Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portmarnock and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,812 in Portmarnock, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Portmarnock
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Portmarnock Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Portmarnock

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,812

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,812 in Portmarnock versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Portmarnock $2,812
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,831 in Portmarnock versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Portmarnock $3,831
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,849 in Portmarnock versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Portmarnock $4,849
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Portmarnock is roughly 110% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Portmarnock is 108% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.51 €20.02

$14.49 RON 68.6

55.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$100 €89.2

$58.1 RON 275

72.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.15 €11.70

$7.48 RON 35.40

75.80%

Cappuccino

$4.75 €4.22

$3.44 RON 16.29

38.08%

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

$2.88 €2.56

$2.37 RON 11.22

21.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.30 RON 10.88

-6.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.72 €6.86

$3.70 RON 17.51

108.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.82 €6.07

$4.16 RON 19.69

63.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.67 RON 7.90

-1.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 €2.03

$1.37 RON 6.50

67.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.72 RON 8.14

18.60%

Eggs

$4.20 €3.74

$3.64 RON 17.22

15.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.16 €9.04

$9.08 RON 42.98

11.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.74 €9.56

$6.84 RON 32.35

57.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.29 €11.83

$12.00 RON 56.8

10.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 €2.42

$1.23 RON 5.80

121.14%

Banana (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.63 RON 7.73

33.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 €2.45

$1.57 RON 7.45

75.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.03 €3.59

$2.54 RON 12.01

58.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.79 RON 3.75

144.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$0.77 RON 3.66

98.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 €1.12

$0.87 RON 4.13

44.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.99 RON 4.70

91.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.25 €18.01

$6.31 RON 29.86

220.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.48 €11.99

$6.20 RON 29.34

117.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.49 €3.10

$1.19 RON 5.63

193.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 €3.22

$1.57 RON 7.45

130.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.51 €2.24

$0.86 RON 4.08

191.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.02 €4.46

$0.64 RON 3.05

684.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 €1.26

$0.60 RON 2.86

136.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$37.61 €33.45

$6.43 RON 30.43

484.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.96 RON 9.25

9.18%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

31.96%

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

$36.6K €32.5K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

37.28%

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

$246 €219

$196 RON 927

25.48%

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

$18.36 €16.33

$8.04 RON 38.04

128.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.4 €44.84

$9.35 RON 44.21

439.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.5 €50.3

$50.2 RON 238

12.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$15.59 €13.87

$8.15 RON 38.55

91.29%

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

$997 €887

$628 RON 2,971

58.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,440 €4,839

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-61.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.8 €87.9

$89.6 RON 424

10.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.80 €42.52

$38.32 RON 181

24.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 €97.7

$79.3 RON 375

38.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 €103

$90.4 RON 428

27.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,730 €1,538

$678 RON 3,209

154.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,537 €1,367

$448 RON 2,121

242.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,499 €2,222

$1,083 RON 5,125

130.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,955 €1,739

$725 RON 3,430

169.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,329 RON 6,290

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

6.75

-45.48%

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

Last update for Portmarnock: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portmarnock

$1.5K 54.7%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 70.8% $1.1K

Eating Out

Portmarnock

$349 12.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 35.4% $124

Groceries & Markets

Portmarnock

$335 11.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 32.7% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portmarnock

$315 11.2%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 32.2% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Portmarnock

$167 6%

Bucharest

$134 10% 20% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Portmarnock

$88 3.1%

Bucharest

$67 5% 24.1% $21

Getting Around

Portmarnock

$22 * 0.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 27.2% $6

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 $1,730 in Portmarnock and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $100 in Portmarnock vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $335 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Portmarnock

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

15:38 3:38 PM

17:38 5:38 PM

2 h ahead of Portmarnock

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,285

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

Portmarnock Bucharest 2,530 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Portmarnock
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

Portmarnock vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Portmarnock and Bucharest differ by about 110% in total monthly costs ($2,812 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,218 in Portmarnock and $2,011 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,730 in Portmarnock versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Portmarnock. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,812 per month in Portmarnock versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 110% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,812 in Portmarnock, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Portmarnock. 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, Portmarnock 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 110% less than in Portmarnock. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.