Are you dreaming of moving to Romania or just curious about how much it costs to live here in 2025? You’ve come to the right place! I’ll break down the monthly cost of living here, throwing in some personal tips and real-life examples you won’t find elsewhere for good measure.
The Short Answer
Living in Romania in 2025 will cost you anywhere between €1,250 and €1,500 per month for a decent lifestyle if you’re living alone. If you’re thrifty or sharing living costs with a partner, you could scrape by on €1,000.
The cost of living in Romania has been rising alarmingly since 2022, driven by a huge inflation that shows no signs of easing (started at 16% and, at the moment of writing, in 2025, it’s still around 5%).
Since I first started tracking my family’s expenses in 2013, prices for many products have doubled or even tripled.
While the salaries in Romania have also increased significantly, it’s getting more and more difficult for the locals to keep up with the growing monthly costs.
And while Romania remains one of the cheapest countries in the European Union, it’s no longer the place where you could live like a king for $1,000 per month. This was indeed possible 10-12 years ago, but not today.
Actually, I have written an article comparing Romania’s prices to those in Spain, concluding that the difference is not that high anymore.
Despite all these, Romania isn’t a wallet-draining abyss at all. For perspective, in Cluj-Napoca or Bucharest – Romania’s priciest cities – you’ll still find rents and dining costs much cheaper than in most Western European capitals.
Now let’s get a bit more in-depth and sprinkle in some actual prices and estimates based on my experience living in Romania for basically 40 years!
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Breaking Down the Costs by Category
Before we start, I have to state the obvious: personal finances are personal, so each individual will have different expectations and spending habits.
But since we need something to relate to, I will try to estimate costs for a person who’s living a decent life here – not too frugal, but not too extravagant in spending either.
1. Accommodation
Expect to spend between €300 and €600 a month on rent, depending on the city and your choice of apartment:
- If you want to live in the big cities (like Cluj, Bucharest, Timisoara or Brasov), a one-bedroom apartment will likely cost you around €500.
- Smaller cities or towns can be much kinder on your wallet, with plenty of options starting at €300 for a similar apartment.
Both rental prices, as well as the costs for buying property in Romania are, right now, at all time highs.
For example, an apartment like the one that we bought in 2014 for 25,000 Euros is now listed for €60,000 or more… so prices have indeed skyrocketed.
(I wrote an article showing apartments for rent in Romania – make sure to check it out to see what to expect to get for the money AND where to look.)
2. Utilities
The costs for utilities in Romania remain low compared to other countries, despite the recent price hikes.
IMPORTANT! When renting, these costs are usually not included, so you will have to pay extra. These are called “Intretinere” in Romania, which translates as “maintenance” and it usually includes garbage collection, water, a fund for minor repairs and heating. If you use gas for heating, that’s paid separately, as well as the electrical bill.
Here’s what I expect you to pay per month for a one-bedroom apartment:
- Maintenance (“intretinere”): €30-€200 (an average of around €130/month)
- Electricity & gas: €70 (Usually, foreigners use more electricity than Romanians, and I am taking this into account.)
- Internet, TV, and mobile combo (Digi is the cheapest and of good quality): €20
And yes, Romania’s internet is lightning-fast – one of the best deals for your money anywhere. You can get more in depth with Romania’s internet speed here if you want to.
All in all, expect these costs to be, on average, around 220 Euros per month.
3. Food
I estimate that a family of two can keep the monthly food budget in Romania at around €475 and still enjoy a varied diet, but mostly cook at home from base ingredients.
In our case, food costs are close to 600 Euros for three people (eating out included – but we eat out a maximum of 4 times per month). Check out our monthly expenses here.
Food prices have gone up like crazy in the past couple of years. It’s not uncommon to see prices higher by 50% to 300% in supermarkets.
