Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wigan and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,964 in Wigan, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Wigan
Learn more

Wigan Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
Learn more

Bucharest Living Index

Jump to prices

Wigan

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,964

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,964 in Wigan versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Wigan $1,964
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,893 in Wigan versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Wigan $2,893
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,823 in Wigan versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Wigan $3,823
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Wigan is roughly 46% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wigan is 45% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.72 £14.80

$14.49 RON 68.6

36.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.3 £51.2

$58.1 RON 275

17.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.87 £7.40

$7.48 RON 35.40

31.95%

Cappuccino

$3.39 £2.54

$3.44 RON 16.29

-1.45%

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

$2.37 £1.77

$2.37 RON 11.22

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 £1.15

$2.30 RON 10.88

-33.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.54 £3.40

$3.70 RON 17.51

22.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.21 £3.16

$4.16 RON 19.69

1.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 £0.95

$1.67 RON 7.90

-23.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.37 RON 6.50

-0.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.72 RON 8.14

-25.00%

Eggs

$3.54 £2.66

$3.64 RON 17.22

-2.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.43 £4.08

$9.08 RON 42.98

-40.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.56 £4.17

$6.84 RON 32.35

-18.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.80 £5.85

$12.00 RON 56.8

-35.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.23 RON 5.80

22.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.63 RON 7.73

2.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.53 £2.65

$1.57 RON 7.45

124.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.82 £2.87

$2.54 RON 12.01

50.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 £1.34

$0.79 RON 3.75

126.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.29

$0.77 RON 3.66

122.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$0.87 RON 4.13

37.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.43

$0.99 RON 4.70

92.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.51 £16.88

$6.31 RON 29.86

256.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.98 £6.74

$6.20 RON 29.34

44.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.39 £3.30

$1.19 RON 5.63

268.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 £2.45

$1.57 RON 7.45

107.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.70 £2.02

$0.86 RON 4.08

213.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 £3.24

$0.64 RON 3.05

576.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 RON 2.86

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.05 £24.79

$6.43 RON 30.43

414.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.91 £1.44

$1.96 RON 9.25

-2.55%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

31.50%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

52.17%

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

$343 £258

$196 RON 927

75.30%

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

$16.01 £12.01

$8.04 RON 38.04

99.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.96 £29.23

$9.35 RON 44.21

316.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.0 £44.26

$50.2 RON 238

17.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.33 RON 120

Cinema Ticket

$17.13 £12.85

$8.15 RON 38.55

110.18%

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

$797 £598

$628 RON 2,971

26.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K RON 66.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 £82.4

$89.6 RON 424

22.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.9 £41.96

$38.32 RON 181

45.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 £82.8

$79.3 RON 375

39.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.3

$90.4 RON 428

25.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$975 £732

$678 RON 3,209

43.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$760 £570

$448 RON 2,121

69.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,593 £1,195

$1,083 RON 5,125

47.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,343 £1,008

$725 RON 3,430

85.32%

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)

$2,670 £2,003

$1,329 RON 6,290

100.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.4

6.75

-5.19%

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

Last update for Wigan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wigan

$760 38.7%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 41% $312

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wigan

$398 20.3%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 46.5% $185

Eating Out

Wigan

$275 14%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 18% $49

Groceries & Markets

Wigan

$247 12.6%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 8.9% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Wigan

$175 8.9%

Bucharest

$134 10% 23.7% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Wigan

$93 4.8%

Bucharest

$67 5% 28.7% $27

Getting Around

Wigan

$15 * 0.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 86.6% $13

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 $975 in Wigan and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wigan pays 101% 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: $68.0 in Wigan vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $247 vs $225 per month, with Bucharest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Wigan

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

03:22 3:22 AM

05:22 5:22 AM

2 h ahead of Wigan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

81,203

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Wigan Bucharest 2,310 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Wigan
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

Wigan vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wigan and Bucharest differ by about 46% in total monthly costs ($1,964 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 101% higher in Wigan, 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: $975 in Wigan versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Wigan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,964 per month in Wigan versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 46% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,964 in Wigan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Wigan. 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.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Wigan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.