Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,763 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,763 in Portsmouth versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Portsmouth $2,763
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,798 in Portsmouth versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Portsmouth $3,798
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,834 in Portsmouth versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Portsmouth $4,834
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Portsmouth is roughly 106% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Portsmouth is 105% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 £14.86

$14.49 RON 68.6

36.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 £49.78

$58.1 RON 275

14.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.34 £7.76

$7.48 RON 35.40

38.24%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.59

$3.44 RON 16.29

39.24%

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

$2.66 £1.99

$2.37 RON 11.22

12.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 £1.71

$2.30 RON 10.88

-1.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.18 £4.63

$3.70 RON 17.51

67.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.38

$4.16 RON 19.69

40.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.67 RON 7.90

-15.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.37 RON 6.50

15.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.69 £2.77

$1.72 RON 8.14

114.53%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$3.64 RON 17.22

-6.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 £9.95

$9.08 RON 42.98

46.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 £6.24

$6.84 RON 32.35

21.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 £9.77

$12.00 RON 56.8

8.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 £2.90

$1.23 RON 5.80

213.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.63 RON 7.73

17.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$1.57 RON 7.45

81.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.51

$2.54 RON 12.01

31.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$0.79 RON 3.75

108.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.77 RON 3.66

111.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$0.87 RON 4.13

37.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$0.99 RON 4.70

53.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.07 £17.31

$6.31 RON 29.86

265.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.29 £8.47

$6.20 RON 29.34

82.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$1.19 RON 5.63

147.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$1.57 RON 7.45

36.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.08 £3.06

$0.86 RON 4.08

374.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.0 £66.0

$21.10 RON 99.8

317.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 £3.87

$0.64 RON 3.05

706.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.60 RON 2.86

166.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.02 £15.02

$6.43 RON 30.43

211.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.96 RON 9.25

6.12%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

33.21%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

50.67%

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

$654 £491

$196 RON 927

234.08%

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

$14.83 £11.12

$8.04 RON 38.04

84.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.55

$9.35 RON 44.21

349.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.39 £28.80

$50.2 RON 238

-23.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.15 £12.86

$25.33 RON 120

-32.29%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £7.99

$8.15 RON 38.55

30.67%

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

$1,249 £937

$628 RON 2,971

98.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

42.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$89.6 RON 424

0.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.83 £29.88

$38.32 RON 181

3.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.6 £74.0

$79.3 RON 375

24.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 £89.8

$90.4 RON 428

32.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,457 £1,093

$678 RON 3,209

114.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 £824

$448 RON 2,121

144.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,091 £1,569

$1,083 RON 5,125

93.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 £1,286

$725 RON 3,430

136.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,504 £3,378

$3,751 RON 17.7K

20.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,703 £2,778

$2,195 RON 10.4K

68.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,350 £2,513

$1,329 RON 6,290

152.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

6.75

-23.56%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.8%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 59.2% $650

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$711 25.7%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 70% $498

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$310 11.2%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 27.5% $85

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$309 11.2%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 27.2% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$157 5.7%

Bucharest

$134 10% 14.7% $23

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$118 4.3%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 76% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$60 2.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 11.5% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,457 in Portsmouth and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays 152% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Portsmouth vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

00:23 12:23 AM

02:23 2:23 AM

2 h ahead of Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Portsmouth Bucharest 2,140 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
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

Portsmouth vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Portsmouth and Bucharest differ by about 106% in total monthly costs ($2,763 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 152% higher in Portsmouth, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,457 in Portsmouth versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,763 per month in Portsmouth versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 106% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 317% less than in Portsmouth. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,763 in Portsmouth, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Portsmouth. 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 106% less than in Portsmouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.