Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lewes and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,349 in Lewes, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Lewes
Learn more

Lewes Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Lewes

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,349

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,349 in Lewes versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Lewes $2,349
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,484 in Lewes versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Lewes $3,484
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,619 in Lewes versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Lewes $4,619
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Lewes is roughly 75% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lewes is 74% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.91 £18.69

$14.49 RON 68.6

71.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.0 £69.8

$58.1 RON 275

60.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.03 £7.52

$7.48 RON 35.40

34.09%

Cappuccino

$4.82 £3.61

$3.44 RON 16.29

40.12%

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

$2.96 £2.22

$2.37 RON 11.22

24.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 £2.01

$2.30 RON 10.88

16.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.74 £6.56

$3.70 RON 17.51

136.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.40 £4.80

$4.16 RON 19.69

53.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.67 RON 7.90

-14.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.37 RON 6.50

28.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 £1.59

$1.72 RON 8.14

22.67%

Eggs

$3.69 £2.77

$3.64 RON 17.22

1.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 £8.23

$9.08 RON 42.98

20.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 £6.25

$6.84 RON 32.35

21.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.62 £9.46

$12.00 RON 56.8

5.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 £2.15

$1.23 RON 5.80

132.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 £1.15

$1.63 RON 7.73

-6.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$1.57 RON 7.45

75.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 £2.43

$2.54 RON 12.01

27.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.59 £1.19

$0.79 RON 3.75

101.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$0.77 RON 3.66

75.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 £0.70

$0.87 RON 4.13

8.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.11

$0.99 RON 4.70

49.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.53 £17.65

$6.31 RON 29.86

272.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.12 £8.34

$6.20 RON 29.34

79.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 £1.72

$1.19 RON 5.63

92.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 £2.37

$1.57 RON 7.45

101.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.33 £2.50

$0.86 RON 4.08

287.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.5 £72.4

$21.10 RON 99.8

357.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 £3.66

$0.64 RON 3.05

660.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.94

$0.60 RON 2.86

330.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.61 £16.96

$6.43 RON 30.43

251.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.96 RON 9.25

5.61%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

32.00%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

53.63%

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

$279 £210

$196 RON 927

42.62%

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

$16.87 £12.66

$8.04 RON 38.04

109.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.59 £34.20

$9.35 RON 44.21

387.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.22 £33.92

$50.2 RON 238

-9.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.98 £9.74

$25.33 RON 120

-48.76%

Cinema Ticket

$12.96 £9.72

$8.15 RON 38.55

59.02%

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

$1,757 £1,318

$628 RON 2,971

179.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.2K £21.9K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

107.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.3 £56.5

$89.6 RON 424

-16.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.73 £33.55

$38.32 RON 181

16.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.8

$79.3 RON 375

30.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.5 £66.4

$90.4 RON 428

-2.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,232 £924

$678 RON 3,209

81.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 £761

$448 RON 2,121

126.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,123 £1,593

$1,083 RON 5,125

95.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,664 £1,248

$725 RON 3,430

129.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,103 £3,828

$3,751 RON 17.7K

36.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,930 £2,948

$2,195 RON 10.4K

79.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,554 £3,416

$1,329 RON 6,290

242.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

-25.93%

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

Last update for Lewes: 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

Lewes

$1K 43.2%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 55.8% $566

Eating Out

Lewes

$366 15.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 38.5% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lewes

$342 14.6%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 37.6% $129

Groceries & Markets

Lewes

$287 12.2%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 21.6% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Lewes

$141 6%

Bucharest

$134 10% 4.7% $6.6

Getting Around

Lewes

$128 5.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 77.9% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Lewes

$71 3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 6.5% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,232 in Lewes and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lewes pays 243% 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: $93.0 in Lewes vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lewes

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

09:16 9:16 AM

11:16 11:16 AM

2 h ahead of Lewes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,297

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lewes Bucharest 2,070 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Lewes
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

Lewes vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lewes and Bucharest differ by about 75% in total monthly costs ($2,349 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 243% higher in Lewes, 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: $1,232 in Lewes versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,349 per month in Lewes versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 75% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 358% less than in Lewes. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,349 in Lewes, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Lewes. 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, Lewes 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 75% less than in Lewes. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.