Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between La Spezia and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,710 in La Spezia, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

84

Cost of Living Index in La Spezia
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La Spezia Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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La Spezia

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,710

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,710 in La Spezia versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

La Spezia $1,710
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in La Spezia versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

La Spezia $2,606
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,501 in La Spezia versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

La Spezia $3,501
Bucharest $2,734

Living in La Spezia 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: La Spezia is 27% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 €14.74

$14.49 RON 68.6

14.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.9 €70.2

$58.1 RON 275

35.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.87 €8.78

$7.48 RON 35.40

31.95%

Cappuccino

$1.78 €1.59

$3.44 RON 16.29

-48.26%

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

$2.62 €2.33

$2.37 RON 11.22

10.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.19 €1.05

$2.30 RON 10.88

-48.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.07

$3.70 RON 17.51

54.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.59 €4.08

$4.16 RON 19.69

10.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.67 RON 7.90

-14.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.37 RON 6.50

34.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.72 RON 8.14

24.42%

Eggs

$4.29 €3.82

$3.64 RON 17.22

17.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.28 €18.04

$9.08 RON 42.98

123.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.35 €10.99

$6.84 RON 32.35

80.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.25 €17.12

$12.00 RON 56.8

60.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.77 €3.35

$1.23 RON 5.80

206.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.63 RON 7.73

32.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 €2.52

$1.57 RON 7.45

80.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.56 €4.06

$2.54 RON 12.01

79.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.19 €1.94

$0.79 RON 3.75

177.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 €1.61

$0.77 RON 3.66

135.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 €1.42

$0.87 RON 4.13

83.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 €0.53

$0.99 RON 4.70

-39.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.85

$6.31 RON 29.86

4.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.77 €6.03

$6.20 RON 29.34

9.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.19 RON 5.63

48.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.56

$1.57 RON 7.45

12.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.86 RON 4.08

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.01 €32.92

$21.10 RON 99.8

75.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 €4.04

$0.64 RON 3.05

609.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 €1.49

$0.60 RON 2.86

180.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.67 €20.17

$6.43 RON 30.43

252.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 €1.73

$1.96 RON 9.25

-0.51%

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

$34.5K €30.7K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

18.91%

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

$39.0K €34.7K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

46.53%

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

$182 €162

$196 RON 927

-6.85%

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

$6.34 €5.64

$8.04 RON 38.04

-21.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.85 €24.77

$9.35 RON 44.21

197.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.14 €33.03

$50.2 RON 238

-26.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.05 €33.85

$25.33 RON 120

50.22%

Cinema Ticket

$10.19 €9.06

$8.15 RON 38.55

25.03%

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

$491 €436

$628 RON 2,971

-21.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K €9,837

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-21.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.9 €68.4

$89.6 RON 424

-14.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.52 €29.82

$38.32 RON 181

-12.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 €97.8

$79.3 RON 375

38.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 €88.3

$90.4 RON 428

9.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$757 €674

$678 RON 3,209

11.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$644 €573

$448 RON 2,121

43.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 €1,105

$1,083 RON 5,125

14.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$973 €866

$725 RON 3,430

34.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,814 €2,503

$3,751 RON 17.7K

-24.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,294 €2,041

$2,195 RON 10.4K

4.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,727 €1,536

$1,329 RON 6,290

29.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.73

6.75

-44.74%

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

Last update for La Spezia: 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

La Spezia

$644 37.7%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 30.4% $196

Groceries & Markets

La Spezia

$354 20.7%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 36.5% $129

Eating Out

La Spezia

$236 13.8%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 4.8% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

La Spezia

$217 12.7%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 1.6% $3.4

Clothing & Footwear

La Spezia

$144 8.4%

Bucharest

$134 10% 6.9% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

La Spezia

$58 3.4%

Bucharest

$67 5% 15.7% $9

Getting Around

La Spezia

$57 3.3%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 50.4% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $757 in La Spezia and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

La Spezia pays 30% 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: $79.0 in La Spezia vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $354 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 La Spezia

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

13:45 1:45 PM

14:45 2:45 PM

1 h ahead of La Spezia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

91,391

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

On the map

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Between locations

La Spezia Bucharest 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

La Spezia
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

La Spezia vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

La Spezia and Bucharest differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,710 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 30% higher in La Spezia, 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: $757 in La Spezia versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,710 per month in La Spezia 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 75% less than in La Spezia. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,710 in La Spezia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in La Spezia. 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in La Spezia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.