Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Sebastian and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,948 in San Sebastian, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

95

Cost of Living Index in San Sebastian
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San Sebastian Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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San Sebastian

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,948

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,948 in San Sebastian versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

San Sebastian $1,948
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,889 in San Sebastian versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

San Sebastian $2,889
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,830 in San Sebastian versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

San Sebastian $3,830
Bucharest $2,734

Living in San Sebastian is roughly 45% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Sebastian is 44% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.76 €14.90

$14.49 RON 68.6

15.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.6 €53.9

$58.1 RON 275

4.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 €9.41

$7.48 RON 35.40

41.44%

Cappuccino

$2.08 €1.85

$3.44 RON 16.29

-39.53%

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

$2.87 €2.55

$2.37 RON 11.22

21.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.44

$2.30 RON 10.88

-29.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.70 RON 17.51

-7.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 €3.22

$4.16 RON 19.69

-12.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.67 RON 7.90

-32.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 €0.94

$1.37 RON 6.50

-22.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.72 RON 8.14

1.74%

Eggs

$3.72 €3.31

$3.64 RON 17.22

2.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.34 €19.87

$9.08 RON 42.98

146.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.17 €7.27

$6.84 RON 32.35

19.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 €18.77

$12.00 RON 56.8

75.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$1.23 RON 5.80

104.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$1.63 RON 7.73

44.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 €2.97

$1.57 RON 7.45

112.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$2.54 RON 12.01

14.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.79 RON 3.75

160.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$0.77 RON 3.66

157.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.05

$0.87 RON 4.13

35.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 €0.54

$0.99 RON 4.70

-38.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 €5.40

$6.31 RON 29.86

-3.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.39 €6.58

$6.20 RON 29.34

19.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.19 RON 5.63

-9.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.57 RON 7.45

16.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.11 €1.88

$0.86 RON 4.08

145.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.85 €30.11

$21.10 RON 99.8

60.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.57 €5.85

$0.64 RON 3.05

926.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 €0.81

$0.60 RON 2.86

51.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.70 €20.19

$6.43 RON 30.43

253.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.96 RON 9.25

-13.27%

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

$36.2K €32.2K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

24.80%

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

$28.7K €25.5K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

7.77%

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

$136 €121

$196 RON 927

-30.38%

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

$20.40 €18.15

$8.04 RON 38.04

153.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.36 €31.45

$9.35 RON 44.21

278.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.41 €37.73

$50.2 RON 238

-15.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.95 €17.75

$25.33 RON 120

-21.24%

Cinema Ticket

$8.44 €7.50

$8.15 RON 38.55

3.56%

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

$453 €403

$628 RON 2,971

-27.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K €12.2K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-2.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 €64.5

$89.6 RON 424

-19.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.46 €27.99

$38.32 RON 181

-17.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.7 €66.5

$79.3 RON 375

-5.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €119

$90.4 RON 428

47.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 €1,252

$678 RON 3,209

107.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$954 €849

$448 RON 2,121

112.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,239 €1,992

$1,083 RON 5,125

106.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 €1,354

$725 RON 3,430

109.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,603 €8,541

$3,751 RON 17.7K

155.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,748 €4,223

$2,195 RON 10.4K

116.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,027 €2,693

$1,329 RON 6,290

127.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.92

6.75

-56.74%

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

Last update for San Sebastian: 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

San Sebastian

$954 49%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 53% $506

Groceries & Markets

San Sebastian

$316 16.2%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 28.7% $91

Eating Out

San Sebastian

$233 12%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 3.4% $7.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Sebastian

$192 9.9%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 11% $21

Clothing & Footwear

San Sebastian

$141 7.2%

Bucharest

$134 10% 4.7% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

San Sebastian

$59 3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 12.2% $7.3

Getting Around

San Sebastian

$53 2.7%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 47.2% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,407 in San Sebastian and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Sebastian pays 128% 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: $61.0 in San Sebastian vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 San Sebastian

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

19:38 7:38 PM

20:38 8:38 PM

1 h ahead of San Sebastian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,743

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

San Sebastian Bucharest 2,240 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

San Sebastian
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

San Sebastian vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Sebastian and Bucharest differ by about 45% in total monthly costs ($1,948 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 128% higher in San Sebastian, 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: $1,407 in San Sebastian versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,948 per month in San Sebastian versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 45% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 60% less than in San Sebastian. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,948 in San Sebastian, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in San Sebastian. 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, San Sebastian 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 45% less than in San Sebastian. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.