Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome: $1,202 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.

57

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

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Sao Tome

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,202

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Sao Tome versus $1,371 in Bucharest.

Sao Tome $1,202
Bucharest $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,885 in Sao Tome versus $2,067 in Bucharest.

Sao Tome $1,885
Bucharest $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,567 in Sao Tome versus $2,764 in Bucharest.

Sao Tome $2,567
Bucharest $2,764

Living in Sao Tome costs roughly 12% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.79 STN 192

$14.51 RON 69.0

-39.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.44 STN 969

$61.2 RON 291

-27.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.84 STN 171

$7.46 RON 35.46

5.09%

Cappuccino

$2.21 STN 48.22

$3.64 RON 17.31

-39.29%

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

$1.87 STN 40.78

$2.62 RON 12.43

-28.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 STN 26.44

$2.36 RON 11.23

-48.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.72 STN 37.55

$3.78 RON 17.98

-54.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 STN 39.51

$4.11 RON 19.52

-55.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 STN 32.88

$1.66 RON 7.89

-9.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 STN 26.36

$1.40 RON 6.64

-13.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.04 STN 44.58

$1.79 RON 8.53

13.97%

Eggs

$4.81 STN 105

$3.63 RON 17.25

32.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.11 STN 482

$8.92 RON 42.38

147.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.62 STN 362

$6.86 RON 32.62

142.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.21 STN 441

$11.99 RON 57.0

68.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.84 STN 83.7

$1.30 RON 6.16

195.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 STN 38.18

$1.63 RON 7.76

7.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.82 STN 83.3

$1.49 RON 7.09

156.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.90 STN 84.9

$2.54 RON 12.08

53.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.14 STN 68.5

$0.81 RON 3.86

287.65%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 STN 66.6

$0.80 RON 3.78

281.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.50 STN 10.83

$0.86 RON 4.07

-41.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.08 STN 45.33

$0.94 RON 4.46

121.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.26 STN 49.25

$6.60 RON 31.38

-65.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.01 STN 153

$6.33 RON 30.08

10.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 STN 32.76

$1.19 RON 5.64

26.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 STN 35.65

$1.58 RON 7.53

3.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 STN 30.59

$0.98 RON 4.64

42.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.91 RON 99.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 STN 36.33

$0.60 RON 2.86

178.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.52 STN 55.0

$0.62 RON 2.93

306.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.81 STN 301

$6.37 RON 30.25

116.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.73 STN 37.68

$2.02 RON 9.62

-14.36%

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

$24.4K STN 532.1K

$28.2K RON 134.0K

-13.45%

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

$31.5K STN 686.7K

$26.3K RON 124.8K

19.88%

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

$232 STN 5,047

$196 RON 932

18.01%

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

$31.65 STN 690

$8.60 RON 40.84

268.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.1 STN 1,462

$9.20 RON 43.69

628.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.48 STN 730

$51.0 RON 242

-34.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.95 STN 544

$25.04 RON 119

-0.36%

Cinema Ticket

$20.27 STN 442

$8.26 RON 39.27

145.40%

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

$230 STN 5,017

$681 RON 3,234

-66.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,182 STN 47.6K

$18.7K RON 89.0K

-88.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 RON 443

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$73.6 STN 1,605

$39.87 RON 189

84.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 381

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.53 STN 404

$90.6 RON 431

-79.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$285 STN 6,205

$731 RON 3,473

-61.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,254

$470 RON 2,232

-58.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$922 STN 20.1K

$1,110 RON 5,276

-17.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 STN 9,618

$722 RON 3,431

-38.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,839 STN 40.1K

$3,749 RON 17.8K

-50.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,143 STN 24.9K

$2,233 RON 10.6K

-48.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$256 STN 5,582

$1,365 RON 6,487

-81.25%

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: 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

Sao Tome

$396 33%

Bucharest

$225 16.4% 43.3% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome

$330 27.5%

Bucharest

$214 15.6% 35.2% $116

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome

$195 16.2%

Bucharest

$470 34.3% 141% $275

Eating Out

Sao Tome

$145 12.1%

Bucharest

$229 16.7% 58.1% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome

$74 6.2%

Bucharest

$68 4.9% 8.8% $6.5

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome

$41 * 3.5%

Bucharest

$137 10% 230% $95

Getting Around

Sao Tome

$20 * 1.7%

Bucharest

$29 2.1% 43.3% $8.6

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 $285 in Sao Tome and $731 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays about 5.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Sao Tome vs $61 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $396 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

10:17 10:17 AM

2 h ahead of Sao Tome

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

53,300 Capital

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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Tome Bucharest 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Tome
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

Sao Tome vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Sao Tome and $1,371 in Bucharest, so Sao Tome is about 12% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 81% lower in Sao Tome. 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: $285 in Sao Tome versus $731 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Bucharest pay roughly 43% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Sao Tome versus $1,371 in Bucharest – Sao Tome is about 12% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sao Tome is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 – Sao Tome wins on affordability, Bucharest on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.