Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Glasgow and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $2,386 in Glasgow, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Glasgow
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Glasgow Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Glasgow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,386

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,386 in Glasgow versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Glasgow $2,386
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,604 in Glasgow versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Glasgow $3,604
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,823 in Glasgow versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Glasgow $4,823
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Glasgow is roughly 77% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Glasgow 78% above, Bucharest 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.99 £15.87

$14.46 RON 68.9

45.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.5 £55.6

$57.7 RON 275

27.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 £7.98

$7.50 RON 35.72

40.67%

Cappuccino

$4.87 £3.68

$3.43 RON 16.32

41.98%

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

$2.13 £1.61

$2.46 RON 11.72

-13.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.31

$2.33 RON 11.09

-25.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.19 £3.93

$3.80 RON 18.10

36.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.65 £5.03

$4.10 RON 19.56

62.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.24

$1.65 RON 7.85

-0.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 £1.18

$1.35 RON 6.44

15.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.55

$1.78 RON 8.48

15.17%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.88

$3.66 RON 17.46

3.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.16 £6.93

$8.57 RON 40.84

6.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.00 £6.81

$6.80 RON 32.41

32.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 £12.66

$11.72 RON 55.8

42.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.26

$1.29 RON 6.16

131.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.18

$1.56 RON 7.43

-0.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 £2.24

$1.54 RON 7.34

92.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 £2.36

$2.48 RON 11.84

26.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 £1.44

$0.83 RON 3.95

130.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$0.80 RON 3.80

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 £0.86

$0.84 RON 4.01

35.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.93 RON 4.42

75.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.66 £17.88

$6.44 RON 30.68

267.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.42

$6.32 RON 30.13

76.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.48

$1.26 RON 5.99

159.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 £2.59

$1.60 RON 7.65

113.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.08

$0.81 RON 3.88

402.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 £78.1

$21.13 RON 101

389.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.96 £4.51

$0.60 RON 2.88

893.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.17 £0.89

$0.61 RON 2.93

91.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.4 £45.63

$6.17 RON 29.41

878.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.61

$1.96 RON 9.34

9.18%

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

$38.5K £29.1K

$28.1K RON 134.2K

36.84%

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

$40.4K £30.6K

$26.3K RON 125.3K

53.86%

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

$309 £233

$197 RON 938

56.80%

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

$20.34 £15.38

$8.34 RON 39.74

143.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.92 £31.68

$9.19 RON 43.80

356.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.96 £33.99

$49.87 RON 238

-9.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.43 £15.45

$24.99 RON 119

-18.25%

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 £12.02

$8.46 RON 40.31

87.94%

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

$897 £678

$639 RON 3,046

40.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.4K £16.2K

$14.4K RON 68.6K

48.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$133 £101

$90.6 RON 432

47.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.49 £35.14

$38.05 RON 181

22.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.5

$79.7 RON 380

33.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.6 £69.3

$93.2 RON 444

-1.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,345 £1,016

$673 RON 3,209

99.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 £795

$449 RON 2,139

134.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,713 £2,051

$1,098 RON 5,234

147.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,955 £1,477

$729 RON 3,474

168.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 £3,030

$3,740 RON 17.8K

7.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 £2,302

$2,189 RON 10.4K

39.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,270 £2,472

$1,323 RON 6,306

147.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.76

6.74

-29.38%

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

Last update for Glasgow: 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

Glasgow

$1.1K 43.4%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 57.3% $603

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Glasgow

$371 15.3%

Bucharest

$214 16% 42.2% $157

Eating Out

Glasgow

$313 12.9%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 27.9% $87

Groceries & Markets

Glasgow

$308 12.7%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 28.1% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Glasgow

$170 7%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 20.2% $34

Getting Around

Glasgow

$131 5.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 78.7% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Glasgow

$77 3.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 13% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,345 in Glasgow and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Glasgow 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: $74.0 in Glasgow vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $308 vs $222 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Glasgow

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

05:51 5:51 AM

07:51 7:51 AM

2 h ahead of Glasgow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

606,340

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

Lowest

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Between locations

Glasgow Bucharest 2,480 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Glasgow
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

Glasgow vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Glasgow and Bucharest differ by about 77% in total monthly costs ($2,386 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 147% higher in Glasgow, 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: $1,345 in Glasgow versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,386 per month in Glasgow versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 77% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 389% less than in Glasgow. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $2,386 in Glasgow, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Glasgow. 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Glasgow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.