Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harlow and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,320 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
Learn more

Harlow Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,320

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,320 in Harlow versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Harlow $2,320
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,416 in Harlow versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Harlow $3,416
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,513 in Harlow versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Harlow $4,513
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Harlow is roughly 73% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Harlow is 72% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.12 £15.84

$14.49 RON 68.6

45.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.0 £69.7

$58.1 RON 275

60.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 £8.04

$7.48 RON 35.40

43.32%

Cappuccino

$5.71 £4.28

$3.44 RON 16.29

65.99%

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

$2.61 £1.96

$2.37 RON 11.22

10.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$2.30 RON 10.88

-22.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.71 £5.03

$3.70 RON 17.51

81.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 £5.11

$4.16 RON 19.69

63.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.67 RON 7.90

-19.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.37 RON 6.50

0.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 £0.82

$1.72 RON 8.14

-36.05%

Eggs

$2.35 £1.76

$3.64 RON 17.22

-35.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.66 £5.00

$9.08 RON 42.98

-26.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.12 £4.59

$6.84 RON 32.35

-10.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.73 £5.05

$12.00 RON 56.8

-43.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.23 RON 5.80

65.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.63 RON 7.73

-27.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.57 RON 7.45

-26.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.95 £1.47

$2.54 RON 12.01

-23.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.79 RON 3.75

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$0.77 RON 3.66

72.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 £1.01

$0.87 RON 4.13

55.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.11

$0.99 RON 4.70

49.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.83 £15.63

$6.31 RON 29.86

230.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.04 £6.78

$6.20 RON 29.34

45.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 £2.04

$1.19 RON 5.63

128.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.57 RON 7.45

22.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.63 £1.97

$0.86 RON 4.08

205.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 £4.38

$0.64 RON 3.05

812.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 £1.22

$0.60 RON 2.86

170.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.14 £15.86

$6.43 RON 30.43

228.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 £1.38

$1.96 RON 9.25

-5.61%

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

$37.4K £28.0K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

28.94%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

54.11%

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

$220 £165

$196 RON 927

12.06%

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

$11.73 £8.80

$8.04 RON 38.04

45.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.08 £21.07

$9.35 RON 44.21

200.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.62 £34.22

$50.2 RON 238

-9.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.11 £6.09

$25.33 RON 120

-67.98%

Cinema Ticket

$12.56 £9.43

$8.15 RON 38.55

54.11%

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

$1,062 £797

$628 RON 2,971

69.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

41.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.9 £52.4

$89.6 RON 424

-22.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.69 £23.77

$38.32 RON 181

-17.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 £57.8

$79.3 RON 375

-2.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.87 £28.41

$90.4 RON 428

-58.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 £1,048

$678 RON 3,209

105.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,324 £993

$448 RON 2,121

195.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,253 £1,690

$1,083 RON 5,125

108.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,211 £1,659

$725 RON 3,430

204.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,992 £2,245

$1,329 RON 6,290

125.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

6.75

-27.26%

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

Last update for Harlow: 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

Harlow

$1.3K 57.1%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 66.1% $875

Eating Out

Harlow

$334 14.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 32.7% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harlow

$259 11.2%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 17.8% $46

Groceries & Markets

Harlow

$209 9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 7.4% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Harlow

$97 4.2%

Bucharest

$134 10% 37.5% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Harlow

$71 3.1%

Bucharest

$67 5% 6% $4.2

Getting Around

Harlow

$24 * 1.1%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 15.3% $3.8

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 $1,397 in Harlow and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 125% 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: $93.0 in Harlow vs $58.0 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $209 vs $225, with Harlow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Harlow

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

03:23 3:23 AM

05:23 5:23 AM

2 h ahead of Harlow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

86,191

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Harlow Bucharest 2,080 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Harlow
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

Harlow vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harlow and Bucharest differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($2,320 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 125% higher in Harlow, 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: $1,397 in Harlow versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Harlow pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,320 per month in Harlow versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 73% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,320 in Harlow, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Harlow. 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, Harlow 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 73% less than in Harlow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.