Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stafford and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $2,210 in Stafford, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Stafford
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Stafford Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Stafford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,210

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Stafford versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Stafford $2,210
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,285 in Stafford versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Stafford $3,285
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,361 in Stafford versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Stafford $4,361
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Stafford is roughly 64% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Stafford 65% above, Bucharest 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.20 £15.26

$14.46 RON 68.4

39.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.3 £54.6

$57.7 RON 273

25.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 £8.03

$7.50 RON 35.46

41.73%

Cappuccino

$4.50 £3.40

$3.43 RON 16.20

31.20%

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

$2.10 £1.59

$2.46 RON 11.63

-14.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.29

$2.33 RON 11.01

-26.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.12

$3.80 RON 17.97

78.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.37 £4.06

$4.10 RON 19.41

30.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.65 RON 7.79

6.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.35 RON 6.39

11.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.55

$1.78 RON 8.42

15.17%

Eggs

$3.51 £2.65

$3.66 RON 17.33

-4.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.13 £7.66

$8.57 RON 40.54

18.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.01 £6.81

$6.80 RON 32.17

32.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.65 £9.56

$11.72 RON 55.4

7.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.20

$1.29 RON 6.11

125.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 £1.27

$1.56 RON 7.37

7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 £2.81

$1.54 RON 7.28

141.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.68

$2.48 RON 11.75

43.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$0.83 RON 3.92

140.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$0.80 RON 3.77

122.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.89

$0.84 RON 3.98

39.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.25

$0.93 RON 4.39

77.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.98 £15.85

$6.44 RON 30.45

225.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.13 £6.90

$6.32 RON 29.91

44.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.36 £2.54

$1.26 RON 5.94

166.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 £2.89

$1.60 RON 7.59

139.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.76 £3.60

$0.81 RON 3.85

487.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.7 £70.8

$21.13 RON 99.9

343.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 £1.98

$0.60 RON 2.86

335.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 £1.01

$0.61 RON 2.91

119.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.91 £18.82

$6.17 RON 29.19

303.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.96 RON 9.27

9.69%

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

$37.9K £28.6K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

34.67%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$26.3K RON 124.3K

55.76%

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

$291 £220

$197 RON 931

47.99%

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

$19.35 £14.62

$8.34 RON 39.44

132.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.69 £31.51

$9.19 RON 43.47

353.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.25 £30.42

$49.87 RON 236

-19.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.84 £14.23

$24.99 RON 118

-24.61%

Cinema Ticket

$15.84 £11.97

$8.46 RON 40.01

87.23%

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

$926 £700

$639 RON 3,023

44.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.9K £20.4K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

87.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.9 £55.8

$90.6 RON 429

-18.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 £34.99

$38.05 RON 180

21.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.5 £63.1

$79.7 RON 377

4.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 £74.6

$93.2 RON 441

5.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,134 £857

$673 RON 3,184

68.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$938 £709

$449 RON 2,123

109.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,596 £1,206

$1,098 RON 5,195

45.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,604 £1,212

$729 RON 3,448

120.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,938 £2,976

$3,740 RON 17.7K

5.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,404 £2,572

$2,189 RON 10.4K

55.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,016 £2,279

$1,323 RON 6,259

127.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.37

6.74

-20.33%

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

Last update for Stafford: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stafford

$938 42.1%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 52.2% $489

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stafford

$352 15.8%

Bucharest

$214 16% 39.2% $138

Eating Out

Stafford

$307 13.8%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 26.6% $82

Groceries & Markets

Stafford

$302 13.6%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 26.6% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Stafford

$136 6.1%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 0.3% $0.4

Getting Around

Stafford

$122 5.5%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 77% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Stafford

$72 3.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 7.1% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,134 in Stafford and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stafford pays 128% 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: $72.0 in Stafford vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $222 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stafford

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

06:06 6:06 AM

08:06 8:06 AM

2 h ahead of Stafford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,673

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Stafford Bucharest 2,250 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Stafford
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

Stafford vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stafford and Bucharest differ by about 64% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,351 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 128% higher in Stafford, 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: $1,134 in Stafford versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,210 per month in Stafford versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 64% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 344% less than in Stafford. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $2,210 in Stafford, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Stafford. 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, Stafford 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 64% less than in Stafford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.