Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulm and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $2,139 in Ulm, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Ulm
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Ulm Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Ulm

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,139

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,139 in Ulm versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Ulm $2,139
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,265 in Ulm versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Ulm $3,265
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,390 in Ulm versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Ulm $4,390
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Ulm is roughly 58% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ulm 60% above, Bucharest 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.64 €14.85

$14.46 RON 68.4

15.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 €59.3

$57.7 RON 273

15.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.29 €11.86

$7.50 RON 35.46

77.20%

Cappuccino

$3.80 €3.39

$3.43 RON 16.20

10.79%

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

$4.67 €4.16

$2.46 RON 11.63

89.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.73

$2.33 RON 11.01

-17.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.67 €4.17

$3.80 RON 17.97

22.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 €3.95

$4.10 RON 19.41

7.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 €1.30

$1.65 RON 7.79

-12.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.35 RON 6.39

46.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.18 €3.73

$1.78 RON 8.42

134.83%

Eggs

$3.61 €3.22

$3.66 RON 17.33

-1.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.40 €12.85

$8.57 RON 40.54

68.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.23 €9.13

$6.80 RON 32.17

50.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.47 €22.73

$11.72 RON 55.4

117.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.48 €3.11

$1.29 RON 6.11

169.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 €2.01

$1.56 RON 7.37

44.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 €1.77

$1.54 RON 7.28

28.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.89 €3.47

$2.48 RON 11.75

56.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 €0.93

$0.83 RON 3.92

25.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.01

$0.80 RON 3.77

41.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.84 RON 3.98

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.08

$0.93 RON 4.39

30.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.97 €8.89

$6.44 RON 30.45

54.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.03

$6.32 RON 29.91

-10.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.26 RON 5.94

-8.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.60 RON 7.59

-6.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.19 €2.84

$0.81 RON 3.85

293.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$64.6 €57.7

$21.13 RON 99.9

205.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 RON 2.86

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 RON 2.91

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.17 RON 29.19

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.96 RON 9.27

7.65%

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

$32.7K €29.2K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

16.20%

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

$38.6K €34.5K

$26.3K RON 124.3K

46.92%

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

$384 €342

$197 RON 931

94.96%

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

$34.18 €30.50

$8.34 RON 39.44

309.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.8 €47.12

$9.19 RON 43.47

474.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.91 €30.26

$49.87 RON 236

-32.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.47 €20.05

$24.99 RON 118

-10.08%

Cinema Ticket

$13.50 €12.05

$8.46 RON 40.01

59.57%

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

$451 €402

$639 RON 3,023

-29.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.5K

$14.4K RON 68.1K

-10.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.9

$90.6 RON 429

0.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.3 €49.37

$38.05 RON 180

45.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.4 €82.5

$79.7 RON 377

16.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 €134

$93.2 RON 441

60.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$958 €855

$673 RON 3,184

42.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 €674

$449 RON 2,123

68.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,887 €1,684

$1,098 RON 5,195

71.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,515 €1,352

$729 RON 3,448

107.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,993 €5,349

$3,740 RON 17.7K

60.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,946 €3,522

$2,189 RON 10.4K

80.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,754 €3,350

$1,323 RON 6,259

183.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.97

6.74

-41.10%

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

Last update for Ulm: 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

Ulm

$756 35%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 40.6% $307

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulm

$471 21.8%

Bucharest

$214 16% 54.5% $256

Groceries & Markets

Ulm

$341 15.8%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 35% $119

Eating Out

Ulm

$277 12.9%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 18.6% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Ulm

$175 8.1%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 22.4% $39

Getting Around

Ulm

$77 * 3.6%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 63.7% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Ulm

$61 2.8%

Bucharest

$67 5% 9.6% $5.9

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 $958 in Ulm and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulm pays 184% 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: $66.0 in Ulm vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $341 vs $222 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ulm

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

05:06 5:06 AM

06:06 6:06 AM

1 h ahead of Ulm

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,648

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Ulm Bucharest 1,310 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ulm
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

Ulm vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ulm and Bucharest differ by about 58% in total monthly costs ($2,139 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 184% higher in Ulm, 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: $958 in Ulm versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,139 per month in Ulm versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 58% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 206% less than in Ulm. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $2,139 in Ulm, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Ulm. 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, Ulm 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 58% less than in Ulm. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.