Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Poprad and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $1,495 in Poprad, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Poprad
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Poprad Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Poprad

🇸🇰 Slovakia

$1,495

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,495 in Poprad versus $1,337 in Bucharest.

Poprad $1,495
Bucharest $1,337

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,236 in Poprad versus $2,029 in Bucharest.

Poprad $2,236
Bucharest $2,029

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,977 in Poprad versus $2,721 in Bucharest.

Poprad $2,977
Bucharest $2,721

Living in Poprad is roughly 12% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Poprad is 10% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.27 €10.02

$14.45 RON 68.4

-22.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.0 €50.7

$58.1 RON 275

-1.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.93 €8.83

$7.53 RON 35.65

31.87%

Cappuccino

$3.15 €2.80

$3.45 RON 16.33

-8.70%

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

$2.20 €1.96

$2.46 RON 11.65

-10.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 €1.61

$2.23 RON 10.54

-18.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.31 €2.05

$3.76 RON 17.78

-38.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 €2.67

$4.19 RON 19.84

-28.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.98 €0.87

$1.62 RON 7.67

-39.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.30 RON 6.13

33.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.70 RON 8.05

27.65%

Eggs

$4.04 €3.60

$3.79 RON 17.93

6.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.01 €13.35

$8.86 RON 41.90

69.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.17 €6.38

$6.90 RON 32.67

3.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.03 €12.48

$12.14 RON 57.4

15.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.30 RON 6.17

63.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.60 RON 7.55

18.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.57 RON 7.42

38.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 €3.35

$2.68 RON 12.67

40.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.81 RON 3.82

69.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 €1.35

$0.79 RON 3.73

92.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 €1.44

$0.91 RON 4.30

78.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.97 RON 4.58

-15.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.04 €5.38

$6.41 RON 30.34

-5.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.07 €6.29

$6.18 RON 29.24

14.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 €0.92

$1.23 RON 5.83

-15.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.67 RON 7.91

-2.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.52

$0.87 RON 4.10

96.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.12 €30.35

$20.98 RON 99.3

62.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.66 RON 3.10

183.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 €1.49

$0.60 RON 2.85

178.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.66 €29.94

$6.19 RON 29.28

443.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.93 RON 9.15

-7.77%

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

$25.8K €22.9K

$28.7K RON 135.9K

-10.27%

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

$26.4K €23.5K

$26.3K RON 124.6K

0.36%

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

$240 €214

$196 RON 926

22.72%

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

$22.78 €20.26

$8.49 RON 40.19

168.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.30 €17.17

$9.05 RON 42.84

113.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.01 €36.48

$49.54 RON 234

-17.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.42 €18.16

$25.03 RON 118

-18.42%

Cinema Ticket

$11.16 €9.92

$8.24 RON 39.01

35.44%

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

$478 €425

$636 RON 3,007

-24.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.4K €16.3K

$14.6K RON 69.0K

25.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 €62.7

$88.5 RON 419

-20.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.20 €35.76

$38.77 RON 183

3.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.5 €69.9

$78.8 RON 373

-0.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 €97.8

$90.6 RON 428

21.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$779 €693

$695 RON 3,288

12.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$501 €446

$446 RON 2,109

12.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,019 €906

$1,084 RON 5,130

-6.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$814 €724

$712 RON 3,368

14.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,432 €3,052

$3,797 RON 18.0K

-9.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,520 €2,242

$2,202 RON 10.4K

14.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,009 €897

$1,354 RON 6,406

-25.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.51

6.75

-48.00%

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

Last update for Poprad: October 19, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Poprad

$501 33.5%

Bucharest

$446 33.3% 11.1% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Poprad

$282 18.9%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 24.4% $69

Groceries & Markets

Poprad

$271 18.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.9% 16.7% $45

Eating Out

Poprad

$191 12.8%

Bucharest

$226 16.9% 17.9% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Poprad

$135 9%

Bucharest

$133 10% 0.9% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Poprad

$63 4.2%

Bucharest

$66 4.9% 4.3% $2.7

Getting Around

Poprad

$51 3.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 45.1% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $779 in Poprad and $695 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 34% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $57.0 in Poprad vs $58.0 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $271 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇰 Poprad

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

15:15 3:15 PM

16:15 4:15 PM

1 h ahead of Poprad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,931

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 = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Poprad Bucharest 680 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Poprad
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

Poprad vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Poprad and Bucharest differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($1,495 vs $1,337 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in Bucharest. 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: $779 in Poprad versus $695 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,495 per month in Poprad versus $1,337 in Bucharest – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 63% less than in Poprad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $1,495 in Poprad, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Poprad. 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, Poprad 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 12% less than in Poprad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.