Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grimstad and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,129 in Grimstad, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Grimstad
Learn more

Grimstad Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Grimstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,129

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,129 in Grimstad versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Grimstad $2,129
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,634 in Grimstad versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Grimstad $3,634
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,140 in Grimstad versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Grimstad $5,140
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Grimstad is roughly 59% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Grimstad is 58% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.22 NOK 200

$14.49 RON 68.6

46.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.1 NOK 726

$58.1 RON 275

32.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.35 NOK 145

$7.48 RON 35.40

105.21%

Cappuccino

$4.81 NOK 45.27

$3.44 RON 16.29

39.83%

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

$4.08 NOK 38.42

$2.37 RON 11.22

72.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 NOK 31.72

$2.30 RON 10.88

46.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.48 NOK 108

$3.70 RON 17.51

210.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.48 NOK 98.7

$4.16 RON 19.69

151.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.54 NOK 23.91

$1.67 RON 7.90

52.10%

White Bread (500g)

$3.63 NOK 34.17

$1.37 RON 6.50

164.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.11 NOK 29.32

$1.72 RON 8.14

80.81%

Eggs

$3.54 NOK 33.34

$3.64 RON 17.22

-2.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.95 NOK 122

$9.08 RON 42.98

42.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.02 NOK 132

$6.84 RON 32.35

104.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.27 NOK 228

$12.00 RON 56.8

102.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 NOK 19.15

$1.23 RON 5.80

65.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 NOK 22.26

$1.63 RON 7.73

44.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 NOK 32.37

$1.57 RON 7.45

119.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 NOK 40.26

$2.54 RON 12.01

68.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.77 NOK 26.06

$0.79 RON 3.75

250.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.81 NOK 26.49

$0.77 RON 3.66

264.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.08 NOK 28.97

$0.87 RON 4.13

254.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 NOK 17.63

$0.99 RON 4.70

88.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.68 NOK 176

$6.31 RON 29.86

196.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.63 NOK 147

$6.20 RON 29.34

152.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.42 NOK 32.24

$1.19 RON 5.63

187.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.17 NOK 39.21

$1.57 RON 7.45

165.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.31 NOK 49.98

$0.86 RON 4.08

517.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.9 NOK 855

$21.10 RON 99.8

330.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.86 NOK 112

$0.64 RON 3.05

1753.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.85 NOK 17.40

$0.60 RON 2.86

208.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$69.8 NOK 657

$6.43 RON 30.43

984.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.33 NOK 21.89

$1.96 RON 9.25

18.88%

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

$48.5K NOK 456.8K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

67.33%

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

$43.9K NOK 413.5K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

64.91%

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

$301 NOK 2,837

$196 RON 927

53.87%

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

$33.76 NOK 318

$8.04 RON 38.04

319.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.1 NOK 509

$9.35 RON 44.21

478.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 NOK 389

$50.2 RON 238

-17.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$15.75 NOK 148

$8.15 RON 38.55

93.25%

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

$233 NOK 2,191

$628 RON 2,971

-62.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.7K NOK 147.6K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

11.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.6 NOK 900

$89.6 RON 424

6.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.3 NOK 492

$38.32 RON 181

36.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 NOK 996

$79.3 RON 375

33.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$157 NOK 1,478

$90.4 RON 428

73.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$876 NOK 8,245

$678 RON 3,209

29.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$532 NOK 5,006

$448 RON 2,121

18.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,926 NOK 18.1K

$1,083 RON 5,125

77.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,749 NOK 16.5K

$725 RON 3,430

141.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,591 NOK 43.2K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

22.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,358 NOK 31.6K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

52.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,349 NOK 40.9K

$1,329 RON 6,290

227.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.9

6.75

-27.41%

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

Last update for Grimstad: 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

Grimstad

$532 25%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 15.7% $83

Groceries & Markets

Grimstad

$435 20.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 48.3% $210

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grimstad

$389 18.3%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 45.2% $176

Eating Out

Grimstad

$382 17.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 41% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Grimstad

$185 8.7%

Bucharest

$134 10% 27.5% $51

Getting Around

Grimstad

$133 6.3%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 78.8% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Grimstad

$73 3.4%

Bucharest

$67 5% 8.7% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $876 in Grimstad and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grimstad pays 227% 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: $77.0 in Grimstad vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $435 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Grimstad

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

15:36 3:36 PM

16:36 4:36 PM

1 h ahead of Grimstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,093

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Grimstad Bucharest 1,950 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Grimstad
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

Grimstad vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grimstad and Bucharest differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($2,129 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 227% higher in Grimstad, 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: $876 in Grimstad versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,129 per month in Grimstad versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 59% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 331% less than in Grimstad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,129 in Grimstad, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Grimstad. 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, Grimstad 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 59% less than in Grimstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.