Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibiu: $1,112 a month against $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Sibiu
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Sibiu Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index

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Sibiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,112

/mo nomad

Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,413

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sibiu and in Cluj-Napoca

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sibiu and in Cluj-Napoca actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,112 in Sibiu versus $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca.

Sibiu $1,112
Cluj-Napoca $1,413

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,654 in Sibiu versus $2,122 in Cluj-Napoca.

Sibiu $1,654
Cluj-Napoca $2,122

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,197 in Sibiu versus $2,831 in Cluj-Napoca.

Sibiu $2,197
Cluj-Napoca $2,831

Living in Sibiu costs roughly 21% less than in Cluj-Napoca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sibiu is 18% below, Cluj-Napoca is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.50 RON 40.21

$12.53 RON 59.3

-32.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.33 RON 200

$54.5 RON 258

-22.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.37

$9.73 RON 46.01

-23.12%

Cappuccino

$3.27 RON 15.48

$3.68 RON 17.42

-11.14%

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

$2.01 RON 9.50

$2.31 RON 10.92

-12.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 RON 8.33

$2.31 RON 10.93

-23.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 RON 14.60

$3.22 RON 15.24

-4.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 RON 18.31

$4.26 RON 20.14

-9.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 RON 6.78

$1.63 RON 7.69

-12.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.14 RON 5.40

$1.43 RON 6.78

-20.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 RON 6.43

$1.82 RON 8.63

-25.27%

Eggs

$3.47 RON 16.41

$3.82 RON 18.08

-9.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.95 RON 37.60

$9.16 RON 43.34

-13.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.86 RON 27.73

$7.08 RON 33.50

-17.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.04 RON 38.05

$11.76 RON 55.7

-31.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.15 RON 5.44

$1.40 RON 6.64

-17.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.43

$1.70 RON 8.03

-7.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 RON 6.80

$1.89 RON 8.96

-23.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.02

$2.42 RON 11.43

4.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 RON 3.13

$0.92 RON 4.36

-28.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.60 RON 2.84

$0.88 RON 4.15

-31.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 RON 4.68

$0.97 RON 4.59

2.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 RON 4.03

$0.97 RON 4.61

-12.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 RON 27.92

$6.21 RON 29.39

-4.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 RON 35.28

$7.54 RON 35.66

-1.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 RON 4.36

$1.26 RON 5.96

-26.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 RON 6.61

$1.70 RON 8.05

-17.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 RON 3.34

$0.72 RON 3.42

-1.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.14 RON 81.1

$31.02 RON 147

-44.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.91 RON 4.28

$0.88 RON 4.17

3.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$0.93 RON 4.40

-13.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.24 RON 39.00

$8.51 RON 40.26

-3.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 RON 9.19

$1.92 RON 9.08

1.04%

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

$28.8K RON 136.4K

$28.9K RON 136.7K

-0.25%

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

$25.6K RON 121.1K

$24.4K RON 115.2K

5.13%

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

$117 RON 551

$156 RON 739

-25.37%

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

$9.07 RON 42.90

$8.74 RON 41.34

3.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.40 RON 58.7

$9.61 RON 45.46

29.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.35 RON 167

$46.29 RON 219

-23.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.48 RON 68.5

$21.98 RON 104

-34.12%

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 RON 32.04

$9.27 RON 43.87

-26.97%

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

$449 RON 2,123

$587 RON 2,775

-23.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 RON 31.7K

$9,749 RON 46.1K

-31.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.7 RON 353

$90.1 RON 426

-17.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.65 RON 150

$46.13 RON 218

-31.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.3 RON 413

$98.2 RON 465

-11.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 RON 416

$110 RON 522

-20.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$450 RON 2,131

$623 RON 2,950

-27.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$410 RON 1,938

$529 RON 2,502

-22.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$837 RON 3,960

$1,143 RON 5,407

-26.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$606 RON 2,867

$820 RON 3,881

-26.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,501 RON 11.8K

$4,578 RON 21.7K

-45.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 RON 9,566

$3,358 RON 15.9K

-39.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,111 RON 5,257

$1,261 RON 5,964

-11.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.02

6.65

5.56%

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

Last update for Sibiu: October 17, 2026

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sibiu

$410 36.8%

Cluj-Napoca

$529 37.5% 29.1% $119

Groceries & Markets

Sibiu

$196 17.6%

Cluj-Napoca

$233 16.5% 19.1% $37

Eating Out

Sibiu

$168 15.1%

Cluj-Napoca

$217 15.3% 29% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sibiu

$138 12.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$175 12.4% 26.4% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Sibiu

$127 11.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$155 11% 22.4% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Sibiu

$49 4.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$65 4.6% 32.6% $16

Getting Around

Sibiu

$25 2.2%

Cluj-Napoca

$39 2.8% 58.6% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $450 in Sibiu and $623 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cluj-Napoca pays 13% 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: $42.00 in Sibiu vs $54.0 in Cluj-Napoca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $196 vs $233 per month, with Sibiu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Sibiu

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🕒 Local time

13:50 1:50 PM

Same time as Sibiu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

147,245

324,576

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Sibiu Cluj-Napoca 120 km

From you

Sibiu
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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

Sibiu vs Cluj-Napoca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sibiu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 13% lower in Cluj-Napoca. 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: $450 in Sibiu versus $623 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sibiu runs roughly 81% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $449 in Sibiu versus $587 in Cluj-Napoca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,112 in Sibiu versus $1,413 in Cluj-Napoca, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sibiu but tight or insufficient in Cluj-Napoca. The gap between the two cities makes Sibiu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sibiu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cluj-Napoca, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca 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 Sibiu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Cluj-Napoca. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.