Examples of food prices
Tomatoes (1 kg): €1.50 – €10.00 (depending on the season, cheaper during summer/autumn)
Potatoes (1 kg): €0.80
Lettuce (1 head): €0.75 – €1
Apples (1 kg): €1.00 – €2.30
Oranges (1 Kg): ~1 Euro
Cheese (1 Kg): €8 – €15
Eggs (10): €2.5
Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless (1 kg): ~€7.50
Pork Chops (1 kg): ~€8.00
Fresh fish, local (1 kg): €8.50
Loaf of Bread (300 grams): €1.00
Milk (1 Liter – no name brands): €1.00
Bottle of cheap local wine: €4.50
Bottle of better local wine: €8.50
Beer (0.5 liter): €0.85 (in stores)
Beer (2 liter bottle): €3.00
Sparkling water (1.5 l): €0.60
Bottled water (5 l): €1.50
Bottle of natural juice (1 liter): €2.20
Here are the costs for eating out
Meal for two, generic restaurant, main course, dessert and one drink (tip included): 35 Euros
Meal for two, better restaurant, Three course (tip included): 55 Euros
Beer (0.5 l): €3.00
Coke (0.25 l): €2.20
Wine (0.75 l): 20 Euros per bottle (but can easily go way up)
Cappuccino / Coffee: €3.00
Fresh lemonade: €3.00
Quick Tip: Farmer’s markets used to be the secret to cheap produce, but the massive supermarkets will now offer better deals, so don’t assume it’s better to shop there. On the contrary.
Instead, look for discount sections in major supermarkets like Lidl or Kaufland (they usually offer locally-grown produce too!), and make sure to create and use each store’s loyalty card for more discounts, deals and rewards.
4. Transportation
Public transport is efficient and ridiculously affordable… if the city you live in has an extensive network. The general rule of thumb here is that larger cities offer a lot more than smaller ones.
- Bus ticket: €0.60 for a single trip
- Monthly pass: €16 (not available in all cities)
- Gasoline: €1.45 per liter
- Bolt/Uber/Taxi: starting at €5.00 for short trips
Interested to learn more? Read my guide to public transport in Bucharest here.
5. Other costs
Soap (bottle): 3 Euros
Laundry detergent: 8 Euros (3 liter bottle)
Pair of regular jeans: 30 Euros
No Brand T-shirt: 10 Euros
Cinema ticket: 6.00 Euros
Gym membership: 50 Euros/month
Private health insurance: As low as 50 EUR/month (but prices can vary a lot here, depending on your needs), up to €200/month
A day at the spa: Priceless (really, visit Therme in Bucharest, it’s incredible!)
Jokes aside, Romania offers public healthcare that is technically free (and improving constantly), but which also comes with long waiting times and limited English-speaking staff.
Therefore, expats usually opt for private health insurance. Even without it, a visit to a private clinic might cost as little as €30 for general consultations, while specialist appointments or procedures usually start at around €50.
If this still seems like a lot, you might consider visiting the country first. I have an article sharing whether or not is Romania cheap to visit as a tourist.
What other locals say
As a counter-example, we have a comment posted by Alexandru, where he detailed his monthly costs living in Romania (back in 2021, so expect them to be around 30% higher today). This shows that Romania can still be very cheap to live in if you’re thrifty:
I live in Brasov with my girlfriend in my own apartment and only one of us is working at the moment. I don’t have to pay rent .
The average costs we have per month are (taking into account food, utilities, bills and miscellaneous) are around 2,500 lei per month. This translates to around 500 euros on average per month.
Honestly this is around what you need, in my mind, not only to survive but to live a comfortable life (going out in the week-ends, ordering food 75% of the time from various restaurants and some other activities which include various costs).
by Alexandru, Romania Experience reader
Taking inflation into account, we can say that in today’s money, his monthly average would be close to 650 Euros/month for two people.
Can you live in Romania on 1,000 Euros per month?
This is a nice, round number and I said a while ago that you can live in Romania for less than 1,000 per month.
