Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sion and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $3,235 in Sion, rent and utilities included – about $22,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

157

Cost of Living Index in Sion
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Sion Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Sion

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,235

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,235 in Sion versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Sion $3,235
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,857 in Sion versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Sion $4,857
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,479 in Sion versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Sion $6,479
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Sion is roughly 141% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sion is 140% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$28.97 CHF 23.86

$14.49 RON 68.6

99.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.6 CHF 73.8

$58.1 RON 275

54.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.15 CHF 15.77

$7.48 RON 35.40

156.02%

Cappuccino

$4.60 CHF 3.79

$3.44 RON 16.29

33.72%

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

$5.09 CHF 4.19

$2.37 RON 11.22

114.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 CHF 3.52

$2.30 RON 10.88

86.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.36 CHF 6.06

$3.70 RON 17.51

98.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.29 CHF 6.00

$4.16 RON 19.69

75.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 CHF 1.60

$1.67 RON 7.90

16.17%

White Bread (500g)

$3.54 CHF 2.92

$1.37 RON 6.50

158.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.19 CHF 3.45

$1.72 RON 8.14

143.60%

Eggs

$7.13 CHF 5.87

$3.64 RON 17.22

95.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.01 CHF 21.42

$9.08 RON 42.98

186.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$22.69 CHF 18.69

$6.84 RON 32.35

231.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$40.09 CHF 33.02

$12.00 RON 56.8

234.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 CHF 2.59

$1.23 RON 5.80

156.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 CHF 1.40

$1.63 RON 7.73

4.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.53 CHF 2.09

$1.57 RON 7.45

61.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.20 CHF 5.11

$2.54 RON 12.01

144.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 CHF 1.53

$0.79 RON 3.75

134.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 CHF 1.78

$0.77 RON 3.66

180.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 CHF 2.00

$0.87 RON 4.13

179.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 CHF 0.97

$0.99 RON 4.70

18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.85 CHF 8.94

$6.31 RON 29.86

71.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.25 CHF 11.74

$6.20 RON 29.34

129.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 CHF 1.45

$1.19 RON 5.63

47.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 CHF 1.57

$1.57 RON 7.45

21.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.24 CHF 4.32

$0.86 RON 4.08

509.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$179 CHF 148

$21.10 RON 99.8

750.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.94 CHF 4.89

$0.64 RON 3.05

828.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.29 CHF 4.36

$0.60 RON 2.86

781.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.12 CHF 39.63

$6.43 RON 30.43

648.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 CHF 1.82

$1.96 RON 9.25

12.76%

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

$34.2K CHF 28.2K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

18.08%

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

$37.6K CHF 31.0K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

41.25%

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

$308 CHF 254

$196 RON 927

57.32%

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

$24.86 CHF 20.48

$8.04 RON 38.04

209.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.64 CHF 40.89

$9.35 RON 44.21

430.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$135 CHF 111

$50.2 RON 238

168.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$54.5 CHF 44.88

$25.33 RON 120

115.12%

Cinema Ticket

$20.28 CHF 16.70

$8.15 RON 38.55

148.83%

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

$953 CHF 785

$628 RON 2,971

51.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$37.7K CHF 31.1K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

167.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$109 CHF 89.7

$89.6 RON 424

21.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.21 CHF 39.71

$38.32 RON 181

25.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$161 CHF 133

$79.3 RON 375

103.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$165 CHF 136

$90.4 RON 428

82.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,221 CHF 1,005

$678 RON 3,209

79.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,240 CHF 1,021

$448 RON 2,121

176.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,323 CHF 1,913

$1,083 RON 5,125

114.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,072 CHF 1,707

$725 RON 3,430

185.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,339 CHF 6,045

$3,751 RON 17.7K

95.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,532 CHF 4,556

$2,195 RON 10.4K

152.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,826 CHF 4,798

$1,329 RON 6,290

338.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.15

6.75

-68.15%

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

Last update for Sion: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sion

$1.2K 38.3%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 63.8% $792

Groceries & Markets

Sion

$554 17.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 59.4% $329

Eating Out

Sion

$433 13.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 48% $208

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sion

$383 11.8%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 44.3% $169

Getting Around

Sion

$233 7.2%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 87.9% $205

Clothing & Footwear

Sion

$217 6.7%

Bucharest

$134 10% 38.4% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Sion

$175 5.4%

Bucharest

$67 5% 62.1% $109

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,221 in Sion and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sion pays 338% 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: $90.0 in Sion vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $554 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Sion

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

07:36 7:36 AM

08:36 8:36 AM

1 h ahead of Sion

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,599

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sion Bucharest 1,480 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sion
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

Sion vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sion and Bucharest differ by about 141% in total monthly costs ($3,235 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 338% higher in Sion, 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: $1,221 in Sion versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,235 per month in Sion versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 141% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 750% less than in Sion. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $3,235 in Sion, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Sion. 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 141% less than in Sion. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.