Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the United Kingdom and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $2,457 in the United Kingdom, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,457

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: The United Kingdom is 55.6% more expensive than Bucharest without rent, and 81.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: The United Kingdom is 45.6% more expensive than Bucharest without rent, and 71% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.38 £16.16

$14.46 RON 68.9

47.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 £63.9

$57.7 RON 275

46.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.97

$7.50 RON 35.72

40.53%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.66

$3.43 RON 16.32

41.40%

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

$2.53 £1.91

$2.46 RON 11.72

2.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.39

$2.33 RON 11.09

-21.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.81 £5.15

$3.80 RON 18.10

79.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.51 £4.92

$4.10 RON 19.56

58.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.27

$1.65 RON 7.85

1.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.35 RON 6.44

26.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.70

$1.78 RON 8.48

26.40%

Eggs

$3.96 £2.99

$3.66 RON 17.46

8.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.53 £7.20

$8.57 RON 40.84

11.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.78

$6.80 RON 32.41

31.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.70 £11.11

$11.72 RON 55.8

25.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.20

$1.29 RON 6.16

125.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 £1.22

$1.56 RON 7.43

3.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.86 £2.16

$1.54 RON 7.34

85.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 £2.60

$2.48 RON 11.84

38.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 £1.30

$0.83 RON 3.95

107.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$0.80 RON 3.80

92.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 £0.93

$0.84 RON 4.01

46.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.24

$0.93 RON 4.42

77.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.34 £17.64

$6.44 RON 30.68

262.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.71 £8.10

$6.32 RON 30.13

69.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.01 £2.27

$1.26 RON 5.99

138.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 £2.50

$1.60 RON 7.65

106.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.48 £2.63

$0.81 RON 3.88

329.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 £76.0

$21.13 RON 101

376.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 £4.07

$0.60 RON 2.88

798.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 £1.80

$0.61 RON 2.93

290.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.80 £20.26

$6.17 RON 29.41

334.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 £1.52

$1.96 RON 9.34

2.55%

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

$38.0K £28.7K

$28.1K RON 134.2K

34.94%

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

$40.6K £30.7K

$26.3K RON 125.3K

54.41%

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

$318 £240

$197 RON 938

61.37%

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

$18.35 £13.87

$8.34 RON 39.74

120.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.75 £31.56

$9.19 RON 43.80

354.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.41 £35.08

$49.87 RON 238

-6.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 £13.82

$24.99 RON 119

-26.85%

Cinema Ticket

$13.28 £10.04

$8.46 RON 40.31

56.97%

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

$1,731 £1,309

$639 RON 3,046

170.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K £16.8K

$14.4K RON 68.6K

54.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.4 £69.9

$90.6 RON 432

2.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.27 £34.97

$38.05 RON 181

21.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 £76.5

$79.7 RON 380

27.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 £76.7

$93.2 RON 444

8.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,321 £999

$673 RON 3,209

96.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,086 £821

$449 RON 2,139

141.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,158 £1,631

$1,098 RON 5,234

96.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 £1,291

$729 RON 3,474

134.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,523 £4,175

$3,740 RON 17.8K

47.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,320 £3,266

$2,189 RON 10.4K

97.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,264 £2,467

$1,323 RON 6,306

146.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.32

6.74

-21.07%

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

Last update for the United Kingdom: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

United Kingdom

$1.1K 44.3%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 58.7% $637

Monthly Utilities & Internet

United Kingdom

$378 15.4%

Bucharest

$214 16% 43.2% $163

Eating Out

United Kingdom

$325 13.3%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 30.7% $100

Groceries & Markets

United Kingdom

$305 12.4%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 27.3% $83

Clothing & Footwear

United Kingdom

$154 6.3%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 11.7% $18

Getting Around

United Kingdom

$132 5.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 78.7% $104

Sport & Entertainment

United Kingdom

$73 3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 8.5% $6.2

Good to know

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

05:59 5:59 AM

07:59 7:59 AM

2 h ahead of the United Kingdom

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,326,569

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 = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 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 = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

United Kingdom Bucharest 2,090 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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Cost of Living Comparison Between the United Kingdom and Bucharest

RON, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

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United Kingdom

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United Kingdom

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