As a single person, I think it’s a bit of a challenge, but not impossible. As a couple, with 2,000 Euros per month, you’d live a relatively good life in Romania.
Based on the cost of living estimates above, let’s see how things would look like:
Rent: 350 EUR (1-bedroom or studio)
Food: 500 EUR
Utilities: 220 EUR
__________
TOTAL: 1,070 EUR / month
This puts you 70 Euros in the red, and we’re not even considering household items and unexpected expenses. Sure, these are rough estimates and you could take those food costs down a bit, maybe spend less on rent, walk more… but you’d still find it difficult, as a single person, to live on a budget of €1,000 per month.
After all, even the average salary in Romania is around €1,100… so Romania is no longer the dirt cheap country it used to be. In my opinion, as an expat you’d need a bare minimum of €1,200 each month to make ends meet.
Also, choosing to live in a cheaper, smaller city, would also come with lower costs, offering you even more bang for your buck, as well as lower overall costs.
You can also read my previous article detailing our cost of living in Constanta, if you’re curious to learn more about specific cities.
If you are already living in Romania – and have been here for a while to at least have an estimate of your total monthly expenses, don’t hesitate to do so and share your numbers in the comments section below. It’s highly appreciated!
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When I am in Bucharest, usually few months per year (as non-EU I am limited), I am living in a nice hotel for 600EUR per month, with all expenses included (AC/Heating/electricity/Internet, soap…), plus breakfast and coffee for up to 3 of us. Sometimes I came alone and the price is the same.
That is a really good deal indeed! Thanks for sharing.
I like the sounds of that deal.
What hotel are you referring to?
I first came to Romania in 2015, my wife is Romanian, and we were both living in the UK when we met. We have properties in both Countries, and live between the two. I have noticed a significant rise in prices since 2015 in line with previous comments, and also a shrinking of farmers markets. Our nearest city, Zalau, has added yet another large supermarket (and mall) which has contributed to both the rising prices generally, and the frequency of people buying everything under one roof and skipping the markets. As a side point, our nearest large city is Cluj-Napoca, and the hour and a half distance (two in peak traffic) means that the price boom in Cluj has only rippled a little in Salaj. Whilst many of the costs of electrical goods, computers, various items like washing powder and some food items are similar to the UK, property in Salaj is still a fraction of the equivalent in UK, as is the cost of construction and renovation projects. It remains a great place to buy a house and develop it. We are in a large village, was interested in comments I have read about being harder to settle in a village. I am fairly sure I am the only person in this village who is not Romanian, but have found it was easy to fit in, especially as my knowledge of the Romanian language has increased and I can have conversations, share humour and so on. I would recommend Romania to anyone, not for the beautiful scenery or the terrible road system, but mostly because of the friendly Romanian people and their attitude of ‘life is there to be enjoyed’. The closeness of family is also impressive, and at a level the UK used to have, but doesn’t usually match now.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience, it should be very valuable for our readers. And yes, prices are going up – but I think Romania remains a cheap country to live in.
It’s nice to see that despite the fact that costs keep rising, Romania remains affordable (the cat is out of the bag though, so l expect it to keep rising) especially because a lot of Brits might not have the funds to bring their foreign spouses back there due to the monetary requirements, so it would be an option. We found quite a few people who lived in malta because of that.
The prices are indeed quite close to prices in Spain. Too bad about the shrinking markets, but since you have that big old garden, you don’t have to worry much :-).
Prices are steadily going up, indeed, but Romania remains cheap and I guess it’s not the only country where it’s getting more expensive to live in… Brexit and the pandemic definitely had an impact and I am sure it’s not over.
Hi Calin !
