Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Principe and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,204 a month against $1,371 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bucharest outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,204

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Sao Tome and Principe is 11% more expensive than Bucharest without rent, and 12.1% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Sao Tome and Principe is 3.5% more expensive than Bucharest without rent, and 6.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.06 STN 197

$14.51 RON 69.0

-37.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.54 STN 971

$61.2 RON 291

-27.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.26 STN 180

$7.46 RON 35.46

10.72%

Cappuccino

$2.30 STN 50.2

$3.64 RON 17.31

-36.81%

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

$1.73 STN 37.66

$2.62 RON 12.43

-33.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 STN 24.49

$2.36 RON 11.23

-52.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 STN 38.27

$3.78 RON 17.98

-53.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 STN 40.63

$4.11 RON 19.52

-54.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 STN 33.55

$1.66 RON 7.89

-7.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 STN 31.55

$1.40 RON 6.64

3.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 STN 44.87

$1.79 RON 8.53

15.08%

Eggs

$4.48 STN 97.7

$3.63 RON 17.25

23.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.77 STN 453

$8.92 RON 42.38

132.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.83 STN 367

$6.86 RON 32.62

145.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.19 STN 462

$11.99 RON 57.0

76.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.92 STN 85.5

$1.30 RON 6.16

201.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 STN 38.59

$1.63 RON 7.76

8.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.78 STN 82.4

$1.49 RON 7.09

153.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 STN 83.7

$2.54 RON 12.08

51.18%

Potato (1kg)

$3.16 STN 68.9

$0.81 RON 3.86

290.12%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 STN 66.9

$0.80 RON 3.78

283.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 STN 11.63

$0.86 RON 4.07

-38.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 STN 45.55

$0.94 RON 4.46

122.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.23 STN 48.53

$6.60 RON 31.38

-66.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.94 STN 151

$6.33 RON 30.08

9.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 STN 34.18

$1.19 RON 5.64

31.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 STN 36.64

$1.58 RON 7.53

6.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 STN 29.50

$0.98 RON 4.64

37.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.72 STN 37.55

$0.60 RON 2.86

186.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.63 STN 57.3

$0.62 RON 2.93

324.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.90 STN 303

$6.37 RON 30.25

118.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 STN 36.01

$2.02 RON 9.62

-18.32%

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

$24.5K STN 533.2K

$28.2K RON 134.0K

-13.27%

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

$31.5K STN 685.6K

$26.3K RON 124.8K

19.70%

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

$227 STN 4,944

$196 RON 932

15.60%

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

$31.02 STN 676

$8.60 RON 40.84

260.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.5 STN 1,470

$9.20 RON 43.69

633.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.31 STN 748

$51.0 RON 242

-32.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.44 STN 555

$25.04 RON 119

1.60%

Cinema Ticket

$19.79 STN 431

$8.26 RON 39.27

139.59%

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

$224 STN 4,889

$681 RON 3,234

-67.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,175 STN 47.4K

$18.7K RON 89.0K

-88.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 443

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$76.3 STN 1,662

$39.87 RON 189

91.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.12 STN 395

$90.6 RON 431

-80.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$286 STN 6,241

$731 RON 3,473

-60.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,255

$470 RON 2,232

-58.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$921 STN 20.1K

$1,110 RON 5,276

-17.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$437 STN 9,529

$722 RON 3,431

-39.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,852 STN 40.4K

$3,749 RON 17.8K

-50.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,131 STN 24.7K

$2,233 RON 10.6K

-49.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$443 STN 9,659

$1,365 RON 6,487

-67.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

6.75

9.33%

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

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome and Principe

$399 33.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.4% 43.6% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome and Principe

$325 27%

Bucharest

$214 15.6% 34.2% $111

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.2%

Bucharest

$470 34.3% 141% $275

Eating Out

Sao Tome and Principe

$149 12.4%

Bucharest

$229 16.7% 54.1% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome and Principe

$74 6.1%

Bucharest

$68 4.9% 8.6% $6.4

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5%

Bucharest

$137 10% 222% $94

Getting Around

Sao Tome and Principe

$20 * 1.7%

Bucharest

$29 2.1% 40.5% $8.2

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

10:23 10:23 AM

12:23 12:23 PM

2 h ahead of Sao Tome and Principe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,327

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.59 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 21.8 STN (100 STN = 4.59 USD). 1 EUR = 24.48 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to STN in detail →

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