Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Livingston and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,067 in Livingston, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Livingston
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Livingston Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Livingston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,067

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Livingston versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Livingston $2,067
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,253 in Livingston versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Livingston $3,253
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,439 in Livingston versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Livingston $4,439
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Livingston is roughly 54% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Livingston is 53% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.56 £14.68

$14.49 RON 68.6

34.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.9 £74.2

$58.1 RON 275

70.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.41 £7.81

$7.48 RON 35.40

39.17%

Cappuccino

$5.07 £3.80

$3.44 RON 16.29

47.38%

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

$2.62 £1.96

$2.37 RON 11.22

10.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 £1.72

$2.30 RON 10.88

-0.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.67 £5.00

$3.70 RON 17.51

80.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.49 £4.87

$4.16 RON 19.69

56.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.67 RON 7.90

-14.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.37 RON 6.50

33.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$1.72 RON 8.14

30.23%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.64

$3.64 RON 17.22

-3.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 £7.06

$9.08 RON 42.98

3.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.23 £6.93

$6.84 RON 32.35

34.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 £10.44

$12.00 RON 56.8

16.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 £2.13

$1.23 RON 5.80

130.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 £1.41

$1.63 RON 7.73

15.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.13

$1.57 RON 7.45

80.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 £2.58

$2.54 RON 12.01

35.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$0.79 RON 3.75

115.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 £1.03

$0.77 RON 3.66

77.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 £0.89

$0.87 RON 4.13

35.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 £1.29

$0.99 RON 4.70

73.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.33 £15.25

$6.31 RON 29.86

222.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.51 £7.89

$6.20 RON 29.34

69.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.19 RON 5.63

156.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.37

$1.57 RON 7.45

100.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 £2.28

$0.86 RON 4.08

253.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.3 £64.0

$21.10 RON 99.8

304.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.32 £3.99

$0.64 RON 3.05

731.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 £1.17

$0.60 RON 2.86

160.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.39 £20.55

$6.43 RON 30.43

325.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.96 RON 9.25

8.16%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

34.38%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

49.62%

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

$322 £242

$196 RON 927

64.57%

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

$16.55 £12.42

$8.04 RON 38.04

105.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.85 £31.40

$9.35 RON 44.21

347.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.79 £30.60

$50.2 RON 238

-18.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$10.63 £7.98

$8.15 RON 38.55

30.43%

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

$1,213 £910

$628 RON 2,971

93.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.4K £13.0K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

23.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.3 £67.7

$89.6 RON 424

0.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 £35.72

$38.32 RON 181

24.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.0

$79.3 RON 375

34.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.4 £70.8

$90.4 RON 428

4.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$871 £654

$678 RON 3,209

28.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 £559

$448 RON 2,121

66.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,858 £1,394

$1,083 RON 5,125

71.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,534 £1,151

$725 RON 3,430

111.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,485 £3,365

$3,751 RON 17.7K

19.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,665 £2,750

$2,195 RON 10.4K

66.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,903 £2,928

$1,329 RON 6,290

193.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

6.75

-23.70%

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

Last update for Livingston: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Livingston

$745 36.1%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 39.8% $297

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Livingston

$381 18.4%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 44% $167

Eating Out

Livingston

$315 15.2%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 28.4% $89

Groceries & Markets

Livingston

$302 14.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 25.4% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Livingston

$153 7.4%

Bucharest

$134 10% 12.2% $19

Getting Around

Livingston

$111 5.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 74.5% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Livingston

$62 3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 7.2% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $871 in Livingston and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Livingston pays 194% 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: $99.0 in Livingston vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Livingston

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

13:23 1:23 PM

15:23 3:23 PM

2 h ahead of Livingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,840

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

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Between locations

Livingston Bucharest 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Livingston
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

Livingston vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Livingston and Bucharest differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($2,067 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 194% higher in Livingston, 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: $871 in Livingston versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Livingston versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 304% less than in Livingston. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,067 in Livingston, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Livingston. 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 54% less than in Livingston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.