Found your blog and been enjoying reading it since I’m considering moving to Romania. I’m retired (65) I have a monthly Income of 3,795 U.S. dollars a month Including full health Insurance ( no cost to me ) as part of my retirement package. So question I have is if I figured the conversion right it would come out around 15817.18 Ron , I’m going to guess that my Health Ins. would not be accepted over there ? I saw you mention that private Ins starts around 60 Ron but do you know what a good coverage would cost including prescription medicine or what the cost low & high is on health Ins ? also how comfortable could I live on my monthly Income if I want to be in a really nice 2 bedroom home or apartment with a/c ( do they even have central a/c over there ?) I would enjoy some place close to the city but far enough out to enjoy nature & more quiet as a first choice but willing to be in a nice city.
any suggestions as to where to look ?
Thanks for any Insight you have.
Hello Scott,
You would live a really good life in any city in Romania with that income. You would probably have to spend at most $200 per month for top notch private health insurance and that would still leave with you enough money to have a great life here.
The biggest problem would be to actually get to live here unless you are an EU citizen. Romania doesn’t have a retirement visa or something along those lines. You could only do it by opening a company (we’ve discussed this in other articles), but it seems that the officials are starting to be very demanding with this and they now require proof that the company is active too. It still can be done, but extra headaches, costs and bureaucracy for you.
Hi Calin,
I am living and working in Bucharest from last 1 year. As a Non-EU my salary is 600 euro and all other benefits from my employer. My family willing to stay in Romania. So is it possible to bear all costs including my 2 kids school fees in 600 eu salary? Please can you tell me what is fees for 1 child age 5 years old in english school?
Unfortunately, I don’t think that would be doable. Private schools in Bucharest cost around 500 Euros per month per child (maybe you can find some for around 150 Eur, but I would guess that the quality might not be as high).
Even if you send the kids to public schools (which are free), 600 Euros won’t be enough for a family of four, even if you have the accommodation paid for. (If you have both food and accommodation paid for already and 600 is extra, then it’s doable with public schools).
Good day sir/ma.. as a student coming to Romania, after paying my rents and all can I survive with 21,000 leu ? Coming from Nigeria. And what job can I also do to make money without not affecting my studies
21,000 lei is around 4,000 Euros, which would allow you to live like royalty in Romania. As for a job, a student is only allowed to get a part time job.
Hello! I’m thinking about moving to Romania and want to ask your advice regarding the cost of living. If we’re talking about monthly income around 2 700 kEUR how do you think is it enough for family of 3 (2 adults and child 6yo) including rent (somewhere in Ilfov district) and private school? Also is it real that income tax is 41%?
Thank you in advance!
Hello! Prices have gone up a lot recently, so I think that for your area, you should budget around 700 Euros per month for rent (if you want a 2-bedroom house/apartment) and around the same amount for private school. This would leave you with 1,300 Euros which would be enough for a decent life, but nothing too extravagant.
The income tax depends on each individual’s situation. If you have your own company or are self employed, you will pay between 3% to 10% in tax. Salary tax is indeed different, but as long as you negotiate a net salary with your company, that’s what you will receive in hand.
Hi C. the Romanian,
I plan to retire in Romania. My pension is $3600/month.
I own an apartment in Bucharest and I have dual citizenship- Romanian/American.
Can you please tell me if my pension would be enough to live comfortably after paying food, utilities and a good health insurance.
Thank you and have a Happy New Year!
Camelia.
Absolutely! That is a great budget for Bucharest – and any place in the country. You should be able to live a good life, travel a lot and still have some money left at the end of the month 🙂
We did say the cat was out of the bag a couple of years ago, and it seems it’s come to fruition. I don’t think there’s anywhere that hasn’t seen a big increase and l don’t see it letting up either. Things have jumped up here in Spain too, especially the rent. We are seeing double and more increases. Interesting times, especially with the wages remaining low.
Yes, that is true. And I think things are still not as bad as they could be, as most of us still had/have some savings. 2023 will be, just as you said: interesting.
Hello C. The Romanian,
Thanks a ton for this info!!
Im planning to permanently move to Romania.
Im an IT professional (Salesforce Developer), my current salary is Euros 4637/month.
