Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rouen and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,709 in Rouen, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Rouen
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Rouen Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Rouen

🇫🇷 France

$1,709

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,709 in Rouen versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Rouen $1,709
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,608 in Rouen versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Rouen $2,608
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,507 in Rouen versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Rouen $3,507
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Rouen is roughly 28% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rouen is 27% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.76 €14.94

$14.49 RON 68.9

15.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.9

$58.1 RON 276

13.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.29 €10.07

$7.48 RON 35.60

50.94%

Cappuccino

$3.26 €2.91

$3.44 RON 16.38

-5.23%

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

$3.61 €3.22

$2.37 RON 11.28

52.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 €2.78

$2.30 RON 10.94

35.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.17 €6.39

$3.70 RON 17.60

93.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.59 €5.88

$4.16 RON 19.80

58.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.67 RON 7.94

-11.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.37 RON 6.53

-18.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.72 RON 8.18

23.26%

Eggs

$3.65 €3.26

$3.64 RON 17.31

0.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.91 €15.97

$9.08 RON 43.21

97.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 €8.32

$6.84 RON 32.52

36.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.54 €23.67

$12.00 RON 57.1

121.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$1.23 RON 5.83

104.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.96 €2.64

$1.63 RON 7.77

81.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.57 RON 7.49

54.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 €2.86

$2.54 RON 12.08

25.98%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.79 RON 3.77

155.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.77 RON 3.68

92.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 €1.13

$0.87 RON 4.15

45.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 €0.39

$0.99 RON 4.73

-55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.30 €12.75

$6.31 RON 30.02

126.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.81 €6.07

$6.20 RON 29.51

9.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 €2.28

$1.19 RON 5.66

115.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 €2.82

$1.57 RON 7.49

101.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.05 €1.83

$0.86 RON 4.10

138.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.42 €43.17

$21.10 RON 100

129.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.70 €7.76

$0.64 RON 3.06

1259.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 €1.12

$0.60 RON 2.87

108.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.60

$6.43 RON 30.60

416.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.96 RON 9.31

5.61%

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

$34.9K €31.1K

$29.0K RON 138.0K

20.48%

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

$35.7K €31.8K

$26.6K RON 126.7K

34.01%

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

$210 €187

$196 RON 932

7.11%

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

$23.13 €20.62

$8.04 RON 38.25

187.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.52 €35.23

$9.35 RON 44.46

322.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.66 €38.04

$50.2 RON 239

-15.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.77 €14.95

$25.33 RON 121

-33.79%

Cinema Ticket

$14.56 €12.98

$8.15 RON 38.76

78.65%

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

$883 €788

$628 RON 2,988

40.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,874 €8,804

$14.1K RON 67.0K

-29.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.3 €75.1

$89.6 RON 426

-5.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.32 RON 182

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.7 €84.4

$79.3 RON 377

19.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 €94.4

$90.4 RON 430

17.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$674 €601

$678 RON 3,227

-0.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$545 €486

$448 RON 2,133

21.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,233 €1,100

$1,083 RON 5,153

13.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$924 €824

$725 RON 3,449

27.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,871 €3,451

$3,751 RON 17.8K

3.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,327 €2,075

$2,195 RON 10.4K

6.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,530 €2,255

$1,329 RON 6,324

90.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.81

6.75

-43.56%

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

Last update for Rouen: 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

Rouen

$545 31.9%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 17.8% $97

Groceries & Markets

Rouen

$337 19.7%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 33.2% $112

Eating Out

Rouen

$283 16.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 20.4% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rouen

$272 15.9%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 21.7% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Rouen

$128 * 7.5%

Bucharest

$134 10% 4.5% $5.7

Sport & Entertainment

Rouen

$72 4.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 7.3% $5.3

Getting Around

Rouen

$72 4.2%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 60.6% $43

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 $674 in Rouen and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rouen pays 90% 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 Rouen vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $337 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Rouen

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

06:49 6:49 AM

07:49 7:49 AM

1 h ahead of Rouen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,083

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Rouen Bucharest 1,970 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Rouen
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

Rouen vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rouen and Bucharest differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,709 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 90% higher in Rouen, 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: $674 in Rouen versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,709 per month in Rouen versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 129% less than in Rouen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,709 in Rouen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Rouen. 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, Rouen 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 28% less than in Rouen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.