Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malabo and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Malabo: $673 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Malabo

🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea

$673

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $673 in Malabo versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Malabo $673
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,117 in Malabo versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Malabo $1,117
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,560 in Malabo versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Malabo $1,560
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Malabo costs roughly 50% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Malabo is 50% below, Bucharest is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.70 FCFA 5,088

$14.46 RON 68.4

-39.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.6 FCFA 40.7K

$57.7 RON 273

20.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.65 FCFA 5,060

$7.50 RON 35.46

15.33%

Cappuccino

$4.79 FCFA 2,804

$3.43 RON 16.20

39.65%

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

$0.84 FCFA 491

$2.46 RON 11.63

-65.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 FCFA 240

$2.33 RON 11.01

-82.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.69 FCFA 989

$3.80 RON 17.97

-55.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 RON 19.41

Milk (1 liter)

$2.73 FCFA 1,596

$1.65 RON 7.79

65.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 RON 6.39

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 FCFA 1,025

$1.78 RON 8.42

-1.69%

Eggs

$3.70 FCFA 2,165

$3.66 RON 17.33

1.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.75 FCFA 3,948

$8.57 RON 40.54

-21.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.02 FCFA 3,522

$6.80 RON 32.17

-11.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.08 FCFA 4,142

$11.72 RON 55.4

-39.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.37 FCFA 1,385

$1.29 RON 6.11

83.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 FCFA 1,027

$1.56 RON 7.37

12.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.28

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 RON 11.75

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.92

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.77

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.98

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 RON 4.39

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.47 FCFA 2,615

$6.44 RON 30.45

-30.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 RON 29.91

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 FCFA 822

$1.26 RON 5.94

11.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 FCFA 521

$1.60 RON 7.59

-44.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.74 FCFA 1,020

$0.81 RON 3.85

114.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.67 FCFA 15.6K

$21.13 RON 99.9

26.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.83 FCFA 485

$0.60 RON 2.86

38.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 FCFA 528

$0.61 RON 2.91

47.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.72 FCFA 5,103

$6.17 RON 29.19

41.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 RON 9.27

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

$32.6K FCFA 19.1M

$28.1K RON 133.1K

15.68%

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

$29.1K FCFA 17.0M

$26.3K RON 124.3K

10.56%

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

$197 RON 931

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

$17.56 FCFA 10.3K

$8.34 RON 39.44

110.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.07 FCFA 9,986

$9.19 RON 43.47

85.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.14 FCFA 20.0K

$49.87 RON 236

-31.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.84 FCFA 8,685

$24.99 RON 118

-40.62%

Cinema Ticket

$5.42 FCFA 3,173

$8.46 RON 40.01

-35.93%

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

$639 RON 3,023

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$344 FCFA 201.4K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

-97.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 RON 429

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.05 RON 180

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 RON 377

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 RON 441

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 RON 3,184

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$223 FCFA 130.4K

$449 RON 2,123

-50.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$346 FCFA 202.3K

$1,098 RON 5,195

-68.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$285 FCFA 166.7K

$729 RON 3,448

-60.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$841 FCFA 492.3K

$3,740 RON 17.7K

-77.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$648 FCFA 378.9K

$2,189 RON 10.4K

-70.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,323 RON 6,259

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.8

6.74

0.89%

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

Last update for Malabo: 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

Malabo

–

Bucharest

$449 33.5%

Eating Out

Malabo

–

Bucharest

$226 16.8%

Groceries & Markets

Malabo

–

Bucharest

$222 16.5%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malabo

–

Bucharest

$214 16%

Clothing & Footwear

Malabo

–

Bucharest

$136 10.1%

Sport & Entertainment

Malabo

–

Bucharest

$67 5%

Getting Around

Malabo

–

Bucharest

$28 2.1%

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $70.0 in Malabo vs $58.0 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $152 vs $222, with Malabo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇶 Malabo

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

05:02 5:02 AM

07:02 7:02 AM

2 h ahead of Malabo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

297,000 Capital

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to XAF – Central African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Central African CFA Franc (Fr)

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.52 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 XAF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Malabo Bucharest 4,830 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Malabo
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

Malabo vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Malabo and Bucharest differ by about 101% in total monthly costs ($673 vs $1,351 including rent). Malabo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,009 in Malabo and $2,027 in Bucharest to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Bucharest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $673 per month in Malabo versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 101% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $673 in Malabo versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Malabo but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Malabo 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 Malabo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.