Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Staefa and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,337 a month against $3,334 in Staefa, rent and utilities included – about $24,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

167

Cost of Living Index in Staefa
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Staefa Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Staefa

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,334

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,337

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,334 in Staefa versus $1,337 in Bucharest.

Staefa $3,334
Bucharest $1,337

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,350 in Staefa versus $2,029 in Bucharest.

Staefa $5,350
Bucharest $2,029

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,365 in Staefa versus $2,721 in Bucharest.

Staefa $7,365
Bucharest $2,721

Living in Staefa is roughly 149% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Staefa is 146% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$32.82 CHF 27.03

$14.45 RON 68.4

127.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$121 CHF 99.3

$58.1 RON 275

107.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.37 CHF 13.49

$7.53 RON 35.65

117.40%

Cappuccino

$6.22 CHF 5.12

$3.45 RON 16.33

80.29%

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

$5.88 CHF 4.84

$2.46 RON 11.65

139.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.00 CHF 4.12

$2.23 RON 10.54

124.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.26 CHF 6.80

$3.76 RON 17.78

119.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.41 CHF 6.93

$4.19 RON 19.84

100.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 CHF 1.84

$1.62 RON 7.67

37.65%

White Bread (500g)

$3.45 CHF 2.84

$1.30 RON 6.13

165.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.77 CHF 3.11

$1.70 RON 8.05

121.76%

Eggs

$8.37 CHF 6.90

$3.79 RON 17.93

120.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.91 CHF 22.17

$8.86 RON 41.90

203.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$25.91 CHF 21.34

$6.90 RON 32.67

275.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$55.2 CHF 45.46

$12.14 RON 57.4

354.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.47 CHF 2.86

$1.30 RON 6.17

166.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 CHF 2.27

$1.60 RON 7.55

71.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 CHF 2.95

$1.57 RON 7.42

128.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.48 CHF 3.69

$2.68 RON 12.67

67.16%

Potato (1kg)

$2.49 CHF 2.05

$0.81 RON 3.82

207.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.28 CHF 1.88

$0.79 RON 3.73

188.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 CHF 2.05

$0.91 RON 4.30

172.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 CHF 1.06

$0.97 RON 4.58

32.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.79 CHF 8.88

$6.41 RON 30.34

68.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 CHF 11.27

$6.18 RON 29.24

121.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.74 CHF 2.26

$1.23 RON 5.83

122.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 CHF 2.64

$1.67 RON 7.91

92.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.37 CHF 3.60

$0.87 RON 4.10

402.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 CHF 82.5

$20.98 RON 99.3

377.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.40 CHF 6.10

$0.66 RON 3.10

1021.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.73 CHF 3.89

$0.60 RON 2.85

688.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.0 CHF 71.7

$6.19 RON 29.28

1305.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 CHF 1.93

$1.93 RON 9.15

21.24%

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

$39.6K CHF 32.6K

$28.7K RON 135.9K

37.88%

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

$39.5K CHF 32.5K

$26.3K RON 124.6K

49.95%

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

$236 CHF 194

$196 RON 926

20.63%

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

$31.65 CHF 26.06

$8.49 RON 40.19

272.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.5 CHF 46.52

$9.05 RON 42.84

524.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.0 CHF 65.1

$49.54 RON 234

59.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.96 CHF 37.03

$25.03 RON 118

79.62%

Cinema Ticket

$22.08 CHF 18.18

$8.24 RON 39.01

167.96%

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

$2,812 CHF 2,316

$636 RON 3,007

342.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$42.2K CHF 34.7K

$14.6K RON 69.0K

189.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$138 CHF 113

$88.5 RON 419

55.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.9 CHF 49.37

$38.77 RON 183

54.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$147 CHF 121

$78.8 RON 373

87.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$171 CHF 141

$90.6 RON 428

88.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,581 CHF 1,302

$695 RON 3,288

127.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,382 CHF 1,138

$446 RON 2,109

210.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,894 CHF 2,383

$1,084 RON 5,130

166.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,779 CHF 2,289

$712 RON 3,368

290.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.3K CHF 14.3K

$3,797 RON 18.0K

356.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$14.1K CHF 11.6K

$2,202 RON 10.4K

538.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,406

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.72

6.75

-74.52%

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

Last update for Staefa: October 20, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Staefa

$1.4K 41.4%

Bucharest

$446 33.3% 67.7% $936

Groceries & Markets

Staefa

$637 19.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.9% 64.6% $411

Eating Out

Staefa

$488 14.6%

Bucharest

$226 16.9% 53.8% $262

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Staefa

$324 9.7%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 34.2% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Staefa

$232 7%

Bucharest

$133 10% 42.5% $99

Getting Around

Staefa

$149 4.5%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 81.1% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Staefa

$123 3.7%

Bucharest

$66 4.9% 46.4% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,581 in Staefa and $695 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $121 in Staefa vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $637 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Staefa

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

15:15 3:15 PM

16:15 4:15 PM

1 h ahead of Staefa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,567

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 20, 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 20, 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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Staefa Bucharest 1,380 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Staefa
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

Staefa vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Staefa and Bucharest differ by about 149% in total monthly costs ($3,334 vs $1,337 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $5,002 in Staefa and $2,006 in Bucharest to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,581 in Staefa versus $695 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,334 per month in Staefa versus $1,337 in Bucharest – a 149% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 377% less than in Staefa. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,337 in Bucharest versus $3,334 in Staefa, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Staefa. 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.

Safety-wise, Staefa 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 149% less than in Staefa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.