Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kalmar and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,907 in Kalmar, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Kalmar
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Kalmar Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

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Kalmar

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,907

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,907 in Kalmar versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Kalmar $1,907
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,844 in Kalmar versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Kalmar $2,844
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,781 in Kalmar versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Kalmar $3,781
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Kalmar is roughly 42% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kalmar is 41% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.70 SEK 146

$14.49 RON 68.6

1.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.0 SEK 704

$58.1 RON 275

22.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.27 SEK 102

$7.48 RON 35.40

37.30%

Cappuccino

$4.65 SEK 46.09

$3.44 RON 16.29

35.17%

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

$2.82 SEK 27.99

$2.37 RON 11.22

18.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 SEK 25.71

$2.30 RON 10.88

12.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.66 SEK 95.7

$3.70 RON 17.51

161.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.03 SEK 69.7

$4.16 RON 19.69

68.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 SEK 14.61

$1.67 RON 7.90

-11.98%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 SEK 29.83

$1.37 RON 6.50

119.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.92 SEK 28.97

$1.72 RON 8.14

69.77%

Eggs

$4.59 SEK 45.43

$3.64 RON 17.22

26.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.24 SEK 161

$9.08 RON 42.98

78.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.97 SEK 109

$6.84 RON 32.35

60.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.76 SEK 216

$12.00 RON 56.8

81.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.46 SEK 24.38

$1.23 RON 5.80

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.63 SEK 26.06

$1.63 RON 7.73

61.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.40 SEK 33.69

$1.57 RON 7.45

116.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 SEK 42.33

$2.54 RON 12.01

68.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 SEK 16.12

$0.79 RON 3.75

106.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 SEK 22.82

$0.77 RON 3.66

198.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.84 SEK 18.19

$0.87 RON 4.13

111.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 SEK 16.43

$0.99 RON 4.70

67.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.97 SEK 79.0

$6.31 RON 29.86

26.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.19 SEK 91.1

$6.20 RON 29.34

48.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 SEK 19.44

$1.19 RON 5.63

64.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 SEK 24.87

$1.57 RON 7.45

59.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.33 SEK 33.01

$0.86 RON 4.08

287.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.6 SEK 759

$21.10 RON 99.8

263.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.70 SEK 96.1

$0.64 RON 3.05

1415.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 SEK 16.40

$0.60 RON 2.86

176.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$46.98 SEK 466

$6.43 RON 30.43

630.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 SEK 16.81

$1.96 RON 9.25

-13.27%

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

$29.9K SEK 296.3K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

3.11%

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

$28.7K SEK 284.4K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

7.74%

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

$142 SEK 1,403

$196 RON 927

-27.72%

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

$26.84 SEK 266

$8.04 RON 38.04

233.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.79 SEK 315

$9.35 RON 44.21

240.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.76 SEK 305

$50.2 RON 238

-38.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.42 SEK 262

$25.33 RON 120

4.30%

Cinema Ticket

$14.67 SEK 145

$8.15 RON 38.55

80.00%

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

$138 SEK 1,367

$628 RON 2,971

-78.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,914 SEK 48.7K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-65.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 SEK 501

$89.6 RON 424

-43.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.32 SEK 419

$38.32 RON 181

10.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.8 SEK 791

$79.3 RON 375

0.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 SEK 998

$90.4 RON 428

11.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$914 SEK 9,056

$678 RON 3,209

34.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$751 SEK 7,440

$448 RON 2,121

67.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 SEK 12.8K

$1,083 RON 5,125

19.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,107 SEK 11.0K

$725 RON 3,430

52.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,041 SEK 40.0K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

7.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,682 SEK 26.6K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

22.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,878 SEK 28.5K

$1,329 RON 6,290

116.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.93

6.75

-41.78%

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

Last update for Kalmar: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kalmar

$751 39.4%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 40.3% $303

Groceries & Markets

Kalmar

$377 19.8%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 40.3% $152

Eating Out

Kalmar

$288 15.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 21.9% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kalmar

$200 10.5%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 6.5% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Kalmar

$123 6.5%

Bucharest

$134 10% 8.9% $11

Getting Around

Kalmar

$108 5.7%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 73.9% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Kalmar

$60 3.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 10.7% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $914 in Kalmar and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kalmar pays 117% 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: $71.0 in Kalmar vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $377 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Kalmar

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

03:59 3:59 AM

04:59 4:59 AM

1 h ahead of Kalmar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,170

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 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 SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kalmar Bucharest 1,520 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Kalmar
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

Kalmar vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kalmar and Bucharest differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($1,907 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 117% higher in Kalmar, 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: $914 in Kalmar versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,907 per month in Kalmar versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 42% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 263% less than in Kalmar. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,907 in Kalmar, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Kalmar. 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, Kalmar 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 42% less than in Kalmar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.