Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $1,838 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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🇮🇹 Italy

$1,838

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Italy is 39.8% more expensive than Bucharest without rent, and 36% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Italy is 36% more expensive than Bucharest without rent, and 38% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.52 €18.31

$14.46 RON 68.4

41.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.8 €71.2

$57.7 RON 273

38.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.30 €10.08

$7.50 RON 35.46

50.67%

Cappuccino

$2.04 €1.82

$3.43 RON 16.20

-40.52%

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

$2.98 €2.66

$2.46 RON 11.63

21.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 €1.21

$2.33 RON 11.01

-42.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.56 €4.97

$3.80 RON 17.97

46.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 €4.91

$4.10 RON 19.41

34.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.65 RON 7.79

-0.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.31 €2.06

$1.35 RON 6.39

71.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.93 €2.61

$1.78 RON 8.42

64.61%

Eggs

$4.10 €3.66

$3.66 RON 17.33

12.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.49 €15.61

$8.57 RON 40.54

104.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.66 €11.29

$6.80 RON 32.17

86.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.70 €18.47

$11.72 RON 55.4

76.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.53 €2.26

$1.29 RON 6.11

96.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.17 €1.94

$1.56 RON 7.37

39.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 €2.33

$1.54 RON 7.28

69.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 €2.93

$2.48 RON 11.75

32.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$0.83 RON 3.92

134.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.80 RON 3.77

130.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.40

$0.84 RON 3.98

86.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 €0.45

$0.93 RON 4.39

-45.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.83 €6.09

$6.44 RON 30.45

6.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.95 €7.10

$6.32 RON 29.91

25.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.26 RON 5.94

38.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 €2.18

$1.60 RON 7.59

52.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.88 €1.68

$0.81 RON 3.85

132.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.69 €38.09

$21.13 RON 99.9

102.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 €5.15

$0.60 RON 2.86

861.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 €1.54

$0.61 RON 2.91

181.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.10 €30.43

$6.17 RON 29.19

452.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.96 RON 9.27

7.65%

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

$37.1K €33.1K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

31.78%

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

$36.0K €32.1K

$26.3K RON 124.3K

36.83%

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

$223 €199

$197 RON 931

13.05%

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

$11.53 €10.29

$8.34 RON 39.44

38.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.07 €27.73

$9.19 RON 43.47

238.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 €48.18

$49.87 RON 236

8.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.70 €21.15

$24.99 RON 118

-5.16%

Cinema Ticket

$10.81 €9.64

$8.46 RON 40.01

27.78%

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

$551 €492

$639 RON 3,023

-13.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K €10.4K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

-19.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.3 €81.5

$90.6 RON 429

0.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.49 €34.35

$38.05 RON 180

1.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €93.0

$79.7 RON 377

30.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 €116

$93.2 RON 441

38.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$797 €711

$673 RON 3,184

18.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$624 €557

$449 RON 2,123

38.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 €1,255

$1,098 RON 5,195

28.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 €940

$729 RON 3,448

44.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,680 €3,284

$3,740 RON 17.7K

-1.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,261 €2,018

$2,189 RON 10.4K

3.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,925 €1,718

$1,323 RON 6,259

45.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

6.74

-47.18%

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

Last update for Italy: October 6, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Italy

$624 34.3%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 28% $175

Groceries & Markets

Italy

$349 19.2%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 36.5% $128

Eating Out

Italy

$279 15.3%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 19% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Italy

$265 14.6%

Bucharest

$214 16% 19.1% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Italy

$164 9%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 17.1% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Italy

$76 4.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 11.7% $8.8

Getting Around

Italy

$65 3.6%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 56.6% $37

Good to know

🇮🇹 Italy

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

08:14 8:14 AM

09:14 9:14 AM

1 h ahead of Italy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,850,717

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 = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Italy Bucharest 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Italy
Bucharest

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

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