Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Villingen-Schwenningen and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,846 in Villingen-Schwenningen, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

90

Cost of Living Index in Villingen-Schwenningen
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Villingen-Schwenningen Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Villingen-Schwenningen

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,846

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,846 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Villingen-Schwenningen $1,846
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,844 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Villingen-Schwenningen $2,844
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,842 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Villingen-Schwenningen $3,842
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Villingen-Schwenningen is roughly 38% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Villingen-Schwenningen is 37% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.34 €13.68

$14.49 RON 68.9

5.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.9 €49.83

$58.1 RON 276

-3.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.24 €9.13

$7.48 RON 35.60

36.90%

Cappuccino

$3.39 €3.02

$3.44 RON 16.38

-1.45%

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

$3.40 €3.03

$2.37 RON 11.28

43.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 €2.05

$2.30 RON 10.94

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.09 €4.54

$3.70 RON 17.60

37.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.89

$4.16 RON 19.80

5.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.67 RON 7.94

-26.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.37 RON 6.53

51.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.95 €2.63

$1.72 RON 8.18

71.51%

Eggs

$2.50 €2.23

$3.64 RON 17.31

-31.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 €8.79

$9.08 RON 43.21

8.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.30 €10.08

$6.84 RON 32.52

65.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.31 €13.65

$12.00 RON 57.1

27.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 €2.65

$1.23 RON 5.83

141.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.63 RON 7.77

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.57 RON 7.49

33.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 €3.54

$2.54 RON 12.08

55.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.79 RON 3.77

62.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.77 RON 3.68

66.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.87 RON 4.15

56.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.99 RON 4.73

10.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.69 €8.64

$6.31 RON 30.02

53.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.86 €3.45

$6.20 RON 29.51

-37.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.19 RON 5.66

2.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 €1.38

$1.57 RON 7.49

-1.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.36 €2.99

$0.86 RON 4.10

290.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.4 €59.2

$21.10 RON 100

214.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.92 €4.39

$0.64 RON 3.06

668.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 €2.42

$0.60 RON 2.87

353.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.34 €37.75

$6.43 RON 30.60

558.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.96 RON 9.31

4.08%

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

$32.6K €29.1K

$29.0K RON 138.0K

12.49%

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

$37.8K €33.7K

$26.6K RON 126.7K

42.04%

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

$481 €429

$196 RON 932

145.58%

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

$15.63 €13.94

$8.04 RON 38.25

94.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.05 €41.06

$9.35 RON 44.46

392.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.88 €34.66

$50.2 RON 239

-22.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.16 €21.54

$25.33 RON 121

-4.62%

Cinema Ticket

$9.97 €8.89

$8.15 RON 38.76

22.33%

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

$261 €233

$628 RON 2,988

-58.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.3K €15.4K

$14.1K RON 67.0K

22.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.2 €76.0

$89.6 RON 426

-4.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.4 €53.0

$38.32 RON 182

55.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 €101

$79.3 RON 377

42.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 €96.3

$90.4 RON 430

19.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$767 €684

$678 RON 3,227

13.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 €400

$448 RON 2,133

0.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,473 €1,313

$1,083 RON 5,153

36.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,128 €1,006

$725 RON 3,449

55.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,673 €4,166

$3,751 RON 17.8K

24.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,581 €3,193

$2,195 RON 10.4K

63.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,993 €3,561

$1,329 RON 6,324

200.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.81

6.75

-43.56%

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

Last update for Villingen-Schwenningen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Villingen-Schwenningen

$543 29.4%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 60.7% $329

Accommodation & Living

Villingen-Schwenningen

$449 24.3%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 0.1% $0.5

Groceries & Markets

Villingen-Schwenningen

$281 15.3%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 20% $56

Eating Out

Villingen-Schwenningen

$251 13.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 10.3% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Villingen-Schwenningen

$165 8.9%

Bucharest

$134 10% 18.6% $31

Getting Around

Villingen-Schwenningen

$98 5.3%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 71.3% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Villingen-Schwenningen

$59 3.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 13.1% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $767 in Villingen-Schwenningen and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Villingen-Schwenningen pays 200% 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: $56.0 in Villingen-Schwenningen vs $58.0 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $281 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Villingen-Schwenningen

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

12:41 12:41 PM

13:41 1:41 PM

1 h ahead of Villingen-Schwenningen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

81,128

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Villingen-Schwenningen Bucharest 1,410 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

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Villingen-Schwenningen
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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

Villingen-Schwenningen vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Villingen-Schwenningen and Bucharest differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($1,846 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 200% higher in Villingen-Schwenningen, 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: $767 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,846 per month in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 38% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 215% less than in Villingen-Schwenningen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,846 in Villingen-Schwenningen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Villingen-Schwenningen. 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, Villingen-Schwenningen 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 38% less than in Villingen-Schwenningen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.