🇹🇷 Turkey
59
Cost of Living Index in Turkey
Learn more Last update: Oct 2026
Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and Bucharest
For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,182 a month against $1,351 in Bucharest, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.
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🙂 Solo nomad: South Africa is 0.7% cheaper than Bucharest without rent, and 12.5% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: South Africa is 9.7% cheaper than Bucharest without rent, and 7.1% cheaper with rent.
🍽 Eating Out
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.64 R 176
$14.46 RON 68.4
-26.42%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$41.40 R 683
$57.7 RON 273
-28.19%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.60 R 92.4
$7.50 RON 35.46
-25.33%
Cappuccino
$2.28 R 37.63
$3.43 RON 16.20
-33.53%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 19.17
$2.46 RON 11.63
-52.85%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.92 R 15.22
$2.33 RON 11.01
-60.52%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.45 R 40.40
$3.80 RON 17.97
-35.53%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.95 R 48.69
$4.10 RON 19.41
-28.05%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.19 R 19.63
$1.65 RON 7.79
-27.88%
White Bread (500g)
$1.12 R 18.42
$1.35 RON 6.39
-17.04%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.79 R 29.58
$1.78 RON 8.42
0.56%
Eggs
$2.48 R 40.88
$3.66 RON 17.33
-32.24%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.08 R 133
$8.57 RON 40.54
-5.72%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.13 R 84.7
$6.80 RON 32.17
-24.56%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.81 R 129
$11.72 RON 55.4
-33.36%
Apples (1kg)
$1.87 R 30.78
$1.29 RON 6.11
44.96%
Banana (1kg)
$1.66 R 27.42
$1.56 RON 7.37
6.41%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.77 R 29.15
$1.54 RON 7.28
14.94%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.80 R 29.67
$2.48 RON 11.75
-27.42%
Potato (1kg)
$1.49 R 24.53
$0.83 RON 3.92
79.52%
Onion (1kg)
$1.50 R 24.71
$0.80 RON 3.77
87.50%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.28 R 21.16
$0.84 RON 3.98
52.38%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.09 R 17.97
$0.93 RON 4.39
17.20%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.22 R 53.2
$6.44 RON 30.45
-50.00%
Wine (Bottle)
$4.93 R 81.3
$6.32 RON 29.91
-21.99%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.48 R 24.47
$1.26 RON 5.94
17.46%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.01 R 33.09
$1.60 RON 7.59
25.62%
🚌 Getting Around
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.60 R 26.39
$0.81 RON 3.85
97.53%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$60.7 R 1,001
$21.13 RON 99.9
187.17%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.09 R 17.98
$0.60 RON 2.86
81.67%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.98 R 16.23
$0.61 RON 2.91
60.66%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.42 R 122
$6.17 RON 29.19
20.26%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.49 R 24.63
$1.96 RON 9.27
-23.98%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.0K R 578.2K
$28.1K RON 133.1K
24.51%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.6K R 521.1K
$26.3K RON 124.3K
20.15%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$131 R 2,168
$197 RON 931
-33.24%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$34.71 R 573
$8.34 RON 39.44
316.19%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$39.94 R 659
$9.19 RON 43.47
334.60%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$33.88 R 559
$49.87 RON 236
-32.06%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.39 R 188
$24.99 RON 118
-54.42%
Cinema Ticket
$7.31 R 121
$8.46 RON 40.01
-13.59%
🧸 Childcare & Education
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$225 R 3,715
$639 RON 3,023
-64.77%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,485 R 90.5K
$14.4K RON 68.1K
-61.89%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$52.0 R 858
$90.6 RON 429
-42.63%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.30 R 549
$38.05 RON 180
-12.48%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$99.4 R 1,640
$79.7 RON 377
24.79%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$87.4 R 1,441
$93.2 RON 441
-6.31%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$480 R 7,918
$673 RON 3,184
-28.72%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$406 R 6,692
$449 RON 2,123
-9.65%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$935 R 15.4K
$1,098 RON 5,195
-14.86%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$796 R 13.1K
$729 RON 3,448
9.24%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,111 R 18.3K
$3,740 RON 17.7K
-70.31%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$777 R 12.8K
$2,189 RON 10.4K
-64.50%
💵 Salaries & Financials
South Africa
Bucharest
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,476 R 24.4K
$1,323 RON 6,259
11.55%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.23
6.74
66.62%
CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.
Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026
Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026
Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Share of the monthly basket for a family of three, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
South Africa $406 33.6%
Bucharest $449 33.5% 10.7% $43
Monthly Utilities & Internet
South Africa $206 17.1%
Bucharest $214 16% 4% $8.3
Groceries & Markets
South Africa $196 16.2%
Bucharest $222 16.5% 13.3% $26
Eating Out
South Africa $156 12.9%
Bucharest $226 16.8% 44.8% $70
Clothing & Footwear
South Africa $122 10.1%
Bucharest $136 10.1% 10.8% $13
Getting Around
South Africa $73 6.1%
Bucharest $28 2.1% 61.6% $45
Sport & Entertainment
South Africa $49 4%
Bucharest $67 5% 37.7% $18
Accommodation & Living
South Africa $796 31.3%
Bucharest $729 26.7% 8.5% $67
Monthly Utilities & Internet
South Africa $241 9.5%
Bucharest $223 8.2% 7.5% $18
Groceries & Markets
South Africa $453 17.8%
Bucharest $520 19% 14.9% $67
Eating Out
South Africa $525 20.6%
Bucharest $744 27.2% 41.6% $219
Clothing & Footwear
South Africa $272 10.7%
Bucharest $302 11% 10.8% $30
Getting Around
South Africa $149 5.9%
Bucharest $58 2.1% 61.3% $92
Sport & Entertainment
South Africa $108 4.3%
Bucharest $159 5.8% 46.3% $50
Good to know
🇿🇦 South Africa
🇷🇴 Bucharest
Weather
Population
62,027,503
1,883,425 Capital
Exchange rates and currency converter
On the map
Lowest
Highest
Between locations
- South Africa Bucharest 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
- South Africa
- 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
South Africa vs other spots: cost of living compared
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