Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grahamstown and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Grahamstown: $1,121 a month against $1,340 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Grahamstown
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Grahamstown Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Grahamstown

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,121

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,121 in Grahamstown versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Grahamstown $1,121
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,757 in Grahamstown versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Grahamstown $1,757
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,392 in Grahamstown versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Grahamstown $2,392
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Grahamstown costs roughly 16% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Grahamstown 17% lower, Bucharest 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.85 R 179

$14.49 RON 68.6

-25.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.03 R 692

$58.1 RON 275

-27.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.06 R 99.9

$7.48 RON 35.40

-18.98%

Cappuccino

$2.13 R 35.03

$3.44 RON 16.29

-38.08%

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

$1.04 R 17.21

$2.37 RON 11.22

-56.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R 11.94

$2.30 RON 10.88

-68.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 R 45.45

$3.70 RON 17.51

-25.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 R 50.6

$4.16 RON 19.69

-26.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 R 18.45

$1.67 RON 7.90

-32.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 R 16.57

$1.37 RON 6.50

-26.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 R 23.86

$1.72 RON 8.14

-15.70%

Eggs

$2.82 R 46.40

$3.64 RON 17.22

-22.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.78 R 145

$9.08 RON 42.98

-3.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.25 R 86.5

$6.84 RON 32.35

-23.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.51 R 140

$12.00 RON 56.8

-29.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.19 R 36.07

$1.23 RON 5.80

78.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.17

$1.63 RON 7.73

-9.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 27.91

$1.57 RON 7.45

7.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 R 28.34

$2.54 RON 12.01

-32.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.50

$0.79 RON 3.75

111.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.55

$0.77 RON 3.66

77.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.36

$0.87 RON 4.13

49.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 R 16.73

$0.99 RON 4.70

3.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.20 R 52.7

$6.31 RON 29.86

-49.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.68 R 77.1

$6.20 RON 29.34

-24.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 R 20.02

$1.19 RON 5.63

2.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 R 29.34

$1.57 RON 7.45

13.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.32

$0.86 RON 4.08

79.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.62 R 10.13

$0.64 RON 3.05

-3.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 R 7.72

$0.60 RON 2.86

-21.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.17 R 135

$6.43 RON 30.43

27.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 R 23.07

$1.96 RON 9.25

-28.57%

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

$35.0K R 576.1K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

20.58%

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

$32.8K R 540.0K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

23.04%

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

$120 R 1,983

$196 RON 927

-38.56%

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

$34.81 R 574

$8.04 RON 38.04

332.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.20 R 728

$9.35 RON 44.21

372.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.55 R 520

$50.2 RON 238

-37.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.55 R 174

$25.33 RON 120

-58.35%

Cinema Ticket

$10.60 R 175

$8.15 RON 38.55

30.06%

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

$175 R 2,891

$628 RON 2,971

-72.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,834 R 79.6K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-65.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.5 R 1,178

$89.6 RON 424

-20.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.90 R 608

$38.32 RON 181

-3.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 R 1,803

$79.3 RON 375

38.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.3 R 1,553

$90.4 RON 428

4.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$394 R 6,497

$678 RON 3,209

-41.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 R 6,038

$448 RON 2,121

-18.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$726 R 12.0K

$1,083 RON 5,125

-32.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$719 R 11.9K

$725 RON 3,430

-0.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$874 R 14.4K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

-76.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$646 R 10.6K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

-70.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,164 R 19.2K

$1,329 RON 6,290

-12.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

6.75

76.89%

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

Last update for Grahamstown: 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

Grahamstown

$366 32.7%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 22.3% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grahamstown

$199 17.8%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 7% $14

Groceries & Markets

Grahamstown

$196 17.5%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 15% $29

Eating Out

Grahamstown

$158 14.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 43% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Grahamstown

$140 12.5%

Bucharest

$134 10% 4.7% $6.6

Sport & Entertainment

Grahamstown

$53 4.7%

Bucharest

$67 5% 26.1% $14

Getting Around

Grahamstown

$9.1 * 0.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 210% $19

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 $394 in Grahamstown and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 14% 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: $42.00 in Grahamstown vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $196 vs $225 per month, with Grahamstown cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Grahamstown

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

08:23 8:23 AM

09:23 9:23 AM

1 h ahead of Grahamstown

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,264

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Grahamstown Bucharest 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Grahamstown
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

Grahamstown vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grahamstown and Bucharest differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,121 vs $1,340 including rent). Grahamstown is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 14% 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: $394 in Grahamstown versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,121 per month in Grahamstown versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,121 in Grahamstown versus $1,340 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Grahamstown but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Grahamstown 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, Grahamstown 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 Grahamstown gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.