 RON 8.14

99.42%

Eggs

$5.82 NOK 54.8

$3.64 RON 17.22

59.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.06 NOK 123

$9.08 RON 42.98

43.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.96 NOK 169

$6.84 RON 32.35

162.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$34.38 NOK 324

$12.00 RON 56.8

186.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 NOK 31.71

$1.23 RON 5.80

173.98%

Banana (1kg)

$3.64 NOK 34.24

$1.63 RON 7.73

123.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.30 NOK 40.49

$1.57 RON 7.45

173.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.00 NOK 47.06

$2.54 RON 12.01

96.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 NOK 24.74

$0.79 RON 3.75

232.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.71 NOK 25.53

$0.77 RON 3.66

251.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.82 NOK 26.50

$0.87 RON 4.13

224.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 NOK 21.95

$0.99 RON 4.70

135.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.51 NOK 146

$6.31 RON 29.86

145.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.16 NOK 209

$6.20 RON 29.34

257.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.49 NOK 32.81

$1.19 RON 5.63

193.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 NOK 41.34

$1.57 RON 7.45

179.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.11 NOK 38.71

$0.86 RON 4.08

377.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$64.5 NOK 607

$21.10 RON 99.8

205.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.56 NOK 118

$0.64 RON 3.05

1862.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.00 NOK 18.79

$0.60 RON 2.86

233.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.1 NOK 660

$6.43 RON 30.43

990.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.30 NOK 21.64

$1.96 RON 9.25

17.35%

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

$49.8K NOK 468.4K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

71.59%

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

$46.9K NOK 441.1K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

75.89%

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

$331 NOK 3,118

$196 RON 927

69.09%

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

$45.60 NOK 429

$8.04 RON 38.04

467.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.9 NOK 630

$9.35 RON 44.21

615.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.3 NOK 549

$50.2 RON 238

16.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.86 NOK 385

$25.33 RON 120

61.31%

Cinema Ticket

$20.19 NOK 190

$8.15 RON 38.55

147.73%

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

$168 NOK 1,579

$628 RON 2,971

-73.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K NOK 117.8K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-11.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$155 NOK 1,459

$89.6 RON 424

72.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.7 NOK 741

$38.32 RON 181

105.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 NOK 1,358

$79.3 RON 375

82.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 NOK 1,051

$90.4 RON 428

23.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,329 NOK 12.5K

$678 RON 3,209

95.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 NOK 10.6K

$448 RON 2,121

152.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,822 NOK 17.1K

$1,083 RON 5,125

68.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 NOK 14.3K

$725 RON 3,430

109.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,022 NOK 56.7K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

60.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,131 NOK 38.9K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

88.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,372 NOK 31.7K

$1,329 RON 6,290

153.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.95

6.75

-26.67%

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

Last update for Fredrikstad: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fredrikstad

$1.1K 37.9%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 60.4% $683

Groceries & Markets

Fredrikstad

$540 18.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 58.3% $315

Eating Out

Fredrikstad

$446 15%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 49.5% $221

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fredrikstad

$444 14.9%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 51.9% $230

Clothing & Footwear

Fredrikstad

$220 7.4%

Bucharest

$134 10% 39.2% $86

Getting Around

Fredrikstad

$103 3.5%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 72.7% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Fredrikstad

$99 3.3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 32.6% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,329 in Fredrikstad and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fredrikstad pays 154% 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: $124 in Fredrikstad vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $540 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Fredrikstad

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

18:13 6:13 PM

19:13 7:13 PM

1 h ahead of Fredrikstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

85,267

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Fredrikstad Bucharest 1,940 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Fredrikstad
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

Fredrikstad vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fredrikstad and Bucharest differ by about 123% in total monthly costs ($2,983 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 154% higher in Fredrikstad, 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: $1,329 in Fredrikstad versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,983 per month in Fredrikstad versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 123% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 205% less than in Fredrikstad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,983 in Fredrikstad, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Fredrikstad. 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, Fredrikstad 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 123% less than in Fredrikstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.