Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Isfahan and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Isfahan: $472 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Isfahan
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Isfahan Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Isfahan

🇮🇷 Iran

$472

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $472 in Isfahan versus $1,371 in Bucharest.

Isfahan $472
Bucharest $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $806 in Isfahan versus $2,067 in Bucharest.

Isfahan $806
Bucharest $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,141 in Isfahan versus $2,764 in Bucharest.

Isfahan $1,141
Bucharest $2,764

Living in Isfahan costs roughly 66% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 $3.09

$14.51 RON 69.0

-78.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.80 $15.80

$61.2 RON 291

-74.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.93 $2.93

$7.46 RON 35.46

-60.72%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.83 $0.83

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 $1.96

Cappuccino

$1.00 $1.00

$3.64 RON 17.31

-72.53%

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

$0.48 $0.48

$2.62 RON 12.43

-81.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 $0.52

$2.36 RON 11.23

-77.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.78 RON 17.98

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 RON 19.52

Milk (1 liter)

$0.47 $0.47

$1.66 RON 7.89

-71.69%

White Bread (500g)

$0.46 $0.46

$1.40 RON 6.64

-67.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.91 $1.91

$1.79 RON 8.53

6.70%

Eggs

$1.45 $1.45

$3.63 RON 17.25

-60.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.86 $2.86

$8.92 RON 42.38

-67.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.55 $2.55

$6.86 RON 32.62

-62.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.33 $10.33

$11.99 RON 57.0

-13.84%

Apples (1kg)

$0.73 $0.73

$1.30 RON 6.16

-43.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 $1.26

$1.63 RON 7.76

-22.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.06 $1.06

$1.49 RON 7.09

-28.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.60 $0.60

$2.54 RON 12.08

-76.38%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 $0.56

$0.81 RON 3.86

-30.86%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 $0.48

$0.80 RON 3.78

-40.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 $0.56

$0.86 RON 4.07

-34.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.19 $0.19

$0.94 RON 4.46

-79.79%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.52 $0.52

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 $0.54

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 $0.83

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.05 $2.05

$6.60 RON 31.38

-68.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.33 RON 30.08

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.64

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 RON 7.53

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 $0.29

$0.98 RON 4.64

-70.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.80 $12.80

$20.91 RON 99.4

-38.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.52 $0.52

$0.60 RON 2.86

-13.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 $0.31

$0.62 RON 2.93

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.06 $2.06

$6.37 RON 30.25

-67.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 $0.93

$2.02 RON 9.62

-53.96%

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

$67.4K $67.4K

$28.2K RON 134.0K

139.15%

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

$47.3K $47.3K

$26.3K RON 124.8K

80.05%

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

$10.36 $10.36

$196 RON 932

-94.72%

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

$2.01 $2.01

$8.60 RON 40.84

-76.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.53 $7.53

$9.20 RON 43.69

-18.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.41 $13.41

$51.0 RON 242

-73.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.40 $13.40

$25.04 RON 119

-46.49%

Cinema Ticket

$1.02 $1.02

$8.26 RON 39.27

-87.65%

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

$72.1 $72.1

$681 RON 3,234

-89.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$530 $530

$18.7K RON 89.0K

-97.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.14 $18.14

$93.3 RON 443

-80.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.69 $23.69

$39.87 RON 189

-40.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.7 $86.7

$80.1 RON 381

8.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.28 $37.28

$90.6 RON 431

-58.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$285 $285

$731 RON 3,473

-60.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$196 $196

$470 RON 2,232

-58.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 $1,301

$1,110 RON 5,276

17.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 $449

$722 RON 3,431

-37.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,193 $1,193

$3,749 RON 17.8K

-68.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$681 $681

$2,233 RON 10.6K

-69.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$209 $209

$1,365 RON 6,487

-84.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

26.8

6.75

297.04%

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

Last update for Isfahan: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Isfahan

$196 41.5%

Bucharest

$470 34.3% 140% $274

Groceries & Markets

Isfahan

$101 21.3%

Bucharest

$225 16.4% 123% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Isfahan

$75 15.8%

Bucharest

$137 10% 83.3% $62

Eating Out

Isfahan

$49 10.5%

Bucharest

$229 16.7% 364% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isfahan

$20 4.2%

Bucharest

$214 15.6% 975% $194

Getting Around

Isfahan

$16 3.4%

Bucharest

$29 2.1% 77.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Isfahan

$15 3.3%

Bucharest

$68 4.9% 337% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $285 in Isfahan and $731 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 6.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $16 in Isfahan vs $61 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $225 per month, with Isfahan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Isfahan

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

05:46 5:46 AM

04:16 4:16 AM

1 h 30 min behind Isfahan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,961,260

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

USD USD

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.891 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.33 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

RON to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Isfahan Bucharest 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Isfahan
Bucharest

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Isfahan vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $472 in Isfahan and $1,371 in Bucharest, so Isfahan is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 85% lower in Isfahan. 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: $285 in Isfahan versus $731 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $472 per month in Isfahan versus $1,371 in Bucharest – Isfahan is about 66% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Isfahan runs roughly 39% less than in Bucharest. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $472 in Isfahan versus $1,371 in Bucharest, a $800 budget is realistic in Isfahan but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Isfahan 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 Isfahan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.