Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sale, Morocco and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Sale: $625 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Sale
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Sale Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Sale

🇲🇦 Morocco

$625

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $625 in Sale versus $1,371 in Bucharest.

Sale $625
Bucharest $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,030 in Sale versus $2,067 in Bucharest.

Sale $1,030
Bucharest $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,434 in Sale versus $2,764 in Bucharest.

Sale $1,434
Bucharest $2,764

Living in Sale costs roughly 54% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.58 MAD 34.96

$14.51 RON 69.4

-75.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.72 MAD 173

$61.2 RON 293

-71.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.08 MAD 69.0

$7.46 RON 35.68

-5.09%

Cappuccino

$1.82 MAD 17.71

$3.64 RON 17.41

-50.00%

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

$0.53 MAD 5.12

$2.62 RON 12.50

-79.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 MAD 2.93

$2.36 RON 11.29

-87.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.60 MAD 25.41

$3.78 RON 18.08

-31.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 MAD 30.25

$4.11 RON 19.64

-24.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.88 MAD 8.55

$1.66 RON 7.94

-46.99%

White Bread (500g)

$0.62 MAD 6.01

$1.40 RON 6.68

-55.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 MAD 19.00

$1.79 RON 8.58

8.94%

Eggs

$1.89 MAD 18.47

$3.63 RON 17.35

-47.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.30 MAD 110

$8.92 RON 42.63

26.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.51 MAD 63.5

$6.86 RON 32.81

-5.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.09 MAD 118

$11.99 RON 57.3

0.83%

Apples (1kg)

$1.38 MAD 13.42

$1.30 RON 6.20

6.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 MAD 11.81

$1.63 RON 7.81

-25.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 MAD 9.20

$1.49 RON 7.13

-36.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.88 MAD 8.63

$2.54 RON 12.15

-65.35%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 MAD 6.86

$0.81 RON 3.88

-13.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 MAD 7.13

$0.80 RON 3.81

-8.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.43 MAD 4.18

$0.86 RON 4.09

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 MAD 6.01

$0.94 RON 4.48

-34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.81 MAD 37.12

$6.60 RON 31.57

-42.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.50 MAD 43.85

$6.33 RON 30.26

-28.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 MAD 20.67

$1.19 RON 5.67

78.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 MAD 20.84

$1.58 RON 7.57

35.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.54 MAD 5.26

$0.98 RON 4.66

-44.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.81 MAD 222

$20.91 RON 100.0

9.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 MAD 7.20

$0.60 RON 2.87

23.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MAD 5.20

$0.62 RON 2.95

-14.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.06 MAD 39.56

$6.37 RON 30.43

-36.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 MAD 14.23

$2.02 RON 9.68

-27.72%

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

$30.3K MAD 295.2K

$28.2K RON 134.8K

7.33%

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

$29.8K MAD 290.6K

$26.3K RON 125.6K

13.40%

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

$37.19 MAD 363

$196 RON 938

-81.04%

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

$10.04 MAD 97.9

$8.60 RON 41.09

16.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.87 MAD 399

$9.20 RON 43.95

344.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.01 MAD 156

$51.0 RON 244

-68.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.98 MAD 400

$25.04 RON 120

63.66%

Cinema Ticket

$5.03 MAD 49.09

$8.26 RON 39.50

-39.10%

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

$101 MAD 984

$681 RON 3,253

-85.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,838 MAD 56.9K

$18.7K RON 89.6K

-68.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.59 MAD 308

$93.3 RON 446

-66.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.56 MAD 454

$39.87 RON 191

16.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.8 MAD 700

$80.1 RON 383

-10.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.4 MAD 628

$90.6 RON 433

-28.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$205 MAD 1,995

$731 RON 3,494

-72.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$100 MAD 976

$470 RON 2,245

-78.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$356 MAD 3,471

$1,110 RON 5,308

-67.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$256 MAD 2,499

$722 RON 3,451

-64.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,126 MAD 11.0K

$3,749 RON 17.9K

-69.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$812 MAD 7,920

$2,233 RON 10.7K

-63.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$508 MAD 4,952

$1,365 RON 6,526

-62.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

-25.93%

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

Last update for Sale: October 31, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sale

$192 30.7%

Bucharest

$225 16.4% 17.1% $33

Accommodation & Living

Sale

$100 16%

Bucharest

$470 34.3% 370% $370

Clothing & Footwear

Sale

$96 15.4%

Bucharest

$137 10% 41.8% $40

Eating Out

Sale

$94 15.1%

Bucharest

$229 16.7% 143% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sale

$88 14.1%

Bucharest

$214 15.6% 143% $126

Getting Around

Sale

$28 4.5%

Bucharest

$29 2.1% 0.5% $0.1

Sport & Entertainment

Sale

$26 4.2%

Bucharest

$68 4.9% 159% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $205 in Sale and $731 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $18 in Sale vs $61 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $225 per month, with Sale cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Sale

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

17:38 5:38 PM

19:38 7:38 PM

2 h ahead of Sale

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

890,403

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.25 USD

100 MAD = 9.13 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.186 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.95 MAD (100 MAD = 9.13 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.37 RON (1 RON = 0.186 EUR).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sale Bucharest 3,040 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sale
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

Sale vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $625 in Sale and $1,371 in Bucharest, so Sale is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% lower in Sale. 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: $205 in Sale versus $731 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $625 per month in Sale versus $1,371 in Bucharest – Sale is about 54% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 8% less than in Sale. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $625 in Sale versus $1,371 in Bucharest, a $800 budget is realistic in Sale but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Sale 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.

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