Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stavanger and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $3,140 in Stavanger, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

153

Cost of Living Index in Stavanger
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Stavanger Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Stavanger

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,140

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,140 in Stavanger versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Stavanger $3,140
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,513 in Stavanger versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Stavanger $4,513
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,886 in Stavanger versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Stavanger $5,886
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Stavanger is roughly 132% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Stavanger 134% above, Bucharest 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.58 NOK 235

$14.46 RON 68.4

69.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.3 NOK 929

$57.7 RON 273

68.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.95 NOK 152

$7.50 RON 35.46

112.67%

Cappuccino

$6.25 NOK 59.7

$3.43 RON 16.20

82.22%

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

$5.41 NOK 51.7

$2.46 RON 11.63

119.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 NOK 40.57

$2.33 RON 11.01

82.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 NOK 130

$3.80 RON 17.97

259.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$11.78 NOK 112

$4.10 RON 19.41

187.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.37 NOK 22.61

$1.65 RON 7.79

43.64%

White Bread (500g)

$3.47 NOK 33.14

$1.35 RON 6.39

157.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.83 NOK 36.59

$1.78 RON 8.42

115.17%

Eggs

$4.70 NOK 44.87

$3.66 RON 17.33

28.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.36 NOK 137

$8.57 RON 40.54

67.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.81 NOK 161

$6.80 RON 32.17

147.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$34.43 NOK 329

$11.72 RON 55.4

193.77%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 NOK 32.68

$1.29 RON 6.11

165.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 NOK 26.00

$1.56 RON 7.37

74.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.54 NOK 33.78

$1.54 RON 7.28

129.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.91 NOK 46.90

$2.48 RON 11.75

97.98%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 NOK 24.35

$0.83 RON 3.92

207.23%

Onion (1kg)

$3.12 NOK 29.79

$0.80 RON 3.77

290.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.81 NOK 26.81

$0.84 RON 3.98

234.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 NOK 22.33

$0.93 RON 4.39

151.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.13 NOK 164

$6.44 RON 30.45

165.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.45 NOK 176

$6.32 RON 29.91

191.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.72 NOK 35.54

$1.26 RON 5.94

195.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 NOK 42.52

$1.60 RON 7.59

178.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.76 NOK 45.49

$0.81 RON 3.85

487.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 NOK 831

$21.13 RON 99.9

311.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.09 NOK 58.2

$0.60 RON 2.86

915.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 NOK 16.69

$0.61 RON 2.91

186.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$103 NOK 981

$6.17 RON 29.19

1564.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 NOK 22.50

$1.96 RON 9.27

20.41%

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

$47.3K NOK 451.6K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

68.00%

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

$40.4K NOK 386.0K

$26.3K RON 124.3K

53.73%

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

$245 NOK 2,337

$197 RON 931

24.30%

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

$35.29 NOK 337

$8.34 RON 39.44

323.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.6 NOK 779

$9.19 RON 43.47

787.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.3 NOK 480

$49.87 RON 236

0.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.81 NOK 352

$24.99 RON 118

47.30%

Cinema Ticket

$22.03 NOK 210

$8.46 RON 40.01

160.40%

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

$322 NOK 3,080

$639 RON 3,023

-49.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K NOK 134.4K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

-2.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$127 NOK 1,212

$90.6 RON 429

40.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.1 NOK 574

$38.05 RON 180

57.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 NOK 1,459

$79.7 RON 377

91.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$204 NOK 1,948

$93.2 RON 441

118.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,658 NOK 15.8K

$673 RON 3,184

146.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,380 NOK 13.2K

$449 RON 2,123

207.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,766 NOK 26.4K

$1,098 RON 5,195

151.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,016 NOK 19.3K

$729 RON 3,448

176.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,196 NOK 59.2K

$3,740 RON 17.7K

65.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,307 NOK 50.7K

$2,189 RON 10.4K

142.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,951 NOK 47.3K

$1,323 RON 6,259

274.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.27

6.74

-21.81%

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

Last update for Stavanger: 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

Stavanger

$1.4K 43.6%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 67.5% $931

Groceries & Markets

Stavanger

$513 16.2%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 56.8% $291

Eating Out

Stavanger

$450 14.2%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 49.9% $224

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stavanger

$362 11.4%

Bucharest

$214 16% 40.7% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Stavanger

$245 7.7%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 44.5% $109

Getting Around

Stavanger

$121 3.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 76.8% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Stavanger

$94 3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 29.2% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,658 in Stavanger and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stavanger pays 274% 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: $97.0 in Stavanger vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $513 vs $222 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Stavanger

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

07:22 7:22 AM

08:22 8:22 AM

1 h ahead of Stavanger

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,330

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.47 USD

100 NOK = 9.34 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.55 NOK (1 NOK = 0.105 USD). 1 EUR = 10.71 NOK (100 NOK = 9.34 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 NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Stavanger Bucharest 2,120 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Stavanger
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

Stavanger vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stavanger and Bucharest differ by about 132% in total monthly costs ($3,140 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 274% higher in Stavanger, 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: $1,658 in Stavanger versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,140 per month in Stavanger versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 132% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 312% less than in Stavanger. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $3,140 in Stavanger, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Stavanger. 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, Stavanger 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 132% less than in Stavanger. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.