From your blog, which by the way is super helpful, Im to understand it is sufficient for a couple and child.
So my question to you is, how easy/hard it is to find a job in an IT sector in Romania. Im planning to move to Bucharest(most of the big companies are located here. Right?)
Also I dont speak Romanian, would that be of any issue while im looking for a job?
Hello! Your current salary would indeed be more than enough to live a comfortable life, together with your family.
I’m not sure how easy it is to find a job in the IT sector, but Bucuresti is indeed one of the main places to be. Cluj Napoca is also a major IT hub, taking the top spot in the past few days. It’s also a nice city, so you might want to look into it as well.
Not speaking the language might come as a slight disadvantage, but I don’t think it would be a deal breaker when it comes to finding a job.
Regards,
Calin
I have been following C for about 10 years now. He is very fair and honest of life in Romania. Our family moved here 18 months ago. I am from Iowa and we are a family of 4 with cat and dog.
We own home out right so just upkeep expense and that is minor at this time.. less then 1,000usd per year. Our monthly expenses are around $1500 usd and we live pretty well on that.
Living in USA vs Romania: I am semi retired and USA over my life span has gone in the toilet. No idea how to fix it but it is unbelievable. Hard to think of one thing that got better in last 50 years. My family was concerned and my mother asked me why Romania. I told her anywhere we live on this planet will have problems but we have a loving family and that is what matters most no matter where we are.
That said.. Romania is much better in almost all areas than USA. Education we raised on in U.S schools and it was HORRIBLE. Our boy is in kindergarten and no gun checks yet LOL. It’s school the OLD way… caring teachers and lots of coloring etc.. puppet show today. No talk about evacuation routes or hiding places. No talk about the “right” subjects to teach a child. Just school winging it and having fun.
C… Romania has changed in last ten years right?!? You may not notice it but when we settled in WOW! Roads without potholes? Ten years ago was MUCH worse. Romania has everything now if you want it.. just need to look a little.
But ten years ago? The country has come a LONG way in ten years. It has everything and like USA if you want it you may have to pay for it but at least you can get it. Except for strawberry nesquik.. but another story.
So as I have said in the past STAY AWAY FROM ROMANIA.. they toss kids in orphanages and dogs eat people and lets not talk about the Vampires. (all popular media reasons) Reality is it is a great place to live if you are a good person. The rest of you stay away.
Happy to see they rounded up Andrew Tate for being an idiot. No idiots allowed in Romania.. but the rest of you I can’t wait to see. Best wishes C!!!
Email me as I may not check back in here for a while as I am too busy checking out ALL Romania has to offer. Miss the hamburgers and bacon of USA and that is about it.. oh and family of course.
Would add we live in Alba Iulia and our $1500 a month allows US to live well but we live a very modest life style. Weekends at our cabin.. eat out once a month and a minor vacation at friends on Black Sea in summer.
Thank you for sharing your opinion about living in Romania, as well as the cost of living. The more people do the same, the easier it is for others to estimate their own costs.
And do let me know when you get on the Black Sea coast this year – maybe we can sample some of the hamburgers Constanta has to offer and see if any comes close to those in the US 🙂
Hey C,
I’m a French guy that had an offer in Romania (Already goes there on a Road trip and fell in love with the country) to work remotly anywhere i want in Romania (IT things), and i got an offer around 7000 LEI net monthly (So around 1400 euros, i believe), would it be enough for a single person ?
I think i would live decently, and i’m looking to move in Brasov or Sibiu, one of these two city, what did you think about that ?
Yes, I think that would be enough for you to live on in either of those cities.
I like your article, keep updating. How do I pay for maintenance? Is it automatically deducted from my account?
You can pay with your card in most cases, although in some locations you will actually have to go to the person in charge (usually located in the same building) and pay in cash monthly. However, it is not deducted automatically from your account.
Good and educating updates. Keep it up.