Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lillehammer and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,487 in Lillehammer, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Lillehammer despite lower rent and utilities.

72

Cost of Living Index in Lillehammer
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Lillehammer Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Lillehammer

🇳🇴 Norway

$1,487

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,487 in Lillehammer versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Lillehammer $1,487
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,355 in Lillehammer versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Lillehammer $2,355
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,223 in Lillehammer versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Lillehammer $3,223
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Lillehammer is roughly 11% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lillehammer is 10% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 NOK 157

$14.49 RON 68.6

14.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.7 NOK 779

$58.1 RON 275

42.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.08 NOK 133

$7.48 RON 35.40

88.24%

Cappuccino

$4.94 NOK 46.49

$3.44 RON 16.29

43.60%

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

$3.59 NOK 33.81

$2.37 RON 11.22

51.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 NOK 22.94

$2.30 RON 10.88

6.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.56 NOK 99.4

$3.70 RON 17.51

185.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.36 NOK 69.2

$4.16 RON 19.69

76.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 NOK 22.95

$1.67 RON 7.90

46.11%

White Bread (500g)

$3.38 NOK 31.84

$1.37 RON 6.50

146.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.65 NOK 34.38

$1.72 RON 8.14

112.21%

Eggs

$4.72 NOK 44.47

$3.64 RON 17.22

29.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.18 NOK 124

$9.08 RON 42.98

45.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.62 NOK 156

$6.84 RON 32.35

142.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.35 NOK 295

$12.00 RON 56.8

161.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.93 NOK 36.99

$1.23 RON 5.80

219.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.97 NOK 27.97

$1.63 RON 7.73

82.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 NOK 35.01

$1.57 RON 7.45

136.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.65 NOK 53.2

$2.54 RON 12.01

122.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.87 NOK 26.98

$0.79 RON 3.75

263.29%

Onion (1kg)

$3.03 NOK 28.52

$0.77 RON 3.66

293.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.93 NOK 27.59

$0.87 RON 4.13

236.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 NOK 21.58

$0.99 RON 4.70

131.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.48 NOK 165

$6.31 RON 29.86

177.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.52 NOK 174

$6.20 RON 29.34

198.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 NOK 33.43

$1.19 RON 5.63

198.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 NOK 42.00

$1.57 RON 7.45

184.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 NOK 21.81

$0.86 RON 4.08

169.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.47 NOK 89.1

$0.64 RON 3.05

1379.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 NOK 15.14

$0.60 RON 2.86

168.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$59.9 NOK 564

$6.43 RON 30.43

831.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.40 NOK 22.64

$1.96 RON 9.25

22.45%

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

$45.8K NOK 431.3K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

58.01%

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

$45.6K NOK 429.4K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

71.23%

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

$275 NOK 2,591

$196 RON 927

40.53%

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

$35.71 NOK 336

$8.04 RON 38.04

344.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.1 NOK 763

$9.35 RON 44.21

766.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 RON 238

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$20.67 NOK 195

$8.15 RON 38.55

153.62%

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

$294 NOK 2,765

$628 RON 2,971

-53.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,382 NOK 41.3K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-68.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 NOK 1,005

$89.6 RON 424

19.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.98 NOK 470

$38.32 RON 181

30.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 NOK 1,103

$79.3 RON 375

47.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 NOK 1,483

$90.4 RON 428

74.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 NOK 9,723

$678 RON 3,209

52.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 RON 2,121

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 RON 5,125

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 RON 3,430

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,281 NOK 30.9K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

-12.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,291 NOK 12.2K

$2,195 RON 10.4K

-41.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,056 NOK 19.4K

$1,329 RON 6,290

54.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.32

6.75

-21.19%

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

Last update for Lillehammer: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lillehammer

$507 34.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 55.6% $282

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lillehammer

$392 26.4%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 45.6% $179

Eating Out

Lillehammer

$326 21.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 31% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Lillehammer

$194 13.1%

Bucharest

$134 10% 31% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Lillehammer

$41 * 2.8%

Bucharest

$67 5% 60.9% $25

Getting Around

Lillehammer

$27 * 1.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 5.3% $1.4

Accommodation & Living

Lillehammer

- * 0%

Bucharest

$448 33.5%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,033 in Lillehammer and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lillehammer pays 55% 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: $83.0 in Lillehammer vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $507 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Lillehammer

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

16:38 4:38 PM

17:38 5:38 PM

1 h ahead of Lillehammer

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,831

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lillehammer Bucharest 2,120 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lillehammer
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

Lillehammer vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lillehammer and Bucharest differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($1,487 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 55% higher in Lillehammer, 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: $1,033 in Lillehammer versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 125% higher in Lillehammer. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,487 per month in Lillehammer versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,487 in Lillehammer, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Lillehammer. 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, Lillehammer 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 11% less than in Lillehammer. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.