Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wicklow and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $2,448 in Wicklow, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

120

Cost of Living Index in Wicklow
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Wicklow Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Wicklow

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,448

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,448 in Wicklow versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Wicklow $2,448
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,698 in Wicklow versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Wicklow $3,698
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,949 in Wicklow versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Wicklow $4,949
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Wicklow is roughly 83% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wicklow is 81% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.49 €13.78

$14.49 RON 68.6

6.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.0 €80.1

$58.1 RON 275

55.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.17 €8.16

$7.48 RON 35.40

22.59%

Cappuccino

$4.01 €3.56

$3.44 RON 16.29

16.57%

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

$2.56 €2.28

$2.37 RON 11.22

8.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.30 RON 10.88

-14.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.75 €6.00

$3.70 RON 17.51

82.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.03 €5.37

$4.16 RON 19.69

44.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.67 RON 7.90

1.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.37 RON 6.50

24.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$1.72 RON 8.14

11.63%

Eggs

$4.46 €3.96

$3.64 RON 17.22

22.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.21 €12.64

$9.08 RON 42.98

56.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.06 €8.95

$6.84 RON 32.35

47.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.83 €6.96

$12.00 RON 56.8

-34.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 €2.90

$1.23 RON 5.80

165.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.95 €2.63

$1.63 RON 7.73

80.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.43 €3.05

$1.57 RON 7.45

118.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.79 €4.26

$2.54 RON 12.01

88.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$0.79 RON 3.75

198.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 €1.44

$0.77 RON 3.66

110.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 €1.23

$0.87 RON 4.13

59.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.99 RON 4.70

121.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.00 €17.79

$6.31 RON 29.86

216.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.25 €11.78

$6.20 RON 29.34

113.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.19 RON 5.63

85.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.57 RON 7.45

117.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.62

$0.86 RON 4.08

243.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.38 €2.11

$0.64 RON 3.05

271.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.60 RON 2.86

148.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.49 €28.90

$6.43 RON 30.43

405.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 €1.82

$1.96 RON 9.25

4.59%

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

$36.7K €32.7K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

26.68%

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

$37.5K €33.4K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

40.90%

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

$219 €195

$196 RON 927

11.99%

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

$22.11 €19.66

$8.04 RON 38.04

175.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.38 €29.69

$9.35 RON 44.21

257.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.2 €51.8

$50.2 RON 238

15.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 €11.85

$8.15 RON 38.55

63.44%

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

$1,054 €937

$628 RON 2,971

67.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,338 €4,748

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-62.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.5 €84.9

$89.6 RON 424

6.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.72 €29.99

$38.32 RON 181

-12.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.0 €59.6

$79.3 RON 375

-15.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$90.4 RON 428

32.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,683 €1,497

$678 RON 3,209

148.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 €1,180

$448 RON 2,121

195.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,060 €2,722

$1,083 RON 5,125

182.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,378 €2,115

$725 RON 3,430

227.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,751 RON 17.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,195 RON 10.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,576 €4,959

$1,329 RON 6,290

319.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.14

6.75

-38.67%

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

Last update for Wicklow: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wicklow

$1.3K 54.2%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 66.2% $879

Groceries & Markets

Wicklow

$334 13.7%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 32.7% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wicklow

$275 11.2%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 22.4% $62

Eating Out

Wicklow

$263 10.8%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 14.5% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Wicklow

$142 5.8%

Bucharest

$134 10% 5.7% $8.1

Sport & Entertainment

Wicklow

$85 3.5%

Bucharest

$67 5% 21.6% $18

Getting Around

Wicklow

$22 * 0.9%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 30.5% $6.6

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 $1,683 in Wicklow and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wicklow pays 319% 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: $90.0 in Wicklow vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $334 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Wicklow

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

15:37 3:37 PM

17:37 5:37 PM

2 h ahead of Wicklow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,957

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 = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Wicklow Bucharest 2,520 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Wicklow
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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

Wicklow vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wicklow and Bucharest differ by about 83% in total monthly costs ($2,448 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 319% higher in Wicklow, 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: $1,683 in Wicklow versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

All in, you'll spend $2,448 per month in Wicklow versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 83% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $2,448 in Wicklow, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Wicklow. 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, Wicklow 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 83% less than in Wicklow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.