Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Luanda and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Luanda: $1,002 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

48

Cost of Living Index in Luanda
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Luanda Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Luanda

🇦🇴 Angola

$1,002

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,002 in Luanda versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Luanda $1,002
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,894 in Luanda versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Luanda $1,894
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,787 in Luanda versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Luanda $2,787
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Luanda costs roughly 26% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Luanda is 25% below, Bucharest is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.32 AOA 4,859

$14.46 RON 68.4

-63.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.65 AOA 33.5K

$57.7 RON 273

-36.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.69 AOA 6,110

$7.50 RON 35.46

-10.80%

Cappuccino

$2.65 AOA 2,417

$3.43 RON 16.20

-22.74%

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

$1.35 AOA 1,231

$2.46 RON 11.63

-45.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 AOA 1,046

$2.33 RON 11.01

-50.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.68 AOA 1,533

$3.80 RON 17.97

-55.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 AOA 1,487

$4.10 RON 19.41

-60.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 AOA 1,750

$1.65 RON 7.79

16.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 AOA 890

$1.35 RON 6.39

-27.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 AOA 1,479

$1.78 RON 8.42

-8.99%

Eggs

$1.89 AOA 1,729

$3.66 RON 17.33

-48.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.22 AOA 8,417

$8.57 RON 40.54

7.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 AOA 3,047

$6.80 RON 32.17

-50.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 AOA 7,130

$11.72 RON 55.4

-33.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 AOA 2,056

$1.29 RON 6.11

74.42%

Banana (1kg)

$0.92 AOA 841

$1.56 RON 7.37

-41.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 AOA 2,519

$1.54 RON 7.28

79.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 AOA 1,664

$2.48 RON 11.75

-26.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 AOA 1,389

$0.83 RON 3.92

83.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 AOA 1,366

$0.80 RON 3.77

87.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 AOA 1,537

$0.84 RON 3.98

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.36 AOA 332

$0.93 RON 4.39

-61.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.69 AOA 1,539

$6.44 RON 30.45

-73.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 AOA 5,614

$6.32 RON 29.91

-2.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 AOA 388

$1.26 RON 5.94

-65.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 AOA 840

$1.60 RON 7.59

-42.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 AOA 291

$0.81 RON 3.85

-60.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.30 AOA 30.4K

$21.13 RON 99.9

57.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 AOA 1,016

$0.60 RON 2.86

85.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 AOA 762

$0.61 RON 2.91

36.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 AOA 4,911

$6.17 RON 29.19

-12.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.32 AOA 289

$1.96 RON 9.27

-83.67%

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

$14.3K AOA 13.1M

$28.1K RON 133.1K

-49.16%

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

$22.3K AOA 20.4M

$26.3K RON 124.3K

-15.03%

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

$101 AOA 92.2K

$197 RON 931

-48.69%

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

$17.81 AOA 16.3K

$8.34 RON 39.44

113.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$76.8 AOA 70.1K

$9.19 RON 43.47

735.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.31 AOA 42.3K

$49.87 RON 236

-7.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.27 AOA 13.9K

$24.99 RON 118

-38.90%

Cinema Ticket

$3.65 AOA 3,332

$8.46 RON 40.01

-56.86%

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

$750 AOA 684.4K

$639 RON 3,023

17.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.6K AOA 12.4M

$14.4K RON 68.1K

-5.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 AOA 100.4K

$90.6 RON 429

21.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.6 AOA 58.1K

$38.05 RON 180

67.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.3 AOA 87.9K

$79.7 RON 377

20.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$196 AOA 179.0K

$93.2 RON 441

110.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$382 AOA 348.9K

$673 RON 3,184

-43.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$203 AOA 185.2K

$449 RON 2,123

-54.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,087 AOA 1.9M

$1,098 RON 5,195

90.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,039 AOA 948.5K

$729 RON 3,448

42.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.0K AOA 10.9M

$3,740 RON 17.7K

219.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$868 AOA 792.2K

$2,189 RON 10.4K

-60.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,374 AOA 1.3M

$1,323 RON 6,259

3.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

211.57%

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

Last update for Luanda: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Clothing & Footwear

Luanda

$210 21%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 35.3% $74

Accommodation & Living

Luanda

$203 20.3%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 121% $246

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Luanda

$196 19.6%

Bucharest

$214 16% 9.6% $19

Groceries & Markets

Luanda

$183 18.3%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 21.4% $39

Eating Out

Luanda

$116 11.6%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 94.4% $110

Sport & Entertainment

Luanda

$54 5.4%

Bucharest

$67 5% 24.6% $13

Getting Around

Luanda

$40 4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 29.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $382 in Luanda and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Luanda pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Luanda vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $183 vs $222 per month, with Luanda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇴 Luanda

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

07:06 7:06 AM

09:06 9:06 AM

2 h ahead of Luanda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,600,000 Capital

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Angolan Kwanza AOA Kz

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 AOA = 10.96 USD

10,000 AOA = 9.77 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to AOA – Angolan Kwanza Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇴 Angolan Kwanza (Kz)

Angolan Kwanza exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 913 AOA (1,000 AOA = 1.1 USD). 1 EUR = 1,024 AOA (10,000 AOA = 9.77 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to AOA in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Luanda Bucharest 6,060 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Luanda vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Luanda and Bucharest differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,002 vs $1,351 including rent). Luanda is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Luanda, 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: $382 in Luanda versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,002 per month in Luanda versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 35% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Luanda runs roughly 58% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,002 in Luanda versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Luanda but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Luanda 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 Luanda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.