Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Netherlands and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $2,659 in the Netherlands, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

🇳🇱 Netherlands
$2,659
/mo nomad
Bucharest
🇷🇴 Romania
$1,351
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: The Netherlands is 66.9% more expensive than Bucharest without rent, and 96.8% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: The Netherlands is 56.1% more expensive than Bucharest without rent, and 91.2% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$22.46 €20.04
$14.46 RON 68.4
55.33%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$89.9 €80.2
$57.7 RON 273
55.94%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.89 €12.39
$7.50 RON 35.46
85.20%
Cappuccino
$4.16 €3.71
$3.43 RON 16.20
21.28%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.69 €3.30
$2.46 RON 11.63
50.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.15 €2.81
$2.33 RON 11.01
35.19%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.62 €5.91
$3.80 RON 17.97
74.21%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.48 €4.89
$4.10 RON 19.41
33.66%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.33 €1.19
$1.65 RON 7.79
-19.39%
White Bread (500g)
$2.26 €2.01
$1.35 RON 6.39
67.41%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.76 €2.46
$1.78 RON 8.42
55.06%
Eggs
$4.93 €4.40
$3.66 RON 17.33
34.70%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.92 €12.42
$8.57 RON 40.54
62.43%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$14.32 €12.78
$6.80 RON 32.17
110.59%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.09 €15.25
$11.72 RON 55.4
45.82%
Apples (1kg)
$2.63 €2.34
$1.29 RON 6.11
103.88%
Banana (1kg)
$2.48 €2.22
$1.56 RON 7.37
58.97%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.07 €1.85
$1.54 RON 7.28
34.42%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.24 €3.79
$2.48 RON 11.75
70.97%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 €1.67
$0.83 RON 3.92
125.30%
Onion (1kg)
$1.88 €1.67
$0.80 RON 3.77
135.00%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.27 €1.13
$0.84 RON 3.98
51.19%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.90 €0.80
$0.93 RON 4.39
-3.23%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$13.89 €12.40
$6.44 RON 30.45
115.68%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.79 €6.06
$6.32 RON 29.91
7.44%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.52 €1.36
$1.26 RON 5.94
20.63%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.61 €2.33
$1.60 RON 7.59
63.12%
🚌 Getting Around
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.88 €3.46
$0.81 RON 3.85
379.01%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$95.1 €84.8
$21.13 RON 99.9
349.88%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.53 €4.04
$0.60 RON 2.86
655.00%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.04 €2.71
$0.61 RON 2.91
398.36%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$33.23 €29.66
$6.17 RON 29.19
438.57%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.50 €2.23
$1.96 RON 9.27
27.55%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$40.8K €36.4K
$28.1K RON 133.1K
45.03%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$39.2K €35.0K
$26.3K RON 124.3K
49.08%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$261 €233
$197 RON 931
32.74%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.50 €20.08
$8.34 RON 39.44
169.78%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$51.3 €45.76
$9.19 RON 43.47
457.89%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$42.47 €37.90
$49.87 RON 236
-14.84%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$25.73 €22.96
$24.99 RON 118
2.96%
Cinema Ticket
$15.43 €13.77
$8.46 RON 40.01
82.39%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,256 €2,014
$639 RON 3,023
253.01%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$9,006 €8,037
$14.4K RON 68.1K
-37.43%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$95.9 €85.6
$90.6 RON 429
5.83%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.51 €37.93
$38.05 RON 180
11.72%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$105 €94.1
$79.7 RON 377
32.38%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$133 €119
$93.2 RON 441
43.00%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,625 €1,450
$673 RON 3,184
141.30%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,316 €1,174
$449 RON 2,123
193.17%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,570 €2,293
$1,098 RON 5,195
134.00%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,022 €1,804
$729 RON 3,448
177.35%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,529 €5,826
$3,740 RON 17.7K
74.56%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,871 €4,347
$2,189 RON 10.4K
122.54%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Netherlands
Bucharest
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,761 €3,356
$1,323 RON 6,259
184.20%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.86
6.74
-42.73%

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

Last update for the Netherlands: 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
Netherlands
$1.3K
Bucharest
$449 65.9% $867
Eating Out
Netherlands
$343
Bucharest
$226 34.2% $117
Groceries & Markets
Netherlands
$340
Bucharest
$222 34.9% $119
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Netherlands
$335
Bucharest
$214 36% $121
Clothing & Footwear
Netherlands
$170
Bucharest
$136 20% $34
Getting Around
Netherlands
$130
Bucharest
$28 78.5% $102
Sport & Entertainment
Netherlands
$73
Bucharest
$67 8.9% $6.5
Good to know
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇷🇴 Bucharest
🕒 Local time
05:07 5:07 AM
06:07 6:07 AM
1 h ahead of the Netherlands
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
17,100,715
1,883,425 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Netherlands Bucharest 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Netherlands
  • 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

Netherlands vs other spots: cost of living compared

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