Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swords and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,354 a month against $2,598 in Swords, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Swords
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Swords Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Swords

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,598

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,354

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,598 in Swords versus $1,354 in Bucharest.

Swords $2,598
Bucharest $1,354

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,804 in Swords versus $2,043 in Bucharest.

Swords $3,804
Bucharest $2,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,010 in Swords versus $2,733 in Bucharest.

Swords $5,010
Bucharest $2,733

Living in Swords is roughly 92% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.16 €19.91

$14.66 RON 70.5

51.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.6 €88.6

$57.7 RON 277

70.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 €11.86

$7.52 RON 36.14

75.53%

Cappuccino

$4.93 €4.43

$3.56 RON 17.09

38.48%

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

$2.98 €2.68

$2.47 RON 11.88

20.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 €1.94

$2.18 RON 10.50

-0.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.03 €7.21

$3.69 RON 17.73

117.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 €6.05

$4.28 RON 20.57

57.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 €1.42

$1.67 RON 8.04

-5.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 €2.11

$1.35 RON 6.49

74.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 €1.83

$1.78 RON 8.53

14.04%

Eggs

$4.24 €3.81

$3.56 RON 17.12

19.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 €8.89

$9.12 RON 43.86

8.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.86 €9.76

$6.82 RON 32.77

59.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.29 €11.94

$12.13 RON 58.3

9.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 €2.47

$1.26 RON 6.08

118.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.27 €2.04

$1.62 RON 7.80

40.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 €2.51

$1.56 RON 7.49

78.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 €3.75

$2.54 RON 12.21

64.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.68

$0.78 RON 3.76

139.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 €1.33

$0.77 RON 3.72

90.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 €1.16

$0.89 RON 4.27

46.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.70

$0.90 RON 4.32

111.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.52 €18.44

$6.55 RON 31.49

213.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.39 €12.03

$6.37 RON 30.60

110.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.35 €3.01

$1.24 RON 5.98

170.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 €3.10

$1.62 RON 7.80

112.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 €2.03

$0.85 RON 4.11

165.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 RON 99.6

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.00 €4.49

$0.61 RON 2.95

719.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.61 RON 2.95

140.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$37.35 €33.55

$6.16 RON 29.62

506.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 €1.94

$2.00 RON 9.60

8.00%

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

$38.6K €34.7K

$27.9K RON 134.4K

38.05%

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

$38.0K €34.1K

$25.3K RON 121.7K

50.02%

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

$246 €221

$192 RON 923

28.24%

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

$18.68 €16.78

$7.92 RON 38.06

135.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.2 €45.97

$8.96 RON 43.06

471.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.58 €36.46

$49.99 RON 240

-18.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 RON 119

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 €12.07

$8.51 RON 40.90

57.81%

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

$1,010 €907

$686 RON 3,297

47.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,183 €4,656

$14.4K RON 69.3K

-64.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 €90.0

$90.2 RON 434

11.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.06 €43.18

$38.74 RON 186

24.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 €97.1

$78.9 RON 379

37.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$92.1 RON 443

22.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,556 €1,398

$711 RON 3,419

118.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,342 €1,206

$462 RON 2,220

190.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,584 €2,322

$1,053 RON 5,064

145.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,165 €1,945

$723 RON 3,474

199.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,721 €4,242

$3,634 RON 17.5K

29.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,447 €3,097

$2,173 RON 10.4K

58.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,354 RON 6,508

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

6.75

-45.48%

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

Last update for Swords: October 26, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Swords

$1.3K 51.7%

Bucharest

$462 34.1% 65.6% $880

Eating Out

Swords

$350 13.5%

Bucharest

$228 16.9% 34.9% $122

Groceries & Markets

Swords

$335 12.9%

Bucharest

$225 16.6% 32.8% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swords

$316 12.2%

Bucharest

$209 15.4% 33.9% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Swords

$166 6.4%

Bucharest

$135 10% 18.7% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Swords

$67 2.6%

Bucharest

$67 5% 0.6% $0.4

Getting Around

Swords

$21 * 0.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 30.1% $6.4

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,556 in Swords and $711 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $99 in Swords vs $58 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $335 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Swords

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

10:59 10:59 AM

12:59 12:59 PM

2 h ahead of Swords

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,776

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Swords Bucharest 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Swords
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

Swords vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Swords and Bucharest differ by about 92% in total monthly costs ($2,598 vs $1,354 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,897 in Swords and $2,030 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: $1,556 in Swords versus $711 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Swords. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,598 per month in Swords versus $1,354 in Bucharest – a 92% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,354 in Bucharest versus $2,598 in Swords, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Swords. 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.