Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Skopje and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Skopje: $1,131 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Skopje
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Skopje Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$1,131

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,131 in Skopje versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Skopje $1,131
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,675 in Skopje versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Skopje $1,675
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,220 in Skopje versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Skopje $2,220
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Skopje costs roughly 16% less than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Skopje is 16% below, Bucharest is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.58 MKD 525

$14.46 RON 68.4

-33.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.25 MKD 1,877

$57.7 RON 273

-40.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.45 MKD 353

$7.50 RON 35.46

-14.00%

Cappuccino

$2.14 MKD 117

$3.43 RON 16.20

-37.61%

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

$1.81 MKD 98.9

$2.46 RON 11.63

-26.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 MKD 71.9

$2.33 RON 11.01

-43.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.71 MKD 149

$3.80 RON 17.97

-28.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 MKD 171

$4.10 RON 19.41

-24.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 MKD 70.4

$1.65 RON 7.79

-21.82%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 MKD 40.67

$1.35 RON 6.39

-45.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.84 MKD 101

$1.78 RON 8.42

3.37%

Eggs

$2.52 MKD 138

$3.66 RON 17.33

-31.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.89 MKD 433

$8.57 RON 40.54

-7.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.57 MKD 415

$6.80 RON 32.17

11.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 MKD 822

$11.72 RON 55.4

27.99%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 MKD 81.0

$1.29 RON 6.11

14.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 MKD 79.6

$1.56 RON 7.37

-7.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.34 MKD 73.4

$1.54 RON 7.28

-12.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.95 MKD 107

$2.48 RON 11.75

-21.37%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 MKD 49.33

$0.83 RON 3.92

8.43%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 MKD 46.40

$0.80 RON 3.77

6.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 MKD 34.81

$0.84 RON 3.98

-23.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MKD 30.01

$0.93 RON 4.39

-40.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 MKD 193

$6.44 RON 30.45

-45.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.06 MKD 387

$6.32 RON 29.91

11.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 MKD 58.1

$1.26 RON 5.94

-15.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 MKD 79.2

$1.60 RON 7.59

-10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MKD 41.26

$0.81 RON 3.85

-7.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.74 MKD 1,520

$21.13 RON 99.9

31.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 MKD 60.8

$0.60 RON 2.86

85.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 MKD 33.87

$0.61 RON 2.91

1.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.71 MKD 422

$6.17 RON 29.19

24.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.62 MKD 88.5

$1.96 RON 9.27

-17.35%

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

$34.9K MKD 1.9M

$28.1K RON 133.1K

24.11%

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

$27.7K MKD 1.5M

$26.3K RON 124.3K

5.39%

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

$153 MKD 8,410

$197 RON 931

-22.04%

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

$18.75 MKD 1,027

$8.34 RON 39.44

124.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.33 MKD 1,059

$9.19 RON 43.47

110.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.53 MKD 2,111

$49.87 RON 236

-22.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 MKD 967

$24.99 RON 118

-29.37%

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 MKD 392

$8.46 RON 40.01

-15.48%

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

$358 MKD 19.6K

$639 RON 3,023

-44.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,690 MKD 311.8K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

-60.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.1 MKD 4,610

$90.6 RON 429

-7.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.22 MKD 2,040

$38.05 RON 180

-2.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 MKD 5,620

$79.7 RON 377

28.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MKD 6,136

$93.2 RON 441

20.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$416 MKD 22.8K

$673 RON 3,184

-38.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$327 MKD 17.9K

$449 RON 2,123

-27.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 MKD 40.1K

$1,098 RON 5,195

-33.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 MKD 27.2K

$729 RON 3,448

-31.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,702 MKD 148.1K

$3,740 RON 17.7K

-27.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,807 MKD 99.0K

$2,189 RON 10.4K

-17.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$877 MKD 48.1K

$1,323 RON 6,259

-33.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.23

6.74

-37.24%

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

Last update for Skopje: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Skopje

$327 29.1%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 37.4% $122

Groceries & Markets

Skopje

$211 18.8%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 5% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Skopje

$192 17.1%

Bucharest

$214 16% 11.9% $23

Eating Out

Skopje

$154 13.7%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 46.7% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Skopje

$151 13.5%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 10.2% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Skopje

$53 4.7%

Bucharest

$67 5% 26.4% $14

Getting Around

Skopje

$35 3.1%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 19.7% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $416 in Skopje and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 51% 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: $34.00 in Skopje vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $211 vs $222 per month, with Skopje cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Skopje

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

06:56 6:56 AM

07:56 7:56 AM

1 h ahead of Skopje

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

422,540 Capital

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 54.8 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.46 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to MKD in detail →

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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

Skopje vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Skopje and Bucharest differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,131 vs $1,351 including rent). Skopje is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Bucharest. 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: $416 in Skopje versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,131 per month in Skopje versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Skopje runs roughly 31% less than in Bucharest. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,131 in Skopje versus $1,351 in Bucharest, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Skopje but tight or insufficient in Bucharest. The gap between the two cities makes Skopje 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 Skopje gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Bucharest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.