Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karlstad and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,713 in Karlstad, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Karlstad
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Karlstad Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Karlstad

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,713

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,713 in Karlstad versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Karlstad $1,713
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,643 in Karlstad versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Karlstad $2,643
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,572 in Karlstad versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Karlstad $3,572
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Karlstad is roughly 28% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Karlstad is 27% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.97 SEK 148

$14.49 RON 68.6

3.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.2 SEK 775

$58.1 RON 275

34.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 SEK 95.7

$7.48 RON 35.40

29.14%

Cappuccino

$4.80 SEK 47.60

$3.44 RON 16.29

39.53%

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

$2.54 SEK 25.21

$2.37 RON 11.22

7.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 SEK 20.98

$2.30 RON 10.88

-7.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.69 SEK 76.2

$3.70 RON 17.51

107.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.45 SEK 63.9

$4.16 RON 19.69

55.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 SEK 15.00

$1.67 RON 7.90

-9.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 SEK 28.64

$1.37 RON 6.50

110.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 SEK 36.48

$1.72 RON 8.14

113.95%

Eggs

$4.50 SEK 44.60

$3.64 RON 17.22

23.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.84 SEK 97.5

$9.08 RON 42.98

8.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.17 SEK 140

$6.84 RON 32.35

107.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.97 SEK 178

$12.00 RON 56.8

49.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 SEK 27.95

$1.23 RON 5.80

129.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.64 SEK 26.12

$1.63 RON 7.73

61.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.09 SEK 30.57

$1.57 RON 7.45

96.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.09 SEK 50.4

$2.54 RON 12.01

100.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 SEK 18.88

$0.79 RON 3.75

141.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 SEK 16.58

$0.77 RON 3.66

116.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.61 SEK 25.90

$0.87 RON 4.13

200.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 SEK 12.95

$0.99 RON 4.70

32.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 SEK 68.3

$6.31 RON 29.86

9.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.86 SEK 97.7

$6.20 RON 29.34

59.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.37 SEK 23.46

$1.19 RON 5.63

99.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 SEK 20.69

$1.57 RON 7.45

33.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 SEK 31.32

$0.86 RON 4.08

267.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.9 SEK 792

$21.10 RON 99.8

278.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.42 SEK 53.7

$0.64 RON 3.05

746.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 SEK 13.16

$0.60 RON 2.86

121.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.5 SEK 609

$6.43 RON 30.43

855.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 SEK 17.50

$1.96 RON 9.25

-9.69%

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

$32.2K SEK 319.4K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

11.16%

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

$32.7K SEK 323.8K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

22.70%

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

$101 SEK 1,001

$196 RON 927

-48.41%

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

$15.82 SEK 157

$8.04 RON 38.04

96.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.59 SEK 442

$9.35 RON 44.21

376.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.52 SEK 441

$50.2 RON 238

-11.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.95 SEK 168

$25.33 RON 120

-33.08%

Cinema Ticket

$13.91 SEK 138

$8.15 RON 38.55

70.67%

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

$123 SEK 1,223

$628 RON 2,971

-80.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 SEK 1,039

$89.6 RON 424

16.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.98 SEK 386

$38.32 RON 181

1.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.5 SEK 728

$79.3 RON 375

-7.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 SEK 1,403

$90.4 RON 428

56.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$834 SEK 8,264

$678 RON 3,209

22.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$567 SEK 5,617

$448 RON 2,121

26.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,154 SEK 11.4K

$1,083 RON 5,125

6.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$861 SEK 8,528

$725 RON 3,430

18.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,710 SEK 36.8K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

-1.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,794 SEK 27.7K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

27.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,220 SEK 31.9K

$1,329 RON 6,290

142.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.8

6.75

-43.70%

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

Last update for Karlstad: 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

Karlstad

$567 33.1%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 20.9% $119

Groceries & Markets

Karlstad

$370 21.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 39.1% $145

Eating Out

Karlstad

$276 16.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 18.5% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karlstad

$161 9.4%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 32.1% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Karlstad

$161 9.4%

Bucharest

$134 10% 17.1% $28

Getting Around

Karlstad

$105 6.1%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 73% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Karlstad

$72 4.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 8% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $834 in Karlstad and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karlstad pays 142% 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: $78.0 in Karlstad vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $370 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Karlstad

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

15:05 3:05 PM

16:05 4:05 PM

1 h ahead of Karlstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,797

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Karlstad Bucharest 1,870 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Karlstad
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

Karlstad vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karlstad and Bucharest differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,713 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 142% higher in Karlstad, 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: $834 in Karlstad versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,713 per month in Karlstad versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 279% less than in Karlstad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,713 in Karlstad, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Karlstad. 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, Karlstad 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 28% less than in Karlstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.