Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ouagadougou and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Ouagadougou: $1,169 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

56

Cost of Living Index in Ouagadougou
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Ouagadougou Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

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Ouagadougou

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso

$1,169

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,169 in Ouagadougou versus $1,371 in Bucharest.

Ouagadougou $1,169
Bucharest $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,926 in Ouagadougou versus $2,067 in Bucharest.

Ouagadougou $1,926
Bucharest $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,682 in Ouagadougou versus $2,764 in Bucharest.

Ouagadougou $2,682
Bucharest $2,764

Living in Ouagadougou costs roughly 15% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.44 F CFA 4,344

$14.51 RON 69.0

-48.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.46 F CFA 14.9K

$61.2 RON 291

-58.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.09 F CFA 4,142

$7.46 RON 35.50

-4.96%

Cappuccino

$1.93 F CFA 1,128

$3.64 RON 17.33

-46.98%

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

$1.07 F CFA 624

$2.62 RON 12.44

-59.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.11 F CFA 647

$2.36 RON 11.24

-52.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 F CFA 715

$3.78 RON 18.00

-67.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 F CFA 1,456

$4.11 RON 19.54

-39.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 F CFA 1,157

$1.66 RON 7.90

19.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 F CFA 630

$1.40 RON 6.64

-22.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 F CFA 474

$1.79 RON 8.54

-54.75%

Eggs

$2.61 F CFA 1,522

$3.63 RON 17.27

-28.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.40 F CFA 10.2K

$8.92 RON 42.43

95.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$20.35 F CFA 11.9K

$6.86 RON 32.65

196.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.16 F CFA 8,855

$11.99 RON 57.0

26.44%

Apples (1kg)

$4.81 F CFA 2,812

$1.30 RON 6.17

270.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.77

Oranges (1kg)

$3.38 F CFA 1,975

$1.49 RON 7.10

126.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.88 F CFA 2,263

$2.54 RON 12.09

52.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 F CFA 902

$0.81 RON 3.86

90.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 F CFA 1,015

$0.80 RON 3.79

117.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 F CFA 755

$0.86 RON 4.07

50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 F CFA 780

$0.94 RON 4.46

42.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.35 F CFA 790

$6.60 RON 31.42

-79.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.88 F CFA 3,435

$6.33 RON 30.11

-7.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 F CFA 847

$1.19 RON 5.64

21.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 F CFA 1,505

$1.58 RON 7.54

63.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 F CFA 102

$0.98 RON 4.64

-82.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.5

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.52 F CFA 306

$0.60 RON 2.86

-13.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 F CFA 476

$0.62 RON 2.93

30.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.59 F CFA 5,019

$6.37 RON 30.28

34.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 F CFA 866

$2.02 RON 9.63

-26.73%

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

$36.1K F CFA 21.1M

$28.2K RON 134.1K

28.07%

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

$31.7K F CFA 18.5M

$26.3K RON 125.0K

20.47%

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

$176 F CFA 102.7K

$196 RON 933

-10.39%

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

$25.40 F CFA 14.8K

$8.60 RON 40.89

195.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.0 F CFA 32.1K

$9.20 RON 43.74

497.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.5 F CFA 35.3K

$51.0 RON 243

18.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 F CFA 4,882

$25.04 RON 119

-66.61%

Cinema Ticket

$6.88 F CFA 4,020

$8.26 RON 39.31

-16.71%

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

$33.88 F CFA 19.8K

$681 RON 3,237

-95.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,996 F CFA 3.5M

$18.7K RON 89.1K

-68.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.68 F CFA 20.3K

$93.3 RON 444

-62.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.1 F CFA 30.4K

$39.87 RON 190

30.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.7 F CFA 48.8K

$80.1 RON 381

4.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 F CFA 59.1K

$90.6 RON 431

11.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$339 F CFA 198.2K

$731 RON 3,477

-53.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$233 F CFA 136.3K

$470 RON 2,234

-50.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,315 F CFA 767.9K

$1,110 RON 5,282

18.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$747 F CFA 436.3K

$722 RON 3,435

3.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$851 F CFA 496.7K

$3,749 RON 17.8K

-77.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$257 F CFA 150.1K

$2,233 RON 10.6K

-88.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$587 F CFA 342.9K

$1,365 RON 6,494

-56.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

77.78%

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

Last update for Ouagadougou: November 1, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ouagadougou

$354 * 30.3%

Bucharest

$225 16.4% 36.5% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ouagadougou

$256 21.9%

Bucharest

$214 15.6% 16.5% $42

Accommodation & Living

Ouagadougou

$233 20%

Bucharest

$470 34.3% 101% $236

Eating Out

Ouagadougou

$124 10.6%

Bucharest

$229 16.7% 85.2% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Ouagadougou

$122 10.5%

Bucharest

$137 10% 11.9% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Ouagadougou

$74 6.4%

Bucharest

$68 4.9% 9.1% $6.7

Getting Around

Ouagadougou

$5.3 * 0.5%

Bucharest

$29 2.1% 439% $23

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 $339 in Ouagadougou and $731 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Ouagadougou vs $61 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $354 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇫 Ouagadougou

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

00:38 12:38 AM

02:38 2:38 AM

2 h ahead of Ouagadougou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,915,102 Capital

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to XOF – West African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 West African CFA Franc (Fr)

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 584 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to XOF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ouagadougou Bucharest 4,430 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ouagadougou
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

Ouagadougou vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,169 in Ouagadougou and $1,371 in Bucharest, so Ouagadougou is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 57% lower in Ouagadougou. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $339 in Ouagadougou versus $731 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Bucharest pay roughly 37% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,169 per month in Ouagadougou versus $1,371 in Bucharest – Ouagadougou is about 15% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ouagadougou gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Ouagadougou wins on affordability, Bucharest on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.