Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Luxembourg and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $3,506 in Luxembourg, rent and utilities included – about $25,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

170

Cost of Living Index in Luxembourg
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Luxembourg Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Luxembourg

🇱🇺 Luxembourg

$3,506

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,506 in Luxembourg versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Luxembourg $3,506
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,028 in Luxembourg versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Luxembourg $5,028
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,551 in Luxembourg versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Luxembourg $6,551
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Luxembourg is roughly 159% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Luxembourg 162% above, Bucharest 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.81 €24.82

$14.46 RON 68.4

92.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$103 €91.6

$57.7 RON 273

77.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.38 €12.83

$7.50 RON 35.46

91.73%

Cappuccino

$4.37 €3.90

$3.43 RON 16.20

27.41%

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

$4.03 €3.60

$2.46 RON 11.63

63.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 €3.94

$2.33 RON 11.01

89.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.75 €6.92

$3.80 RON 17.97

103.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.58 €5.87

$4.10 RON 19.41

60.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.65 RON 7.79

4.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.35 RON 6.39

97.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.78 RON 8.42

69.10%

Eggs

$4.79 €4.28

$3.66 RON 17.33

30.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.93 €16.90

$8.57 RON 40.54

120.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.48 €12.92

$6.80 RON 32.17

112.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.90 €23.12

$11.72 RON 55.4

120.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 €3.00

$1.29 RON 6.11

160.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 €2.06

$1.56 RON 7.37

48.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.22 €2.87

$1.54 RON 7.28

109.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.55 €4.06

$2.48 RON 11.75

83.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$0.83 RON 3.92

212.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.80 RON 3.77

187.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.84 RON 3.98

130.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 €0.93

$0.93 RON 4.39

11.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.43 €6.63

$6.44 RON 30.45

15.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.23 €10.02

$6.32 RON 29.91

77.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.26 RON 5.94

60.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 €2.33

$1.60 RON 7.59

63.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.85

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.13 RON 99.9

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.00 €4.46

$0.60 RON 2.86

733.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.95 €3.52

$0.61 RON 2.91

547.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.6 €50.5

$6.17 RON 29.19

817.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.96 RON 9.27

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

$31.1K €27.8K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

10.66%

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

$33.8K €30.2K

$26.3K RON 124.3K

28.59%

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

$293 €261

$197 RON 931

48.63%

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

$25.74 €22.97

$8.34 RON 39.44

208.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.8 €51.6

$9.19 RON 43.47

529.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.0 €64.2

$49.87 RON 236

44.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.79 €22.12

$24.99 RON 118

-0.80%

Cinema Ticket

$18.81 €16.78

$8.46 RON 40.01

122.34%

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

$1,365 €1,218

$639 RON 3,023

113.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K €16.4K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

27.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 €99.3

$90.6 RON 429

22.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 €45.23

$38.05 RON 180

33.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 €99.4

$79.7 RON 377

39.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 €121

$93.2 RON 441

45.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,262 €2,019

$673 RON 3,184

235.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,989 €1,775

$449 RON 2,123

343.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,557 €3,175

$1,098 RON 5,195

223.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,029 €2,703

$729 RON 3,448

315.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.3K €11.0K

$3,740 RON 17.7K

229.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,970 €7,112

$2,189 RON 10.4K

264.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,150 €4,596

$1,323 RON 6,259

289.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.54

6.74

-47.48%

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

Last update for Luxembourg: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Luxembourg

$2K 56.7%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 77.4% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Luxembourg

$419 11.9%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 47.1% $197

Eating Out

Luxembourg

$404 11.5%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 44.1% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Luxembourg

$376 10.7%

Bucharest

$214 16% 43% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Luxembourg

$184 5.3%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 26.3% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Luxembourg

$110 3.1%

Bucharest

$67 5% 39% $43

Getting Around

Luxembourg

$25 * 0.7%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 13.4% $3.3

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 $2,262 in Luxembourg and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Luxembourg pays 289% 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: $103 in Luxembourg vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $419 vs $222 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇺 Luxembourg

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

13:32 1:32 PM

14:32 2:32 PM

1 h ahead of Luxembourg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

122,273 Capital

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Luxembourg Bucharest 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Luxembourg
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

Luxembourg vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Luxembourg and Bucharest differ by about 159% in total monthly costs ($3,506 vs $1,351 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 289% higher in Luxembourg, 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: $2,262 in Luxembourg versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 89% higher in Luxembourg. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $3,506 per month in Luxembourg versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 159% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $3,506 in Luxembourg, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Luxembourg. 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, Luxembourg 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 159% less than in Luxembourg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.