Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lillestrom and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $2,615 in Lillestrom, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Lillestrom
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Lillestrom Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Lillestrom

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,615

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,615 in Lillestrom versus $1,337 in Bucharest.

Lillestrom $2,615
Bucharest $1,337

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,023 in Lillestrom versus $2,029 in Bucharest.

Lillestrom $4,023
Bucharest $2,029

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,432 in Lillestrom versus $2,721 in Bucharest.

Lillestrom $5,432
Bucharest $2,721

Living in Lillestrom is roughly 96% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lillestrom is 93% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.91 NOK 197

$14.45 RON 68.4

44.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$121 NOK 1,135

$58.1 RON 275

107.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.05 NOK 104

$7.53 RON 35.65

46.75%

Cappuccino

$6.17 NOK 58.1

$3.45 RON 16.33

78.84%

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

$4.05 NOK 38.09

$2.46 RON 11.65

64.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 NOK 29.36

$2.23 RON 10.54

39.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.80 NOK 111

$3.76 RON 17.78

213.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.45 NOK 98.4

$4.19 RON 19.84

149.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.45 NOK 23.10

$1.62 RON 7.67

51.23%

White Bread (500g)

$3.62 NOK 34.06

$1.30 RON 6.13

178.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.08 NOK 38.37

$1.70 RON 8.05

140.00%

Eggs

$5.73 NOK 53.9

$3.79 RON 17.93

51.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.08 NOK 123

$8.86 RON 41.90

47.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.77 NOK 130

$6.90 RON 32.67

99.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$27.30 NOK 257

$12.14 RON 57.4

124.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.46 NOK 32.55

$1.30 RON 6.17

166.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.81 NOK 26.45

$1.60 RON 7.55

75.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.08 NOK 38.40

$1.57 RON 7.42

159.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.45 NOK 51.3

$2.68 RON 12.67

103.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.75 NOK 25.85

$0.81 RON 3.82

239.51%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 NOK 34.71

$0.79 RON 3.73

367.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.79 NOK 16.80

$0.91 RON 4.30

96.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 NOK 21.44

$0.97 RON 4.58

135.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.49 NOK 165

$6.41 RON 30.34

172.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.88 NOK 159

$6.18 RON 29.24

173.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.57 NOK 52.5

$1.23 RON 5.83

352.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.86 NOK 55.1

$1.67 RON 7.91

250.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.46 NOK 42.01

$0.87 RON 4.10

412.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.8 NOK 789

$20.98 RON 99.3

299.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.92 NOK 112

$0.66 RON 3.10

1706.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.85 NOK 17.44

$0.60 RON 2.85

208.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$69.1 NOK 650

$6.19 RON 29.28

1016.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.29 NOK 21.53

$1.93 RON 9.15

18.65%

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

$48.5K NOK 456.4K

$28.7K RON 135.9K

68.75%

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

$44.4K NOK 418.1K

$26.3K RON 124.6K

68.69%

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

$269 NOK 2,532

$196 RON 926

37.49%

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

$32.87 NOK 309

$8.49 RON 40.19

287.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.5 NOK 494

$9.05 RON 42.84

479.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.58 NOK 467

$49.54 RON 234

0.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.47 NOK 343

$25.03 RON 118

45.71%

Cinema Ticket

$17.09 NOK 161

$8.24 RON 39.01

107.40%

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

$238 NOK 2,244

$636 RON 3,007

-62.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K NOK 122.8K

$14.6K RON 69.0K

-10.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 NOK 955

$88.5 RON 419

14.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 NOK 525

$38.77 RON 183

43.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$126 NOK 1,186

$78.8 RON 373

59.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 NOK 1,484

$90.6 RON 428

74.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,245 NOK 11.7K

$695 RON 3,288

79.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$982 NOK 9,242

$446 RON 2,109

120.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,945 NOK 18.3K

$1,084 RON 5,130

79.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,658 NOK 15.6K

$712 RON 3,368

132.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,206 NOK 58.4K

$3,797 RON 18.0K

63.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,015 NOK 37.8K

$2,202 RON 10.4K

82.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,767 NOK 35.5K

$1,354 RON 6,406

178.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

6.75

-26.81%

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

Last update for Lillestrom: October 18, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lillestrom

$982 37.5%

Bucharest

$446 33.3% 54.6% $536

Groceries & Markets

Lillestrom

$491 18.8%

Bucharest

$225 16.9% 54.1% $266

Eating Out

Lillestrom

$383 14.7%

Bucharest

$226 16.9% 41.1% $157

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lillestrom

$354 13.6%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 39.8% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Lillestrom

$198 7.6%

Bucharest

$133 10% 32.7% $65

Getting Around

Lillestrom

$123 4.7%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 77.1% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Lillestrom

$84 3.2%

Bucharest

$66 4.9% 21.2% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,245 in Lillestrom and $695 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lillestrom pays 178% 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: $121 in Lillestrom vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $491 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Lillestrom

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

18:01 6:01 PM

19:01 7:01 PM

1 h ahead of Lillestrom

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

94,585

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 20, 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 20, 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 →

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Lillestrom Bucharest 1,990 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

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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

Lillestrom vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lillestrom and Bucharest differ by about 96% in total monthly costs ($2,615 vs $1,337 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 178% higher in Lillestrom, 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: $1,245 in Lillestrom versus $695 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,615 per month in Lillestrom versus $1,337 in Bucharest – a 96% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 300% less than in Lillestrom. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $2,615 in Lillestrom, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Lillestrom. 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, Lillestrom 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 96% less than in Lillestrom. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.