Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Skelleftea and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,961 in Skelleftea, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Skelleftea
🇸🇪 Sweden
$1,961
/mo nomad
Bucharest
🇷🇴 Romania
$1,340
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,961 in Skelleftea versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

  • Skelleftea $1,961
  • Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,962 in Skelleftea versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

  • Skelleftea $2,962
  • Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,964 in Skelleftea versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

  • Skelleftea $3,964
  • Bucharest $2,734

Living in Skelleftea is roughly 46% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Skelleftea is 45% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$15.89 SEK 157
$14.49 RON 68.6
9.66%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$78.2 SEK 775
$58.1 RON 275
34.69%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.16 SEK 130
$7.48 RON 35.40
75.94%
Cappuccino
$4.65 SEK 46.09
$3.44 RON 16.29
35.17%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.56 SEK 25.38
$2.37 RON 11.22
8.02%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.30 SEK 22.75
$2.30 RON 10.88
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$7.88 SEK 78.1
$3.70 RON 17.51
112.97%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$7.69 SEK 76.2
$4.16 RON 19.69
84.86%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.59 SEK 15.76
$1.67 RON 7.90
-4.79%
White Bread (500g)
$2.47 SEK 24.43
$1.37 RON 6.50
80.29%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$4.91 SEK 48.67
$1.72 RON 8.14
185.47%
Eggs
$5.14 SEK 51.0
$3.64 RON 17.22
41.21%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.90 SEK 108
$9.08 RON 42.98
20.04%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.78 SEK 107
$6.84 RON 32.35
57.60%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$24.10 SEK 239
$12.00 RON 56.8
100.83%
Apples (1kg)
$3.17 SEK 31.45
$1.23 RON 5.80
157.72%
Banana (1kg)
$2.40 SEK 23.80
$1.63 RON 7.73
47.24%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.07 SEK 30.42
$1.57 RON 7.45
95.54%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.56 SEK 35.25
$2.54 RON 12.01
40.16%
Potato (1kg)
$2.24 SEK 22.17
$0.79 RON 3.75
183.54%
Onion (1kg)
$1.62 SEK 16.01
$0.77 RON 3.66
110.39%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.28 SEK 22.58
$0.87 RON 4.13
162.07%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.57 SEK 15.52
$0.99 RON 4.70
58.59%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$7.34 SEK 72.8
$6.31 RON 29.86
16.32%
Wine (Bottle)
$15.00 SEK 149
$6.20 RON 29.34
141.94%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.71 SEK 16.90
$1.19 RON 5.63
43.70%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.59 SEK 15.72
$1.57 RON 7.45
1.27%
🚌 Getting Around
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.78 SEK 27.53
$0.86 RON 4.08
223.26%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$51.6 SEK 511
$21.10 RON 99.8
144.60%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$7.83 SEK 77.6
$0.64 RON 3.05
1123.44%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.73 SEK 17.13
$0.60 RON 2.86
188.33%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$58.9 SEK 583
$6.43 RON 30.43
815.71%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.72 SEK 17.00
$1.96 RON 9.25
-12.24%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$32.9K SEK 326.1K
$29.0K RON 137.2K
13.51%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$32.2K SEK 319.5K
$26.6K RON 126.0K
21.05%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$103 SEK 1,017
$196 RON 927
-47.60%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$33.24 SEK 329
$8.04 RON 38.04
313.43%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$51.7 SEK 513
$9.35 RON 44.21
453.26%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$37.65 SEK 373
$50.2 RON 238
-25.04%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$25.55 SEK 253
$25.33 RON 120
0.87%
Cinema Ticket
$14.79 SEK 147
$8.15 RON 38.55
81.47%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$140 SEK 1,388
$628 RON 2,971
-77.70%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,481 SEK 54.3K
$14.1K RON 66.6K
-61.08%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$94.8 SEK 940
$89.6 RON 424
5.83%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.10 SEK 387
$38.32 RON 181
2.04%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$78.9 SEK 781
$79.3 RON 375
-0.53%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$153 SEK 1,515
$90.4 RON 428
69.14%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,127 SEK 11.2K
$678 RON 3,209
66.11%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$786 SEK 7,792
$448 RON 2,121
75.40%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,588 SEK 15.7K
$1,083 RON 5,125
46.65%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,195 SEK 11.8K
$725 RON 3,430
64.83%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,005 SEK 39.7K
$3,751 RON 17.7K
6.76%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,822 SEK 28.0K
$2,195 RON 10.4K
28.54%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Skelleftea
Bucharest
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,556 SEK 25.3K
$1,329 RON 6,290
92.24%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.9
6.75
-42.22%

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

Last update for Skelleftea: October 13, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Skelleftea
$786
Bucharest
$448 43% $338
Groceries & Markets
Skelleftea
$380
Bucharest
$225 40.7% $155
Eating Out
Skelleftea
$297
Bucharest
$225 24.1% $71
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Skelleftea
$188
Bucharest
$213 13.7% $26
Clothing & Footwear
Skelleftea
$165
Bucharest
$134 18.6% $31
Getting Around
Skelleftea
$79
Bucharest
$28 64.4% $51
Sport & Entertainment
Skelleftea
$67
Bucharest
$67 1% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,127 in Skelleftea and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Skelleftea pays 92% 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: $78.0 in Skelleftea vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇸🇪 Skelleftea
🇷🇴 Bucharest
🕒 Local time
16:38 4:38 PM
17:38 5:38 PM
1 h ahead of Skelleftea
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
32,775
1,883,425 Capital
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Skelleftea Bucharest 2,280 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Skelleftea
  • 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
Skelleftea vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Skelleftea and in Bucharest?
Skelleftea and Bucharest differ by about 46% in total monthly costs ($1,961 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Skelleftea or Bucharest?
Average pay runs 92% higher in Skelleftea, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Skelleftea and in Bucharest?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,127 in Skelleftea versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city is more expensive overall: Skelleftea or Bucharest?
All in, you'll spend $1,961 per month in Skelleftea versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 46% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
How do commuting costs compare in Skelleftea and in Bucharest?
A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 145% less than in Skelleftea. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,961 in Skelleftea, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Skelleftea. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Skelleftea and Bucharest?
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.
Is Skelleftea or Bucharest safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Skelleftea 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.
Where should expats move: Skelleftea or Bucharest?
Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Skelleftea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Skelleftea vs other spots: cost of living compared

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