Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zielona Gora and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,430 in Zielona Gora, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Zielona Gora outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

70

Cost of Living Index in Zielona Gora
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Zielona Gora Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Zielona Gora

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,430

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,430 in Zielona Gora versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Zielona Gora $1,430
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,977 in Zielona Gora versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Zielona Gora $1,977
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,524 in Zielona Gora versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Zielona Gora $2,524
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Zielona Gora is roughly 7% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zielona Gora is 6% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.20 zł 39.64

$14.49 RON 68.6

-29.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.62 zł 162

$58.1 RON 275

-28.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.17 zł 27.85

$7.48 RON 35.40

-4.14%

Cappuccino

$3.28 zł 12.73

$3.44 RON 16.29

-4.65%

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

$1.47 zł 5.71

$2.37 RON 11.22

-37.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 zł 5.88

$2.30 RON 10.88

-34.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.63 zł 14.10

$3.70 RON 17.51

-1.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 zł 10.14

$4.16 RON 19.69

-37.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 zł 3.77

$1.67 RON 7.90

-41.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 zł 5.54

$1.37 RON 6.50

4.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 zł 3.66

$1.72 RON 8.14

-45.35%

Eggs

$3.48 zł 13.54

$3.64 RON 17.22

-4.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 zł 34.88

$9.08 RON 42.98

-1.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.30 zł 16.71

$6.84 RON 32.35

-37.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.33 zł 40.15

$12.00 RON 56.8

-13.92%

Apples (1kg)

$0.90 zł 3.51

$1.23 RON 5.80

-26.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 zł 5.64

$1.63 RON 7.73

-11.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 zł 5.98

$1.57 RON 7.45

-1.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 zł 7.50

$2.54 RON 12.01

-24.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 zł 2.88

$0.79 RON 3.75

-6.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 zł 4.38

$0.77 RON 3.66

46.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 zł 3.88

$0.87 RON 4.13

14.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 zł 1.85

$0.99 RON 4.70

-51.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 zł 20.77

$6.31 RON 29.86

-15.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.58 zł 21.69

$6.20 RON 29.34

-10.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 zł 3.85

$1.19 RON 5.63

-16.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 zł 5.28

$1.57 RON 7.45

-13.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 zł 3.06

$0.86 RON 4.08

-8.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.97 zł 97.0

$21.10 RON 99.8

18.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.20 zł 8.55

$0.64 RON 3.05

243.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 zł 3.05

$0.60 RON 2.86

30.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.02 zł 38.94

$6.43 RON 30.43

55.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 zł 5.99

$1.96 RON 9.25

-21.43%

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

$30.6K zł 118.7K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

5.39%

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

$27.4K zł 106.3K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

2.69%

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

$256 zł 994

$196 RON 927

30.60%

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

$8.08 zł 31.39

$8.04 RON 38.04

0.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.41 zł 63.7

$9.35 RON 44.21

75.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.08 zł 144

$50.2 RON 238

-26.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.95 zł 34.78

$25.33 RON 120

-64.67%

Cinema Ticket

$7.44 zł 28.89

$8.15 RON 38.55

-8.71%

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

$325 zł 1,263

$628 RON 2,971

-48.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,132 zł 19.9K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-63.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.0 zł 322

$89.6 RON 424

-7.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.17 zł 141

$38.32 RON 181

-5.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.5 zł 301

$79.3 RON 375

-2.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 zł 392

$90.4 RON 428

11.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 zł 1,996

$678 RON 3,209

-24.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$569 zł 2,210

$448 RON 2,121

26.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$930 zł 3,612

$1,083 RON 5,125

-14.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$759 zł 2,948

$725 RON 3,430

4.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,006 zł 11.7K

$3,751 RON 17.7K

-19.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,226 zł 8,648

$2,195 RON 10.4K

1.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,006 zł 7,796

$1,329 RON 6,290

50.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.02

6.75

-10.81%

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

Last update for Zielona Gora: October 13, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zielona Gora

$569 39.8%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 21.2% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zielona Gora

$280 19.6%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 23.9% $67

Groceries & Markets

Zielona Gora

$183 12.8%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 22.9% $42

Eating Out

Zielona Gora

$178 12.4%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 26.7% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Zielona Gora

$134 9.4%

Bucharest

$134 10% 0% $0

Sport & Entertainment

Zielona Gora

$52 3.6%

Bucharest

$67 5% 28.1% $15

Getting Around

Zielona Gora

$34 2.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 17.6% $6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $514 in Zielona Gora and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zielona Gora pays 51% 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: $42.00 in Zielona Gora vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $183 vs $225 per month, with Zielona Gora cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇱 Zielona Gora

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

00:31 12:31 AM

01:31 1:31 AM

1 h ahead of Zielona Gora

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

118,433

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Polish Złoty PLN zł

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to PLN – Polish Złoty Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇱 Polish Złoty (zł)

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.89 PLN (1 PLN = 0.257 USD). 1 EUR = 4.37 PLN (1 PLN = 0.229 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to PLN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zielona Gora Bucharest 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Zielona Gora
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

Zielona Gora vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zielona Gora and Bucharest differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($1,430 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 51% higher in Zielona Gora, 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: $514 in Zielona Gora versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,430 per month in Zielona Gora versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 7% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 18% less than in Zielona Gora. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,430 in Zielona Gora, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Zielona Gora. 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, Zielona Gora 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 7% less than in Zielona Gora. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.