Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilmenau and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,071 in Ilmenau, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Ilmenau
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Ilmenau Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,071

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Ilmenau $2,071
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,525 in Ilmenau versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Ilmenau $2,525
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,980 in Ilmenau versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Ilmenau $2,980
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Ilmenau is roughly 54% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ilmenau is 53% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.96 €9.75

$14.49 RON 68.6

-24.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.2

$58.1 RON 275

14.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.02

$7.48 RON 35.40

50.67%

Cappuccino

$3.41 €3.04

$3.44 RON 16.29

-0.87%

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

$4.26 €3.79

$2.37 RON 11.22

79.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 €7.09

$2.30 RON 10.88

246.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.41 €3.92

$3.70 RON 17.51

19.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 €4.44

$4.16 RON 19.69

19.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.67 RON 7.90

-32.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.37 RON 6.50

56.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 €2.88

$1.72 RON 8.14

88.37%

Eggs

$3.23 €2.87

$3.64 RON 17.22

-11.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.33 €12.75

$9.08 RON 42.98

57.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 €9.11

$6.84 RON 32.35

49.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.79

$12.00 RON 56.8

48.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.23 RON 5.80

133.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 €1.24

$1.63 RON 7.73

-14.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 €3.11

$1.57 RON 7.45

122.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.82 €3.40

$2.54 RON 12.01

50.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$0.79 RON 3.75

167.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 €1.21

$0.77 RON 3.66

76.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$0.87 RON 4.13

87.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.78

$0.99 RON 4.70

-11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.22 €8.20

$6.31 RON 29.86

46.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 €5.53

$6.20 RON 29.34

0.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.19 RON 5.63

-6.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.57 RON 7.45

-5.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 €58.1

$21.10 RON 99.8

209.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 €4.65

$0.64 RON 3.05

717.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.21 €3.75

$0.60 RON 2.86

601.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.78 €38.94

$6.43 RON 30.43

580.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.96 RON 9.25

9.18%

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

$32.3K €28.7K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

11.24%

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

$37.8K €33.6K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

41.77%

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

$675 €600

$196 RON 927

244.49%

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

$27.38 €24.36

$8.04 RON 38.04

240.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.08 €30.32

$9.35 RON 44.21

264.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.13 €42.81

$50.2 RON 238

-4.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 €11.74

$8.15 RON 38.55

61.96%

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

$454 €404

$628 RON 2,971

-27.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.0 €82.8

$89.6 RON 424

3.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 €28.02

$38.32 RON 181

-17.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €107

$79.3 RON 375

52.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$90.4 RON 428

25.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$471 €419

$678 RON 3,209

-30.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$455 €404

$448 RON 2,121

1.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 €737

$1,083 RON 5,125

-23.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

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)

$3,254 €2,894

$1,329 RON 6,290

144.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

6.75

-41.48%

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

Last update for Ilmenau: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilmenau

$736 35.6%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 71% $523

Accommodation & Living

Ilmenau

$455 22%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 1.4% $6.2

Groceries & Markets

Ilmenau

$309 14.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 27.2% $84

Eating Out

Ilmenau

$243 11.8%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 7.5% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Ilmenau

$161 7.8%

Bucharest

$134 10% 17% $27

Getting Around

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 69.2% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Ilmenau

$75 3.6%

Bucharest

$67 5% 10.7% $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 $471 in Ilmenau and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 145% 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: $67.0 in Ilmenau vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

09:03 9:03 AM

10:03 10:03 AM

1 h ahead of Ilmenau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,000

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

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Between locations

Ilmenau Bucharest 1,330 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

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Ilmenau
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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

Ilmenau vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilmenau and Bucharest differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($2,071 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 145% higher in Ilmenau, 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: $471 in Ilmenau versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,071 per month in Ilmenau versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 209% less than in Ilmenau. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,071 in Ilmenau, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Ilmenau. 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, Ilmenau 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 54% less than in Ilmenau. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.