Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Geel and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,052 in Geel, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Geel
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Geel Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Geel

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,052

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,052 in Geel versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Geel $2,052
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,931 in Geel versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Geel $2,931
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,810 in Geel versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Geel $3,810
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Geel is roughly 53% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Geel is 52% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.72 €16.65

$14.49 RON 68.6

29.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.6 €67.2

$58.1 RON 275

30.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.77 €9.58

$7.48 RON 35.40

43.98%

Cappuccino

$3.84 €3.42

$3.44 RON 16.29

11.63%

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

$2.62 €2.33

$2.37 RON 11.22

10.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 €2.71

$2.30 RON 10.88

32.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 €3.94

$3.70 RON 17.51

19.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 €2.93

$4.16 RON 19.69

-20.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.67 RON 7.90

-19.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.70 €2.40

$1.37 RON 6.50

97.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.72 RON 8.14

56.40%

Eggs

$5.17 €4.60

$3.64 RON 17.22

42.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.98 €16.00

$9.08 RON 42.98

98.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.36 €11.88

$6.84 RON 32.35

95.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.62 €19.23

$12.00 RON 56.8

80.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.23 RON 5.80

142.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.63 RON 7.73

44.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 €2.51

$1.57 RON 7.45

79.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.07 €3.62

$2.54 RON 12.01

60.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$0.79 RON 3.75

212.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$0.77 RON 3.66

176.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.87 RON 4.13

109.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.67

$0.99 RON 4.70

-23.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.24 €11.78

$6.31 RON 29.86

109.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.68 €7.72

$6.20 RON 29.34

40.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 €2.30

$1.19 RON 5.63

117.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 €2.75

$1.57 RON 7.45

97.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.39 €3.01

$0.86 RON 4.08

294.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$70.4 €62.6

$21.10 RON 99.8

233.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.87 €2.55

$0.64 RON 3.05

348.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.23 €1.98

$0.60 RON 2.86

271.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.84 €35.44

$6.43 RON 30.43

519.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.96 RON 9.25

-8.67%

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

$23.9K €21.2K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

-17.63%

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

$34.1K €30.3K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

27.97%

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

$169 €151

$196 RON 927

-13.55%

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

$21.76 €19.36

$8.04 RON 38.04

170.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.5 €46.69

$9.35 RON 44.21

461.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.54 €35.17

$50.2 RON 238

-21.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$16.73 €14.88

$8.15 RON 38.55

105.28%

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

$1,615 €1,437

$628 RON 2,971

157.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.1K €32.1K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

156.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 €89.3

$89.6 RON 424

11.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.86 €40.79

$38.32 RON 181

19.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 €98.0

$79.3 RON 375

38.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$144 €128

$90.4 RON 428

59.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,037 €923

$678 RON 3,209

52.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$795 €708

$448 RON 2,121

77.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,042 €927

$1,083 RON 5,125

-3.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$950 €845

$725 RON 3,430

30.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,922 €3,488

$3,751 RON 17.7K

4.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,388 €3,014

$2,195 RON 10.4K

54.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,410 €2,144

$1,329 RON 6,290

81.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

-55.56%

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

Last update for Geel: 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

Geel

$795 38.8%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 43.6% $347

Groceries & Markets

Geel

$383 18.7%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 41.2% $158

Eating Out

Geel

$280 13.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 19.5% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Geel

$244 11.9%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 12.5% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Geel

$180 8.8%

Bucharest

$134 10% 25.7% $46

Getting Around

Geel

$98 4.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 71.2% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Geel

$73 3.6%

Bucharest

$67 5% 8.9% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,037 in Geel and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Geel pays 81% 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: $76.0 in Geel vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $383 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Geel

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

20:39 8:39 PM

21:39 9:39 PM

1 h ahead of Geel

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,781

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Geel Bucharest 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Geel
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

Geel vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Geel and Bucharest differ by about 53% in total monthly costs ($2,052 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 81% higher in Geel, 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: $1,037 in Geel versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,052 per month in Geel versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 53% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 233% less than in Geel. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,052 in Geel, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Geel. 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, Geel 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 53% less than in Geel. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.